3D at Depth Completes 300 Offshore LiDAR Metrologies

Advanced subsea LiDAR (SL) systems and survey support services provider 3D at Depth Inc. said it has completed its 300th subsea LiDAR spool metrology. The subsea LiDAR measurement, conducted offshore within the Mediterranean Sea, covered eight long spool metrologies with lengths greater than 90m and was completed in 24 hours. The project delivered considerable savings overall for the EPIC installation contractor and provided valuable 3D data for the end user, a oil and gas major.

Technip, 3D at Depth to Promote LiDAR Technology

3D at Depth, a global technology provider of advanced subsea LiDAR systems and solutions, and Technip USA, Inc., an affiliate of Technip SA of France, announced today that they have signed a joint development agreement (JDA) to expand and commercialize the LiDAR technology for subsea metrology, field survey and IRM applications. Commonly referred to as laser scanning, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) is a technology for collecting precise 3D models of subsea structures and seabed topography.

Tech File: Imagenex 881AL-GS Gyro-stabilized Scanning Sonar

The Imagenex model 881A-GS, 881L-GS (881A/L-GS) and 882-GS are gyro stabilized, high resolution scanning sonars. Manufactured in Canada, the 881A/L-GS is available in models built to withstand depths up to 10,000 meters and can scan and display targets from 0.2 to 200 meters away. Available with either an RS-485, RS-232 or Ethernet interface gives the user a wide range of options for integration into an existing underwater platform.

Keppel to Build Jackup for China Waters

Keppel FELS Limited (Keppel FELS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine (Keppel O&M) has secured a contract from TS Offshore Limited (TS Offshore), to construct an ultra-high specification jackup rig worth approximately $500 million. Scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2017, the jackup will be the first built to Keppel's new proprietary KFELS N Plus design. With its leg measuring 678 feet or about 68 stories tall…

VideoRay Offers ROV Maintenance Course

VideoRay LLC will hold its Pro 4 Advanced Maintenance Course April 8-9, 2014, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. at the company’s new headquarters in Pottstown, Pennsylvania. The course is designed for technician level personnel to be able to diagnose, disassemble, repair and reassemble VideoRay Pro 4 ROVs. The course will also include control panel maintenance and VideoRay cockpit software instruction and troubleshooting from our staff of technicians.

UKHO Creates High Density ENC of the Bristol Channel

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has disclosed details of a new Electronic Navigational Chart (ENC) which could help to improve situational awareness and safety. Developed to cover an area of the Bristol Channel known as ‘The Bridge’, this ‘high density’ ENC displays depth contours at one-meter intervals, allowing ECDIS to set safety contours at corresponding levels to support navigation through shallow water.

Interview: Oil Spill Repsonse Insights from MSRC's Benze: Steven T. Benz, President and CEO, Marine Spill Response Corporation (MSRC)

As President and CEO of MSRC, Steve Benz presides over the largest oil spill response company in the United States (and worldwide). In that position since January 1996, he has during that tenure, overseen several critical phases in the Company’s evolution. These include a major restructuring in the late 1990s to make it more competitive; growth throughout the 2000-2009 period, including acquisition of several companies…

Italian Surveyors Benefit from Proactive Eiva Training

RMS Submarine, a resource solutions company, have recently supported and sponsored two weeks of back to back Eiva Navisuite training in Naples, Italy. The two six-day courses were run during February 2014 for the benefit of 20 experienced Italian freelance surveyors (10 per course) who until now, had not had the opportunity to be exposed to the software suite. A mix of survey party chiefs, senior and junior surveyors, data processors, as well as GIS & CAD operatives attended the courses.

Seatools to Supply Monitoring System for The Ocean Cleanup

Subsea technology company Seatools said it has won a contract to develop and deliver a remote offshore monitoring system that will be used to gain real-time insight into the performance of the first-ever ocean cleanup system. The contract was awarded by The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch nonprofit developing advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans from floating plastic. The group will deploy the system during trials starting later this year on the U.S. West Coast.

