Long Range UUV to Feature Fuel Cell Power

Cellula Robotics Ltd. announced it will develop and build a long-range unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) incorporating a fuel cell power pack and suction anchor. The UUV, known as Solus-LR, will have a target range of 2,000 km and is designed to stay submerged for multi-month missions.Cellula said it is moving forward with the project after having received approval to proceed with phase 3 of a contract by Public Services and Procurement Canada…

STR Upgrades to Sonardyne's Fusion 2

Subsea Technology and Rentals (STR), a multi-disciplinary technology expert specializing in the design, production, rental and sale of innovative marine survey equipment, has become the first company to invest in Sonardyne International Ltd.’s new Long BaseLine (LBL) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) software, Fusion 2. The announcement was made following Sonardyne’s launch event at OSEA 2018 in Singapore.STR will upgrade its existing 6G hardware to Sonardyne’s new 6 ‘plus’ variants…

Ushering in the Age of the Autonomous Workboat

While the topic of unmanned vessels has sparked vigorous debate and grown vociferous skeptics in all four corners of the world, Michael Gordon Johnson and his team at Sea Machines are intent on bringing an Autonomous Workboat to full-scale real-world trials by the end of the year. Michael Gordon Johnson is and entrepreneur, founding two companies and serving in various roles – offshore, heavy lift…

MTR100: SBG Systems

No. SBG Systems is a supplier of MEMS-based inertial motion sensing solutions. The company provides a wide range of inertial systems from miniature to high accuracy. Combined with cutting-edge calibration techniques and advanced embedded algorithms, SBG Systems products are ideal solutions for Aerospace, Land, and especially Marine (surface and subsea) projects such as vessel motion monitoring, ROV and AUV control, Hydrography, and Buoy positioning.

DNV GL's P&A Guideline Could Save O&G $ 32 bln

The plugging and abandonment (P&A) of offshore wells represents a significant cost to operating companies and national authorities. On the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) alone, the cost is estimated to be USD108bn (NOK1870bn) over the next 40 years. Now a new DNV GL guideline will introduce a risk-based approach instead of the current prescriptive practice. DNV GL estimates that when combined with optimized project execution and new technology, the P&A cost can be reduced by 30-50%.

Research Vessel Refit at Alewijnse

Oceanographic research vessel Marion Dufresne II is celebrating her 20th anniversary in 2015 and has finished a major refit that will extend her life for a further 20 years. Leading electrical system integrator Alewijnse Marine Systems has successfully completed the electrical conversion. During a four month stay at Damen Shiprepair Dunkerque from April to July 2015, the French scientific research vessel Marion Dufresne II underwent a major refit that included extensive work on her hull…

Complex Steel and Cofferdam Repairs Carried Out Afloat

Hydrex has an in-house Research & Development department that can take care of the engineering aspects of an operation. In this way turnkey solutions can be offered for complex hull and other repairs that require the construction of specific equipment. All the projects are engineered and carried out in close cooperation with the customer and any third party suppliers. R&D evaluates the feasibility of an underwater repair…

NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel to Meet in Long Beach

NOAA’s Hydrographic Services Review Panel, which advises the NOAA administrator on products and services related to navigation, water levels and currents, and positioning, will meet April 8 to 10 in Long Beach, California, to receive updates on regional activities and resource needs. The panel will consider information presented at this meeting in making recommendations to the NOAA administrator for improving NOAA’s suite of navigation and positioning data, products and services.

MacArtney, EMS Formalize Partnership

MacArtney informs it has signed a representative agreement with its long standing business partner, EMS Sistemas de Monitorización Medio Ambiental in Barcelona, to promote and support MacArtney across all Spanish and Portuguese marine related markets. According to MacArtney, the moves comes as part of an ongoing push to provide global access with local support to its solutions in all key underwater technology markets.

