ExxonMobil's License for EON Reality

ExxonMobil Research Qatar (EMRQ) today announced that ExxonMobil has awarded a global commercial license for Immersive 3D Operator Training Simulator technology to co-developer EON Reality Inc. The innovative technology incorporates ultra-realistic, multi-angle immersive virtual reality for training process operators and engineers in oil and gas production, processing and transportation facilities. The technology enables effective training to take place in a safe and controlled environment.

WindSentinel Floating LiDAR Helps Cut Costs

The WindSentinel Floating LiDAR solution developed by AXYS Technologies is a wind resource assessment buoy capable of accurately gathering data on wind speed and wind direction offshore at turbine hub-height and across the blade span. The data enables developers to understand how strong the winds are at the heights of wind turbines, provides a clear picture of how much power can be generated at specific sites, and helps to validate wind predictions from computer models.

New Launches, Demonstrations Set for Seawork

Europe’s commercial marine and workboat exhibition held in a working port, Seawork International, has released its plans for demonstrations, launches and conferences. Organizers say Voith will announce a new marine propulsion system that produces more thrust, reduces noise and vibration, while cutting operating costs. The Smart Surfaces’ Duplex fouling from Tudor Streamline Surfaces will debut at Seawork…

Shell Arctic Rig Protesters Detained and Released

U.S. The 24 people who violated the 500-yard safety zone established around the Shell Arctic drilling rig Polar Pioneer were detained by USCG and partner agency law enforcement personnel Monday morning. The individuals were transported to Coast Guard Base Seattle at Pier 36, issued notices of violation that include a $500 fine and released with their equipment. "The Coast Guard and our agency partners…

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…

MakaiLay Suite for Cable Layers

Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc. said it continues to address issues experienced by the subsea power cable industry by enhancing submarine cable lay software, MakaiLay, and its desktop simulation sister product, MakaiPlan Pro. 1. Cable Top Angle. MakaiLay now has the option to use the cable departure angle, or “Top Angle”, which can be measured at the over-boarding point. When high quality measurements of top tension are not available…

US to Test 'Submarine' Drone That Can Launch from Ocean Floor

USA’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is testing a drone that can hibernate on the ocean floor for years at a time before being launched to the surface and into the air at the push of a button. The new drones, being developed by the DARPA, are part of a new focus by the US military in developing and improving technology for emerging threats. According to DARPA Director Arati Prabhakar…

Navy-Funded Whale Tagging Study Begins

A Navy-funded study to continue documenting blue and fin whale distribution, occurrence and movement patterns along the U.S. West Coast and throughout the Eastern Pacific has begun, informs U.S. Pacific Fleet Public Affairs. Oregon State University researchers will attempt to locate and attach up to 24 long-term satellite tracking tags to blue and fin whales off Southern California. The researchers will deploy from Santa Barbara or Long Beach…

MTR 100: SBG Systems

The Case: Since 2007 SBG Systems delivers high performance and cost-effective MEMS-based Motion Reference Unit (MRU) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) to the Marine industry (40% of its turn over). Its products are mainly used in Offhore, Marine, and Underwater applications. In February 2014, SBG Systems released the Ekinox Subsea Series, a new product range of high accuracy inertial systems operational up to 6,000m. SBG Systems is a supplier of MEMS-based inertial motion sensing solutions.

New NOAA Chart Adds to Arctic Shipping Safety

NOAA formally presented today to Alaska officials a new nautical chart for Kotzebue Sound in the Alaskan Arctic, a sparsely charted region that is seeing increased vessel traffic because of the significant loss of summer sea ice. The new chart depicts the full range of depth measurements and object detection acquired during a full ocean bottom survey last summer by the NOAA hydrographic survey ship Fairweather.

WESMAR Announces Waterside Security Installations

WESMAR, a U.S. manufacturer of sonar equipment has announced that they are completing multiple site installations of WESMAR WEB850 searchlight sonar systems at undisclosed sites in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region to protect private and publicly held assets. The systems are for surveillance and waterside security and while they join other WESMAR systems in the region, they are the first of many to be installed jointly with WESMAR’s GCC partnership companies.