Ultra-Deepwater Pipe Order Challenge for French Firm

France-based manufacturer of tubular pipes & fittings, Vallourec, informs it has been awarded a $100 million contract for the supply of premium pipes with VAM® 21 connections for the offshore ML-South Project, operated by Total’s affiliate Total E&P Borneo in Brunei. The development wells will be producing at depth greater than 5,000m, in a highly corrosive environment and sustaining High Pressure/ High Temperature (HP/HT).

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…

D-Day Mapping Mission

It’s been almost 70 years since the invasion of Normandy, France when 156,000 Allied troops landed and began their march across Europe to defeat Hitler. And, while these soldiers’ collective destinies could not have been known at the time, their will to fight was unmistakable. General Dwight D. Eisenhower called the D-Day operation a crusade in which “we will accept nothing less than full victory.” The allied troops heard this charge and proved their resolve.

Fugro Upgrades Electric ROV Simulators

Fugro announced it is launching an important upgrade to its Electric ROV pilot training simulators. Most observation-class ROVs and many light work-class ROVs are electrical-based systems. With the introduction of a new electric ROV control pod and suite of electric ROV specific components, Fugro’s DeepWorks simulation software now models all electric sub-systems with greater accuracy and enables failure cases to be simulated on individual sensors and circuits.

NYK Jointly Develops Innovative Anti-rust Agent

NYK and Agua Japan Co. Ltd. have jointly developed an innovative anti-rust agent to prevent iron and steel rust on vessels. The new agent, Marine Guard 100 (MG 100), has rust conversion properties, and paint containing the agent can be applied to metal surfaces. The anti-rust efficacy of MG 100 was verified during two and half years of testing on the deck, ballast tank,* piping, and other metal surfaces of an oceangoing coal carrier.

New Broco Underwater Cutting Rod

Broco Underwater offers the new advanced design Broco Ultrathermic Cutting Rod PLUS. Based on a new patent-pending design, Broco said its new underwater cutting rod delivers 20% more cutting and burn time than the same size prior generation rod. According to the manufacturer, the new Broco Ultrathermic Cutting Rod PLUS increases burn time 20%, on average, for a 3/8” diameter by 18” long rod. Broco…

Facebook, Google among Builders of New Transpacific Cable

Undersea communications technology company TE SubCom has partnered up with Facebook, Google and Pacific Light Data Communication Co. Ltd. (PLDC) to co-build a 12,800 km transpacific submarine cable system that will provide the first direct undersea route between Hong Kong and Los Angeles with ultra-high capacity transmission. Scheduled for commercial launch in summer of 2018, the Pacific Light Cable…

China To Invest in More Submarines

China's military has at least three operational Type-094 nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, with each being capable of carrying 12 JL-2 missiles that have a range of 8,000 kilometers, says  an article published last week by the Russian Military Observer. By 2020, the Chinese military is projected to field at least four Type-094s and two next-generation Type-096 submarines, carrying around 80 sea-based intercontinental ballistic missiles and 250 to 300 nuclear-armed missiles…

Shallow Water Monitoring Sensors Track GOM Nitrate Pulse

A new U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) report describes how advanced optical sensor technology is being used in the Mississippi River basin to accurately track the nitrate pulse to the Gulf of Mexico. Excessive springtime nitrate runoff from agricultural land and other sources in the Mississippi drainage flows into the Mississippi River and downstream to the Gulf of Mexico. This excess nitrate contributes to the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic zone…

2H Offshore Joins TCP Design Guideline Initiative

2H Offshore has joined an oil and gas industry initiative to develop a new design guideline for thermoplastic composite pipes (TCP) to advance the understanding and use of composite materials in the offshore industry, the company announced. The DNV GL-led Joint Industry Project (JIP) began in October and will take a year to complete. 2H teams in London and Houston are actively involved in the JIP which will build on existing knowledge and guidelines to achieve an industry accepted standard.

MMT Installs Kongsberg Multibeam System

MMT Group announced its new ownership of a Kongsberg EM2040D. A 0.4 x 0.7 degree dual head multibeam system has recently been installed on MMT’s long term charted multipurpose support vessel Stril Explorer. This is a highly developed multibeam echo sounder that combines all of the advanced features of deepwater echo sounders to the shallower water or ROV/AUV environment. Such features include dual swath per ping to maintain a high survey speed at maintained resolution…