GE Spotlights Hi-tech Portfolio at OTC 2013

GE continues to expand its technology portfolio to address the challenges of offshore drilling & production and the rigors of deepwater drilling. Several GE business units showcased their latest products and services for the offshore sector in at the 2013 Offshore Technology Conference (OTC), which was expected to draw nearly 90,000 attendees. “With one of the industry’s most comprehensive portfolios of advanced technology solutions and services…

Guidance for NSF on National Ocean Research Priorities

Within the past decade, new science and technologies have led to breakthroughs and discoveries that have fundamentally altered our basic understanding of the oceans and their relationship to human populations. The value of the ocean to society has been highlighted by multiple commissions (the Pew Oceans Commission; the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy) and a science-based National Ocean Policy has been developed.

Ocean Science and Exploration Focus on Capitol Hill

Explorer and director James Cameron will be on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, June 11, with Dr. Susan Avery, president and director of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for a series of public events and a Senate hearing. Central to their visit is the display of the Deepsea Challenger, the only human-occupied vehicle currently able to access the deepest parts the ocean. Cameron developed the vehicle over seven years and used it in March 2012 to dive to the deepest spot in the ocean…

Tideland Solar Buoys Mark Wrecks in Norwegian Arctic

Two SB-138P polyethylene buoys with solar-powered ML-140 LED lanterns from Tideland Signal are being used to mark wrecks in the approaches to the port of Narvik in the far north of Norway. The new SB-138P buoys are replacing old battery-operated steel buoys from the 1980s that required extensive maintenance and costly battery changes. They are wreck-markers for the British 8770 ton iron- ore carrier Romanby and the Swedish 8…

HoOK R&D Project Examines Offshore Crane Ops

With funding from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology and supported by “Projektträger Jülich” (PTJ) [project sponsors Jülich], over the next three years Hamburg University of Technology, Mareval AG Hamburg and the maritime engineering company HeavyLift@Sea will conduct research into the improvement of tools for the simulation of offshore crane operations. The project is named HoOK - Hochseeoperationen mit Kranen [Offshore Operations with Cranes].

Acoustic Pingers for Submarines and AUVs

U-Boat Worx reported that personal submarine and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) sales are on the rise. Not long ago personal submarines were high tech toys available only to the super wealthy and AUVs were expensive pieces of equipment used primarily by the military and oil industry. Thanks to advances in technology that reduced their cost, both are now in widespread use by individuals, businesses and universities.

Subsea 7 Vessel Installs iXBlue DP-PHINS

iXBlue DP-PHINS Inertial Navigation System has been proven in operation offshore West Africa for Subsea 7. The system delivers a robust and secure position reference in the case of corrupted positioning from satellite systems due to ionospheric Interference. The 4 500 t DP2 Construction Support / Flex Lay vessel Simar Esperança has successfully completed FMEA (Failure Mode Effect Analysis) trials using the state of the art DP-PHINS inertial navigation system.

Pharos Acquires 1200HP Subsea Cable Trencher

Pharos Offshore Group has acquired an SMD built 1200HP cable burial tool. The Universal Trenching Vehicle (UTV 1200) is a unique low and wide Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) specifically designed to bury submarine power cables. Modifications to the 1200HP UTV 1200 are underway. The enhancements will facilitate more effective post lay/installation burial and improve the handling and stability of the vehicle.

Keppel Wins Add-on Mexican Jack-up Order

Keppel FELS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract to build a jackup rig worth US$206 million from repeat customer Grupo R, a Mexican drilling company. Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2015, the jackup rig will be built to Keppel's proprietary KFELS B Class design. It will be added to the fleet of another four similar rigs that Keppel FELS is building for Grupo R.

New Hire at Rockland Scientific

Rockland Scientific Inc. (RSI) continues its growth with the hire of Emma Murowinski as Oceanographer. This position was created in response to increased research and development activity in RSI product line and applications as well as an overall demand for marine turbulence instrumentation and training in new geographic markets. RSI welcomes Emma as she completes a recent Masters of Science Degree in Physical Oceanography from the School of Earth and Ocean Sciences at University of Victoria…

MTR100: Engineered Syntactic Systems

Engineered Syntactic Systems (ESS) is exclusively focused on the formulation, engineering and manufacturing of superior quality syntactic foam, a class of material created using pre-formed hollow spheres (commonly made of glass, ceramic, polymer or even metal) bound together with a polymer. Thanks to its unique properties of high strength at low density, syntactic foam is widely used in subsea buoyancy applications.

MTR100: Global Maritime Mooring Group

With the complexity and remoteness of offshore developments and the need to manage costs yet adhere to safety and asset integrity, Global Maritime is meeting customer challenges through a total mooring solution. Global Maritime Vryhof is a developer and provider of offshore anchoring technology. Global Maritime Vryhof’s expertise is complimented by that of its sister companies, Global Maritime Mooring Group s.a. Deep Sea Mooring and Moorlink.

MTR100: Nortek AS

Nortek designs, develops and manufactures scientific oceanographic instruments that are used to measure the movement of water in its different forms. For 20 years, the company has produced acoustic Doppler instrumentation, employing innovative processes in its product development and production. Its Doppler Velocity Logs (DVL), used for subsea navigation, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP)…

Let There Be Laser Light

Earth’s warming climate is poised to cause changes on our planet. In the Arctic, permafrost has begun to thaw, releasing methane, a heat-trapping greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. On the seafloor, warmer ocean temperatures threaten to release methane gas by thawing solid deposits of methane hydrates found in cold depths. Such changes are potentially momentous, but how can we detect evidence that they are happening?

Diving Deep for Conservation

The California coast is lined with 27 offshore oil and gas rigs that can be seen jutting out across the horizon—a reminder of humans’ dependence on fossil fuels. Below the surface, however, these platforms are home to some of the most dynamic ecosystems in the world, harboring everything from mussels and scallops to garibaldi and rockfish. As many of these enormous rigs are approaching the end of their viable production lives…

OFG Expands AUV Capability

OFG has invested in a 3000m-rated Hugin Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), Chercheur, equipped with a sensor and software suite for efficient inspection of pipelines and infrastructure, pipeline route studies, site geohazard surveys, environmental monitoring surveys, and other seafloor-based applications such as UXO, archeology, salvage, and minerals exploration. Chercheur is equipped with high resolution interferometric synthetic aperture sonar (HiSAS)…

Unmanned Warrior: The Science behind the Systems

It is an exciting time to be a science advisor in the Navy. I am fortunate to be assigned by the Office of Naval Research to Adm. Phillip Davidson, commander of U.S. Fleet Forces, and work to identify and provide technical solutions to capability gaps currently facing our operational naval forces. Office of Naval Research-Global sponsors 25 science advisors at naval commands around the world. Our job takes us to the front lines to understand challenges facing our Navy and Marine Corps…

Engineering Representative Appointed for Lake Erie Wind Project

The Lake Erie Energy Development Corporation (LEEDCo) in Cleveland, Ohio has appointed international engineering and operations support services contractor Offshore Design Engineering Limited (ODE), part of the DORIS Group located in the U.K., as the engineering representative for Icebreaker Wind, a 20.7 megawatt offshore wind project in Lake Erie, and the first freshwater offshore wind project in North America.

Lloyd’s Register, TCOMS Partner on Technology Development

Lloyd’s Register (LR), an engineering, technical and business services organization, and the new Technology Center for Offshore and Marine, Singapore (TCOMS) have agreed to jointly develop technology, infrastructure and skills necessary for future marine and offshore systems, digital and data innovation, and robotic autonomous systems in a marine environment. TCOMS will allow industry partners, technology partners…

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.