Ocean Infinity Orders Six 85m Robotic Offshore Vessels from VARD

U.S.-based seabed survey and ocean exploration firm Ocean Infinity has hired VARD to design and build a new series of six multi-purpose offshore vessels that will all be operated from shore and will eventually run on green ammonia.This order of six, 85-metre, optionally crewed robotic vessels will take Ocean Infinity’s remote vessel fleet to 23 vessels, which the company says is the largest in the world.

Interview: Tim Leach, Glosten, Discusses Efficient Refit by Design

From 3D laser scanning to Computational Fluid Dynamics, an efficient and successful major mid-life refit such as the one completed on the RV Roger Revelle requires intricate advance design planning, an updated technical toolbelt, as well as the personal touch. Tim Leach, Principal, Naval Architect (Glosten), walks us through the process.Tim Leach, Principal, Naval Architect, Glosten. Image courtesy…

Baker Hughes Wins Subsea Contract from Eni in Ivory Coast

Energy technology company Baker Hughes announced it has been awarded a contract by Eni and its partner Petroci for the Baleine Phase 2 project in Ivory Coast, Africa’s first Scope 1 and 2 net-zero emissions development.This award, which includes eight deep water trees, three Aptara manifolds, the relevant subsea production control system, and flexible risers and jumpers, strengthens Baker Hughes’ presence…

HII Successfully Demonstrates Launch and Recovery of REMUS AUV

HII, a leading manufacturer of autonomous underwater unmanned vehicles, announced the successful shipboard deployment and recovery of a REMUS autonomous underwater vehicle (UUV) using the company’s automated launch and recovery system, Sea Launcher.The demonstration represents a milestone in advancing operationally proven manned-unmanned teaming for maritime missions and highlights HII’s ability to integrate mature automation and autonomy into ship-ready systems…

IMO Calls for Action After UN Ocean Conference

The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez has applauded the important commitments made at the United Nations Ocean Conference (9-13 June) in Nice, France, while urging countries to deliver on these promises as soon as possible.Dominguez said: “Commitments are a necessary first step, but they are not the finish line. We must now move beyond the statements and turn those words into real, measurable action.

Offshore Crane Maker Huisman Launches Drone Inspection Service

Huisman, a Dutch company best known for its cranes for the offshore energy industry, has recently launched a drone inspection service for the inspection of cranes, drilling, and pipelay equipment.The company said the service is offered from Huisman's locations in the Netherlands, Singapore, China, the USA, and Brazil."Huisman has extended its service portfolio with drone inspections based on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and high-resolution camera technology to offer advanced levels of safety…

Spirit Energy Hires Shearwater for CCS Seismic Survey in UK

UK-based oil and gas firm Spirit Energy has awarded a contract to Shearwater Geoservices to conduct a seismic survey in the East Irish Sea, as part of the Morecambe Net Zero (MNZ) carbon capture and storage (CCS) project.The six-week operation is scheduled for the summer of 2024 and will be Shearwater’s fifth CCS survey in the last two years.It relates to Spirit Energy’s recent carbon storage license received from the UK’s North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) in May 2023…

Saab Receives Order for Life Extension of Swedish Mine Countermeasures Ships

Saab has signed an agreement with FMV on the life extension of two Koster-class mine countermeasures ships. The order value is SEK 350 million. The contract also includes options for FMV to order measures regarding the remaining three ships in the Koster-class. The total value of the options are SEK 270 million.The contract with FMV means that Saab will carry out life extensions of two Koster-class mine countermeasures ships.

HII USV Reaches 30% Completion, On Track for 2026 Sea Trials

HII executives toured Breaux Brothers Enterprises in Loreauville, Louisiana, and announced that construction of a prototype of ROMULUS, the company’s new unmanned surface vessel (USV) family, has reached 30% completion. The vessel remains on schedule for sea trials in the fourth quarter of 2026.During the visit, HII leaders toured the shipyard with build partners Breaux Brothers and Incat Crowther…

HII’s New Medium Class UUV sports Kraken SAS

Kraken Robotics said its AquaPix Miniature Synthetic Aperture Sonar (MINSAS) System has been selected as the standard payload offering on HII’s new REMUS 620 Medium Class UUV. HII selected the Kraken Aquapix MINSAS-60 and MINSAS-120 as the standard imagery sonar options due to the Kraken’s combination of performance and versatility to suit a wide range of customer needs at a commercially competitive price…

