Fugro Acquires ROV Support Vessel

Fugro has taken delivery of the new ROV support vessel (RSV) Fugro Aquarius, the most advanced vessel of her type built in Brazil. The new DP-2 diesel-electric vessel is 83 metres is length with a deck area of 520 square metres and accommodation for 60 people. Permanently equipped with two Fugro-built 150HP work class ROVs, Fugro Aquarius is capable of operating in water depths of 3,000 metres. The stern A‐Frame…

Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE Announcements at OI2018

The participation of Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE in the world-leading Oceanology International 2018 marine science exhibition and conference in the ExCeL, London adds an extra incentive to visit an already pivotal event. Now in its 49th year, Oceanology International is renowned as an invaluable global maritime technology business networking hub, with 8,500 industry professionals from more than 79 countries anticipated to attend this year.

FarSounder 3D Sonar for NACOS Platinum

FarSounder, a developer of 3D forward looking sonar systems for navigation and obstacle avoidance, announced it has entered an integration partnership with Wärtsilä SAM Electronics. The partnership will see 3D sonar data from FarSounder’s navigation systems visualized and controlled directly from all NACOS MULTIPILOT workstations. The unique forward-looking capabilities of FarSounder's navigation products add a new dimension of situational awareness to the NACOS Platinum Series.

ATLAS MARIDAN to Offer AUV Rental Services

ATLAS MARIDAN ApS. of Rungsted Kyst (Denmark), a subsidiary of the German naval systems supplier ATLAS ELEKTRONIK, has launched an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) rental service. The opportunity to rent ATLAS ELEKTRONIK’s latest unmanned underwater technology shall support customers within the offshore oil and gas, renewable energy, UxO and naval markets. The AUV SeaCat has recently finalized its…

Klein Marine Offers Side Scan Sonar Training

Klein Marine Systems, a manufacturer of side scan sonars, will be hosting a three day side scan sonar training at the Seacoast Science Center in Rye Beach, N.H. Practical sessions on UNH Gulf Challenger, based in Newcastle, N.H. Participants will develop a thorough understanding of sonar image analysis as well as get hands-on experience with single beam sonars such as the dual-frequency Klein 4900 and the high-speed, Multi-Beam Klein 5000 V2 . Vincent Capone, M.Sc.

SMD Delivers Atom Mk1 ROV Systems to JFD

Subsea design and manufacturing specialist Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd (SMD) has delivered two 1,000-meter Atom Mk1 work class remotely operated vehicle (ROV) systems to JFD Ltd, an underwater capability provider serving the commercial and defense markets. The Atom systems, both equipped with ultra-compact launch and recovery systems (LARS) and SMD purpose-designed control and workshop cabins, provide a complete turnkey solution…

Loss of Diversity Near Melting Coastal Glaciers

Melting glaciers are causing a loss of species diversity among benthos in the coastal waters off the Antarctic Peninsula, impacting an entire seafloor ecosystem. This has been verified in the course of repeated research dives, the results of which were recently published by experts from Argentina, Germany and Great Britain and the Alfred Wegener Institute, Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) in a study in the journal Science Advances.

TGS Signs LOI for Seabird Exploration Seismic Vessel Charters

Norway-based TGS informs that it has signed a Letter of Intent with Seabird Exploration to charter up to four 2D seismic vessels to be used over the next 36 months. The Letter of Intent gives TGS priority rights to the vessels subject to the issuance of seismic acquisition permits for the offshore waters of Mexico. In December 2013, Mexico's Congress gave final approval to a historic energy reform…

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.

The Evolution of Ocean Models

During the 1970s, the first global ocean models emerged at research centers across the U.S. Back then, their construction was basic by modern standards, but like the models of today the researchers creating them aimed to simulate the world’s oceans by coding the mathematical equations of fluid motion on a sphere. Those efforts made use of the most sophisticated computing power available at the time, but realistic simulations of the ocean were years away. Today, things have moved along.