Offshore Energy: Monitoring Performance

Recent severe storms in the U.K. North Sea have resulted in a number of floating production, storage and offloading vessels (FPSOs) being shut down in order to assess and repair the damage caused. Notwithstanding the possible safety implications for operations crew, oil and gas majors are facing weeks, if not months without a critical asset which in turn, is having a significant impact on future production.

SeeByte Debuts Sonar Mosaic Tool for ROVs

SeeByte, a creator of software for unmanned maritime systems, announced the launch of a new Multibeam Imaging Sonar Mosaic Tool for use with the company’s SeeTrackCoPilot software. Users of SeeTrackCoPilot are now able to generate a multibeam imaging sonar forward-look mosaic. They can do this using a simple on/off button in the SeeTrackCoPilot interface. The tool can be used to quickly generate maps of the environment and improve ROV pilots’ situational awareness. Dr.

Windcatcher Receives AIP from DNV

Wind Catching Systems announced its 40MW Windcatcher design has received approval in principle (AIP) from DNV.The objective of an AIP is to perform a third-party technical evaluation of a design to assess whether there are any conceptual showstoppers or rule compliance aspects that need improvement. As such, a successful AIP indicates the likelihood of the design meeting applicable rule criteria for…

Floatel Orders Fifth Keppel Accommodation Semi

Keppel FELS Ltd. was awarded a contract worth about $280 million by Floatel International Ltd. to build its fifth accommodation semisubmersible (semi) for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2015. Keppel FELS previously delivered the accommodation semis, Floatel Superior and Floatel Reliance, in 2010 and is currently constructing two more: Floatel Victory and Floatel Endurance. The new semi will be a sister vessel to Floatel Victory and will be built to Keppel's proprietary SSAUTM5000NG design.

Petrobas to Beef Up IT Security After Alleged Hacking

Petrobras will invest R$ 4-billion in information technology and security in 2013
 demonstrating the company's commitment to protecting its data. Millions of e-mails were pre-emptively blocked iin the span of a recent month. The president of Petrobras, Maria das Graças Silva Foster said at a public hearing at the Senate, that the Company will invest R$ 4 billion in 2013 and R$ 21.2 billion between 2013-2017 in Information Technology and Telecommunications.

MacArtney Updates MERMAC ROV Winches

The MacArtney Group introduced the newly upgraded MERMAC R series of ROV winches. Featuring high power and speed, minimal maintenance requirements, a rugged and compact design, Active Heave Compensation (AHC) and a unique Remote Diagnostics Tool - the MERMAC R series promises to deliver cutting-edge winch solutions for ROV systems and tasks of all types, MacArtney said. Selecting the right winch system for a specific vessel, ROV system and task portfolio is a complex matter.

OPT Assembles PowerBuoy Bound for Naval Postgraduate School

Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) has finalized the main assembly of the AI-capable PowerBuoy for Naval Postgraduate School, ahead of shipment planned for early 2025.The full system, which includes installing AT&T 5G technology and integrating advanced subsea sensors into a PowerBuoy equipped with OPT’s latest Merrows suite for AI capable seamless integration of Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) across platforms…

'Blue Economy' Target of Government Funding

The Department of Commerce and NOAA announced today that it is recommending awards totaling $54.3 million to four organizations to support small businesses and entrepreneurs as they bring to market solutions to benefit coastal resilience and a sustainable Blue Economy.“American small businesses and startups are essential for creating and launching new technologies,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

Teledyne RD Instruments Updates ADCPs

Teledyne RD Instruments, a developer of acoustic Doppler current profiling and navigation innovations, announced two updates to its Sentinel V ADCP. These enhancements include a complete update to the firmware and the user software interface program, ReadyV, and an update to the post-processing Velocity software package. These two releases provide for added flexibility in the setup of the instrument…