ROV Solution Demonstrated for US Navy at ANTX Coastal Trident

Voyis Imaging Inc., producers of underwater laser scanners and imaging systems for subsea surveys and inspections, announced a collaborative demonstration for the U.S. Navy at ANTX Coastal Trident. Working with VideoRay, a provider of underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROV), Sonardyne, producers of positioning systems, and EIVA, developers of software for maritime survey and engineering operations.This…

Vast Hydrogen-Rich Hydrothermal System Found in Western Pacific

A research team led by Prof. Sun Weidong from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) has uncovered a massive hydrogen-rich hydrothermal system beneath the western Pacific seafloor.Hydrogen-producing hydrothermal systems in the deep ocean are rare, yet vital for understanding both Earth's internal processes and the conditions that may have supported the origin of life.The system…

OWGP Launches Funding Call for UK's Offshore Wind Supply Chain Firms

The Offshore Wind Growth Partnership (OWGP), an organization that describes itself as the go-to enabler to develop the UK offshore wind supply chain, has released its latest Development Grant funding call, with £3.5 million (around $4,6 million) available for UK businesses looking to accelerate their growth in the offshore wind supply chain.OWGP said the grants can be used as capital or operational expenditure in projects that will unlock significant growth potential in UK content…

BAE Systems Secures $4,81B Funding for Next-Gen Nuclear Submarine Program

The UK Ministry of Defense has awarded £3.95 billion (currently ~$4,81 billion) of funding to BAE Systems for the next phase of the UK's next-generation nuclear-powered attack submarine program, known as SSN-AUKUS.According to BAE Systems, SSN-AUKUS will be the largest, most powerful, and most advanced attack submarine the Royal Navy has ever operated and will eventually replace the Astute class, which BAE Systems builds at its site in Barrow-in-Furness…

Tech File: Sonar Equipment Critical to Search and Recovery

According to the CDC, 3,960 fatal unintentional drownings, including boating-related drownings, occurred in 2020. To locate the missing persons and provide closure to families, it takes dive teams time to assemble, gather their equipment, and begin searching sometimes vast bodies of water. Searching via divers is not only a long process, but it adds a considerable level of risk to an already dangerous assignment.

NOC Expedition Marks 40 Years of Abyssal Science Project

A scientific expedition led by the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) will mark four decades of cutting-edge science at one of the world’s deep ocean scientific research sites this summer.Setting sail today (May 30), from Southampton, onboard the Royal Research Ship (RRS) James Cook, this intensive, 25-day expedition will focus on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory (PAP-SO), 800 km from Land’s End in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean.Started in 1985…

JRC Says Its Wave Analysis Tool Helps Prevent Container Spills

Thousands of containers have been lost by ships in heavy weather conditions over recent months, impacting the ocean environment and adding a large extra cost expense for shipping companies.Among many factors leading to the problem is heavy rolling and pitching of the ship that causes containers to lose their stability and fall overboard. Marine electronics company JRC said its navigational radar JMR…

Maju 510 Tug: Singapore's First Autonomous Vessel Project Complete

Singapore's Keppel Offshore & Marine said Thursday it had completed work on the Maju 510 tug, its first autonomous vessel project."Capable of autonomous vessel navigation as well as collision detection and avoidance (CDCA), the Maju 510 tug, owned and operated by Keppel Smit Towage, is the first vessel in the world to receive the Autonomous Notation from ABS classification society," Keppel O&M said.According to Keppel O&M…

McDermott Acquires DeepSea

McDermott International, Inc. announced that certain of its subsidiaries have entered into an agreement in which McDermott has acquired all of the outstanding shares of the DeepSea operating companies. Terms of the purchase are not being disclosed. Headquartered in London, England, with engineering offices in Houston, Europe and Asia Pacific, DeepSea’s specialty services encompass subsea engineering and project management and extend from the wellhead to fixed…

Deep Ocean Exploration is the 21st Century ‘Space Race’

A new version of the Space Race is happening, with researchers aiming for the deep ocean.Human history has shown us to be a resourceful species, always using the tools available to us to explore, understand and utilize the bounty of resources around us to create a better life. We have come a long way from the stone tools of our ancestors; the tools of today take the form of technology, computers, artificial…