Ultra-Deepwater Pipe Order Challenge for French Firm

France-based manufacturer of tubular pipes & fittings, Vallourec, informs it has been awarded a $100 million contract for the supply of premium pipes with VAM® 21 connections for the offshore ML-South Project, operated by Total’s affiliate Total E&P Borneo in Brunei. The development wells will be producing at depth greater than 5,000m, in a highly corrosive environment and sustaining High Pressure/ High Temperature (HP/HT).

Expect the Unexpected: Acidic Oceans

Ocean Acidification (OA) has long been accepted as an equally troublesome companion of Global Warming. Studies have not only exposed impending problems, but have given scientists an insight into the complexities behind achieving a comprehensive understanding of the overall bionetwork response to this worldwide problem. However, are investigators equipped well enough to deliver precise robust data critically needed for global ocean-atmospheric models…

D-Day Mapping Mission

It’s been almost 70 years since the invasion of Normandy, France when 156,000 Allied troops landed and began their march across Europe to defeat Hitler. And, while these soldiers’ collective destinies could not have been known at the time, their will to fight was unmistakable. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the D-Day operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” The allied troops heard this charge and proved their resolve.

Fugro Upgrades Electric ROV Simulators

Fugro announced it is launching an important upgrade to its Electric ROV pilot training simulators. Most observation-class ROVs and many light work-class ROVs are electrical-based systems. With the introduction of a new electric ROV control pod and suite of electric ROV specific components, Fugro’s DeepWorks simulation software now models all electric sub-systems with greater accuracy and enables failure cases to be simulated on individual sensors and circuits.

NYK Jointly Develops Innovative Anti-rust Agent

NYK and Agua Japan Co. Ltd. have jointly developed an innovative anti-rust agent to prevent iron and steel rust on vessels. The new agent, Marine Guard 100 (MG 100), has rust conversion properties, and paint containing the agent can be applied to metal surfaces. The anti-rust efficacy of MG 100 was verified during two and half years of testing on the deck, ballast tank,* piping, and other metal surfaces of an oceangoing coal carrier.

New Broco Underwater Cutting Rod

Broco Underwater offers the new advanced design Broco Ultrathermic Cutting Rod PLUS. Based on a new patent-pending design, Broco said its new underwater cutting rod delivers 20% more cutting and burn time than the same size prior generation rod. According to the manufacturer, the new Broco Ultrathermic Cutting Rod PLUS increases burn time 20%, on average, for a 3/8” diameter by 18” long rod. Broco…

Facebook, Google among Builders of New Transpacific Cable

Undersea communications technology company TE SubCom has partnered up with Facebook, Google and Pacific Light Data Communication Co. Ltd. (PLDC) to co-build a 12,800 km transpacific submarine cable system that will provide the first direct undersea route between Hong Kong and Los Angeles with ultra-high capacity transmission. Scheduled for commercial launch in summer of 2018, the Pacific Light Cable…

China To Invest in More Submarines

China's military has at least three operational Type-094 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, with each being capable of carrying 12 JL-2 missiles that have a range of 8,000 kilometers, says  an article published last week by the Russian Military Observer. By 2020, the Chinese military is projected to field at least four Type-094s and two next-generation Type-096 submarines, carrying around 80 sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and 250 to 300 nuclear-armed missiles…

Shallow Water Monitoring Sensors Track GOM Nitrate Pulse

A new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report describes how advanced optical sensor technology is being used in the Mississippi River basin to accurately track the nitrate pulse to the Gulf of Mexico. Excessive springtime nitrate runoff from agricultural land and other sources in the Mississippi drainage flows into the Mississippi River and downstream to the Gulf of Mexico. This excess nitrate contributes to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone…

2H Offshore Joins TCP Design Guideline Initiative

2H Offshore has joined an oil and gas industry initiative to develop a new design guideline for thermoplastic composite pipes (TCP) to advance the understanding and use of composite materials in the offshore industry, the company announced. The DNV GL-led Joint Industry Project (JIP) began in October and will take a year to complete. 2H teams in London and Houston are actively involved in the JIP which will build on existing knowledge and guidelines to achieve an industry accepted standard.