GoM Lease Sale to yield greater focus : NOIA

“The historic size of tomorrow’s Region-wide Gulf of Mexico lease sale, combined with improving market conditions and a shallow water incentive, may draw more interest from industry than we have seen in recent years. “Operators are global in nature and will bid where they believe they will get the most ‘bang for their buck’. The results of recent sales in the Mexican side of the Gulf of Mexico demonstrate…

Seatronics Orders New Saturn System from Teledyne TSS

Aberdeen-based global rental and marine technology supply company, Seatronics Ltd. placed an order with Teledyne TSS for 12 of the new Saturn 30 Subsea Attitude and Heading Reference Systems (AHRS) that were launched at Oceanology International in London. Seatronics has also taken options on a further 38-units, which takes the total projected purchase to 50 systems. Commenting on his company’s choice of the Saturn system…

Canadian Government Backs Kraken

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kraken Sonar Inc., will receive a nonrefundable financial contribution of up to $485,000 from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). In addition to technical and business advisory services provided by NRC-IRAP, the funding will be used to develop Autonomous Launch and Recovery Systems (A-LARS) for Unmanned Maritime Vehicles, the company said.

HYPACK Hosts 2015 Training Event

More than 250 attendees, 25 exhibitors and 6,000 remote viewers from around the world participated in the HYPACK 2015 Training Event in San Antonio, Texas. HYPACK also unveiled its new version of HYPACK 2015, which it says features new capabilities and improvements. HYPACK, Inc. offered general training sessions for those who were just beginning to use HYPACK, sessions for people who needed a refresher, and expert sessions for in-depth training on a particular subject.

Local History Mapping for FarSounder

FarSounder announced its newest feature: Local History Mapping (LHM). LHM offers users the ability to build a 3D map of the seafloor over which they have recently sailed. This map is updated with every ping and is displayed as an overlay on top of the system’s nautical chart display. This new overlay is displayed in conjunction with the real-time sonar overlay. When used together, one can quickly see what lies ahead and what they’ve recently passed over.

Fugro Awarded US Government Survey Work

Fugro said it has secured a five-year survey contract from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). Task orders under this indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) type contract will support the architect and engineering survey and mapping support services for the military, civil and federal agencies of the Corps team, Mobile District. Using a variety of airborne sensors and systems…

Sea Trials Prove SEEMP NAPA Software Does Save Fuel

In advance of International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) ship energy efficiency management plan (SEEMP) legislation becoming mandatory from January 2013, Finnish shipping company Bore has announced the results of its trial of electronic SEEMP software, which has verified a 5.8% reduction in fuel consumption. The company’s 89-day sea trial of the NAPA for Operations SEEMP software, conducted between April and July 2012 along routes between Cadiz and Naples and Cadiz and Pauillac…

Fugro Awarded a Three-Year Positioning Contract by PGS

Fugro has been awarded a three-year contract by PGS for the provision of precise satellite positioning systems for its entire seismic vessel fleet. PGS is a global provider of marine seismic and electromagnetic services, data acquisition, imaging, reservoir services and multi-client library data. Fugro, a provider of precise satellite positioning to the offshore oil and gas industry, will supply PGS vessels with a number of completely independent Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS).

AAE-1 Cable System Comes into Force

The AAE-1 Consortium, owners of the Asia-Africa-Europe-1 submarine cable spanning approximately 25,000 km connecting Asia, Middle East, Africa and Europe; and TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. company and an industry pioneer in undersea communications technology, today announced that the contract for the majority of segments of the AAE-1 system has come into force. AAE-1 will link Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe with low latency, high capacity transmission.

Propeller Repairs Increase as Winter Approaches

Hydrex Underwater Technology has registered an increase in the number of vessels experiencing propeller damage. Dave Bleyenberg, Hydrex Production Executive, explained: “While winter months usually result in an increase in propeller repairs, this normally occurs between January and March. In November, a Hydrex team was called out to Taranto, Italy, to inspect a 27,500dwt general cargo ship, whose engineers had reported excessive vibration from its five blade…