New Survey Vessel to Fugro

Fugro America, built by Thoma-Sea Marine Construction in Louisiana, was delivered to Fugro in mid-March. The new vessel is designed to Fugro’s specifications, fitted with the latest geophysical survey equipment and houses some of the most advanced instrumentation in the field. Fugro Americas is optimized for working in the Gulf of Mexico, but is also suited for operations in other geographical areas…

2G Robotics Laser Scanner Now Interfaced with QINSy

2G Robotics announced that the ULS-500 underwater laser scanner is now compatible with the QPS hydrographic data acquisition, navigation and processing software, QINSy. The QINSy suite can be used for various types of surveys, ranging from simple single beam surveys up to complex offshore construction works. According to 2G Robotics, QINSy has a reputation for producing fully corrected and geo-referenced multibeam point clouds in real-time.

Portsmouth Pilots Use High Detailed Charts

Portsmouth Pilots are now using bathymetric ENCs in combination with official ENCs on their Portable Pilot Units. For many years Portable Pilot Units (PPUs) with SevenCs pilot information systems have been successfully used by a large number of pilot organizations. As a result of this collaboration, SevenCs has developed a brand new system, called ORCA Pilot G2. It includes the typical functions of a navigation system for touchscreen operation…

MakaiLay Suite Adds Features for Power Cable Installers

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…

SUPR-REMUS: The Next Generation of Plankton Sampling

A vast number of marine animals live a sedentary existence or with limited mobility as adults. For these individuals, it is the dispersal of larvae that determines the settlement of future populations and the structure of ecological communities. Plankton research is hindered by observational difficulties, as traditional sampling methods fail to identify fine-scale distributions while accounting for changes in environmental gradients.

Iran Caught Trying to Capture US Navy Sea Drone

The U.S. Navy said it thwarted an Iranian attempt to capture one if its unmanned surface vessels (USV) in the Arabian Gulf.While transiting international waters around 11 p.m. (local time), Aug. 29, U.S. 5th Fleet observed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy (IRGCN) support ship Shahid Baziar towing a Saildrone Explorer USV in an attempt to detain it. U.S. Navy patrol coastal ship USS Thunderbolt (PC 12) was operating nearby and immediately responded. U.S.

Saipem to Establish US Spool-base

Saipem announced on Monday it will establish a "highly specialized" spool-base on Greenwood Island, Pascagoula, Miss. designed to provide support for vessels performing pipelay activities for offshore oil and gas development projects in the Gulf of Mexico.The new spool-base will support the Saipem Constellation, the latest addition to the Saipem fleet, suitable for the installation of rigid and flexible pipes in ultra deep waters as well as for heavy lifts of up to 3…

Sonardyne Equips Latest Oceaneering Vehicles

Sonardyne announced Tuesday it has received an order from Oceaneering International to provide hybrid navigation systems for its subsea resident vehicles Freedom and E-ROV. The two resident vehicle systems are to be fitted with Sonardyne’s SPRINT-Nav an all-in-one navigational instrument. SPRINT-Nav combines a SPRINT INS sensor, Syrinx 600 kHz DVL (Doppler velocity log) and a high accuracy intelligent pressure sensor in a single unit…

Uncrewed Saildrone to Explore Remote Alaskan Waters

On August 11, 2022, the Saildrone Surveyor departed Dutch Harbor in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, embarking on a multipartner project to better understand the ocean and seafloor in one of the most remote and understudied parts of the United States. NOAA Ocean Exploration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are the primary sponsors of this work.The Aleutians Uncrewed Ocean Exploration expedition…

Balmoral's Large-scale Composite Manufacturing Plant in Montrose Port Now Operational

Aberdeen-based Balmoral Comtec has completed the installation of its manufacturing plant at its new advanced composites facility at Montrose Port.The company said it had invested a "seven-figure sum" in the 18,299 sq.ft (1700 sq.m) quayside facility where large scale composite components such as subsea and wellhead protection, wave energy structures, and manifold covers for the offshore energy sector…

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…