Remote Surveillance for Subsea Equipment Manufacturing

The oil price collapse of 2014 triggered a wave of cost reduction among upstream businesses that saw global oil and gas companies slash capital expenditures by about 40 percent between 2014 and 2016. For DNV GL, the message was clear: everyone in the supply chain must advance cost reduction strategies for the offshore industry to remain competitive. With innovation and cost savings in mind, DNV GL developed a solution for remote surveillance service for subsea equipment manufacturing.

Smith Named Director of NOAA Coast Survey

President Barack Obama has approved the promotion of Shepard Smith, from captain to rear admiral (lower half), a prerequisite for Smith to become director of NOAA's Office of Coast Survey, after his selection by Department of Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker. Smith's appointment to director will be effective on August 26, 2016. Smith will oversee NOAA's charts and hydrographic surveys, ushering in…

MTR 100: ASV

The Case In just four years ASV has established itself as a leading supplier of unmanned marine systems, pushing the boundaries of autonomous technology. With a team of 40 people, ASV have designed and built more than 50 Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) which operate globally in the commercial and military sectors. Committed to building advanced, innovative unmanned marine systems, ASV has a team of naval architects…

Iridium Delivers Smallest Voice & Data Module

Partners Integrate the Iridium Core 9523 Into Advanced Smart Devices To Provide Connectivity Everywhere On The Planet. Iridium Communications Inc. announces the commercial availability of the Iridium Core 9523 transceiver. The Iridium Core 9523 further emphasizes the company’s Iridium ForceSM vision of bringing vital building blocks to partners who develop innovative, portable communications devices.

GE to Equip Hornbeck Vessels with Dynamic Positioning

Imagine holding a 100-meter long, subsea construction vessel in position as it lowers with its 250-ton crane, heavy subsea modules to the seabed. According to GE, its Power Conversion company has the ability to take the guess work out of complex dynamic positioning (DP) operations with its advanced human-machine interface (HMI) and returns ship control to the mariner, so skilled DP operators can once again focus on the task of ship handling.

Rhue Joins Hydroid as Marketing Manager

Hydroid, a science and technology company in the field of advanced AUVs, announced Kaitlyn Rhue as the newest addition to its sales and marketing team, taking over the duties as Marketing Manager. Rhue will help to align the company for future growth and expand its presence in the Marine Robotics market. Part of her focus will be to increase customer communications and feedback to the business facilitating the expansion of products and services to Hydroid customers.

Fiber-rope Retrofit Extends Subsea Crane Capabilities

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has launched a fiber-rope retrofit option for its subsea cranes; the modular upgrade replaces the crane's original steel wire rope with synthetic fiber rope, using the same technology as MacGregor’s fiber-rope crane, the FiberTrac 1500, introduced earlier this year. These cranes combine MacGregor's offshore crane technology with the fiber-rope tensioning technology perfected by Parkburn Precision Handling Systems.

OceanScience Adds Autonomy

The Oceanscience Z-Boat 1800 remotely-operated hydrographic survey boat has completed final trials with an on-board autonomous waypoint navigation system, and is ready to survey. The latest GNSS controlled, IMU aided “robo” Z-Boat option is a result of a partnership between The Oceanscience Group (USA), MSubs (UK) and Swathe Services (UK) and adds autonomy to the substantial list of options for the 1.8 m (6 ft.) portable hydrographic survey system.

Japanese Shipbuilders Take Stake in Brazil's ECOVIX

Five Japanese companies – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), Imabari Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Namura Shipbuilding Co., Ltd., Oshima Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. and Mitsubishi Corporation – have agreed to acquire a stake in ECOVIX -Engevix Construções Oceânicas S.A. (ECOVIX), a leading Brazilian shipbuilder. A Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) between the Japanese consortium and the Brazilian partners has been signed by the parties.