MMT Installs Kongsberg Multibeam System

MMT Group announced its new ownership of a Kongsberg EM2040D. A 0.4 x 0.7 degree dual head multibeam system has recently been installed on MMT’s long term charted multipurpose support vessel Stril Explorer. This is a highly developed multibeam echo sounder that combines all of the advanced features of deepwater echo sounders to the shallower water or ROV/AUV environment. Such features include dual swath per ping to maintain a high survey speed at maintained resolution…

Fugro Acquires ROV Support Vessel

Fugro has taken delivery of the new ROV support vessel (RSV) Fugro Aquarius, the most advanced vessel of her type built in Brazil. The new DP-2 diesel-electric vessel is 83 metres is length with a deck area of 520 square metres and accommodation for 60 people. Permanently equipped with two Fugro-built 150HP work class ROVs, Fugro Aquarius is capable of operating in water depths of 3,000 metres. The stern A‐Frame…

Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE Announcements at OI2018

The participation of Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE in the world-leading Oceanology International 2018 marine science exhibition and conference in the ExCeL, London adds an extra incentive to visit an already pivotal event. Now in its 49th year, Oceanology International is renowned as an invaluable global maritime technology business networking hub, with 8,500 industry professionals from more than 79 countries anticipated to attend this year.

FarSounder 3D Sonar for NACOS Platinum

FarSounder, a developer of 3D forward looking sonar systems for navigation and obstacle avoidance, announced it has entered an integration partnership with Wärtsilä SAM Electronics. The partnership will see 3D sonar data from FarSounder’s navigation systems visualized and controlled directly from all NACOS MULTIPILOT workstations. The unique forward-looking capabilities of FarSounder's navigation products add a new dimension of situational awareness to the NACOS Platinum Series.

ATLAS MARIDAN to Offer AUV Rental Services

ATLAS MARIDAN ApS. of Rungsted Kyst (Denmark), a subsidiary of the German naval systems supplier ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, has launched an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) rental service. The opportunity to rent ATLAS ELEKTRONIK’s latest unmanned underwater technology shall support customers within the offshore oil and gas, renewable energy, UxO and naval markets. The AUV SeaCat has recently finalized its…

Klein Marine Offers Side Scan Sonar Training

Klein Marine Systems, a manufacturer of side scan sonars, will be hosting a three day side scan sonar training at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye Beach, N.H. Practical sessions on UNH Gulf Challenger, based in Newcastle, N.H. Participants will develop a thorough understanding of sonar image analysis as well as get hands-on experience with single beam sonars such as the dual-frequency Klein 4900 and the high-speed, Multi-Beam Klein 5000 V2 . Vincent Capone, M.Sc.

SMD Delivers Atom Mk1 ROV Systems to JFD

Subsea design and manufacturing specialist Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd (SMD) has delivered two 1,000-meter Atom Mk1 work class remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems to JFD Ltd, an underwater capability provider serving the commercial and defense markets. The Atom systems, both equipped with ultra-compact launch and recovery systems (LARS) and SMD purpose-designed control and workshop cabins, provide a complete turnkey solution…

Loss of Diversity Near Melting Coastal Glaciers

Melting glaciers are causing a loss of species diversity among benthos in the coastal waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, impacting an entire seafloor ecosystem. This has been verified in the course of repeated research dives, the results of which were recently published by experts from Argentina, Germany and Great Britain and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in a study in the journal Science Advances.

TGS Signs LOI for Seabird Exploration Seismic Vessel Charters

Norway-based TGS informs that it has signed a Letter of Intent with Seabird Exploration to charter up to four 2D seismic vessels to be used over the next 36 months. The Letter of Intent gives TGS priority rights to the vessels subject to the issuance of seismic acquisition permits for the offshore waters of Mexico. In December 2013, Mexico's Congress gave final approval to a historic energy reform…

World First: Unmanned Autonomous Boat for Offshore Ops

While talk of autonomous operations in the maritime sector have swirled for years, the talk becomes reality as Automated Ships Ltd. (an M Subs Ltd subsidiary) and Norway’s Kongsberg Maritime signed a Memorandum of Understanding to build the world’s first unmanned and fully-automated vessel for offshore operations. In January 2017, Automated Ships Ltd will contract the ‘Hrönn’, which will be designed and built in Norway in cooperation with KONGSBERG.