Orca ESS Retrofit for Norwegian Research Vessel

Corvus Energy’s next generation Orca ESS has been selected by Halvorsen for the retrofit of the fisheries and environmental research vessel MS Johan Hjort. Halvorsen Power System AS has selected Corvus Energy as the supplier of the lithium ion based energy storage system (ESS) for a retrofit of marine research vessel, MS Johan Hjort. Corvus will supply its recently released, next generation Orca Energy solution to provide power to the vessel for peak shaving…

Saudi Aramco Wins Geophysicist Society Awards

The Society of Exploration Geophysicists (SEG) presented its 2013 Distinguished Achievement Award to Saudi Aramco’s EXPEC ARC Geophysics Technology at its recently Annual Meeting in Houston. It was in Houston that Saudi Aramco and its U.S. subsidiary Aramco Services Co. (ASC) teamed up to reinforce the company’s multidisciplinary approach toward advancing petroleum exploration. For decades, EXPEC ARC (EXPEC Advanced Research Center) researchers have been making contributions to geophysics…

Tiburon Subsea Upgrades ROV Otis

Tiburon Subsea Services Inc. selected GreenSea Systems Inc. to supply its new controlling and operating system for science class ROV Otis. GreenSea Systems develops automation and navigation for unmanned underwater vehicles. The new control, navigation and station-keeping upgrades being added to OTIS will make the vehicle one of the most versatile ROVs of its size available for rent, Tiburon Subsea said. The custom 600 meter ROV offers low power consumption, excellent optics and sensors.

IMarEST Becomes an Observer Organization at the IHO

The Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) has obtained observer status at the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). As an accredited Non Governmental International Organization (NGIO), IMarEST will gain access to all IHO events, from hydrographic conferences to working group meetings with observer status allowing IMarEST members to contribute to the Monaco-based organization’s global work and activities.

New DNV GL Marine Warranty Standards are a Digital First

The energy industry’s only Standard for the warranty approval of marine operations is published  by DNV GL. The Standard is the first to deploy a digital solution that provides users with information most relevant to a specific project. DNV GL Standard DNVGL-ST-N001 Marine operations and marine warranty, documents design and operational requirements for the temporary phases in the development of offshore assets, including transportation by water.

Navy Astronaut, Aquanaut, Scott Carpenter Laid to Rest

The funeral of the United States' fourth astronaut to fly in space, and the second to orbit the Earth, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Malcolm Scott Carpenter (retired), was held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder, Colo., with full military honors. Carpenter, 88, died Oct. 10 at the Denver Hospice following complications from a stroke. He was, a dynamic pioneer of modern exploration, and earned the unique distinction of being the first human to penetrate both inner and outer space…

TeamSurv Ocean Survey Project Boosted

TeamSurv, the crowd sourcing project to create better nautical charts, has won support and endorsement from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC). TeamSurv has won a call by ESA to enter their Business Incubation Centre (BIC) at Harwell, Oxford. This provides TeamSurv with finance, with business and technical support, and with office space for the next year to enable a plan for a sustainable future…

Ocean Infinity Selects Kraken's AquaPix

Kraken Sonar Inc., a marine technology company dedicated to the production and sale of software-centric sensors and underwater robotic systems, said its wholly-owned subsidiary Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. has been awarded a contract valued at approximately C$3,000,000 (US$2.5 million) by Ocean Infinity. Kraken will supply and integrate its AquaPix (Miniature Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar and…

Cyclops: A Revolutionary Hull Design

OceanGate Inc. announced the completion of the initial carbon fiber hull design and feasibility study for its next generation manned submersible – Cyclops. Under a contract issued to Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T), OceanGate, the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington (APL-UW) and Boeing have validated the basic hull design for a submersible vehicle able to reach depths of 3,000m.

Thales Invests to Advance Autonomy

Thales is announcing a major commitment to develop future autonomous and unmanned technology across air and sea by investing in two new UK-based trials and training centers. Following Thales’s successful trials during the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise in 2016, Thales is now investing in two trials and training centres based in West Wales and in South-West England to test and develop autonomous systems for both military and civil activities.

FarSounder Overlays S-57 & S-63 Charts

FarSounder’s SonaSoft software’s latest release has been upgraded to be compatible with S-57 and S-63 Charts. Anyone using these chart formats is now able to overlay realtime data on their charts using FarSounder’s software and reap the many benefits of its innovative Forward Looking Sonar (FLS). “The operators of those ships preferring to use S-57 and S-63 charts are important to us. Our team has worked diligently, with the user in mind, to make this option a reality for them,” said Cheryl M.