Higher Learning & SINTEF’s Existential Rise

Sure, basic (open-ended) research gave us penicillin — but thousands of applied (commercial, finite) research projects carried out for governments and industry yield facts and non-stop innovation. At SINTEF, Norway’s premier research body, the breadth and number of research undertakings are mostly targeted for industrial and national clients, but the results speak of wide-ranging societal impact.Over our decades of SINTEF coverage…

GTT Intros Several Advances in LNG Tech

French multinational naval engineering company Gaztransport & Technigaz (GTT) announced several advances in its technology development process.The American Bureau of Shipping classification society issued the "LNG Cargo Ready" rating to GTT for its latest VLEC (Very Large Ethane Carrier) model, a first in the ethane sector. The rating certifies that the ethane carriers can be used to transport liquefied…

VIDEO: Drone Inspects FPSO Tank. It Could Soon Do It On Its Own

Autonomous drones could soon be used for tank inspections on offshore installations, with data immediately analyzed by AI. This would boost safety and cut costs, as the need for scaffolding, and for technicians climbing on an into tanks for inspection would be eliminated.Drone company Scout Drone Inspection and DNV GL, the quality assurance firm company, that have been working together to develop an autonomous drone system to cut inspections costs…

OceanServer AUV Compatible with SeeByte Military Software

SeeByte and OceanServer Technology have announced the compatibility of the OceanServer Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) Iver2 with SeeByte’s SeeTrack Military software. OceanServer Technology has chosen to release their newly developed advanced plug-ins, created for the SeeTrack Military software so that current users of the Iver2 AUV systems may operate and benefit from SeeByte’s smart solutions and additional modules such as seafloor classification…

New Fund to Pioneer Marine Data Technologies

Up to £500,000 will be made available for businesses to develop innovative marine data technologies and applications, the European Regional Development Fund, Marine-i, announced.Marine-i is part funded by the EU and was set up to help foster innovation in the marine industry in Cornwall.Professor Lars Johanning of University of Exeter, lead partner within Marine-i, said, “As the maritime industry moves to make better and more productive use of its data…

A New Era of Antarctic Exploration: AUVs in Polar Science

Expeditions in the early 20th century were the first to combine exploration and scientific discovery in the Antarctic. While the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) was set up to co-ordinate international activities back in 1958, only in the last few decades have we realized the importance of the Antarctic for marine ecology, ocean circulation and climate change. Given its remoteness, the Antarctic is more accessible than ever.

Maersk, BP Agree to 5 Year Offshore Rig Training Contract

Maersk has signed a five year contract with BP to provide offshore oil rig training at the virtual reality training center the company is currently building in Houston, the companies announced today. Maersk Training will provide BP with advanced training programs for offshore drilling teams at the new center, located in north Houston, which Maersk says will be operational by the end of 2015. BP will train employees and contractors at the facility…

Aker Solutions, LR Partner on Subsea O&G Engineering

Lloyd’s Register (LR) and Aker Solutions collaborate under a new global framework agreement to drive efficiency in engineering and subsea oil and gas developments. With this new global framework agreement in place, Norwegian oil services company Aker Solutions can further improve efficiency and uphold their position as forerunner in advanced technologies for the offshore oil and gas industry, LR said in announcing the partnership today.

New Aids to Navigation in Barranquilla

Colombia’s National Maritime Authority, DIMAR, has renewed the maritime beaconing in Barranquilla, Colombia, as the authority works to continue the homogenization and improvement of the aids to navigation in the country in accordance with IALA requirements, and as part its primary goal of improving safety and security for mariners in Colombian waters. Almarin has supplied and installed 28 buoys for the Magdalena River and eight shore-based beacons.

New Underwater Inspection System for LA County Sheriffs

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department (LASD) has taken delivery of a new CodaOctopus Underwater Inspection System (UIS) to aid in real-time threat assessment, hazardous object identification and change detection.The UIS was sold and delivered by Coda Octopus Group, Inc. for a contract value of $665,000.“Members of LASD - Special Enforcement Bureau (SEB) were extremely pleased to take delivery of this state-of-the-art piece of equipment…

Finalists for 2017 Offshore Achievement Awards Announced

Finalists for the 2017 Offshore Achievement Awards, sponsored by TAQA, have been announced today {Friday 13 January}. Hosted by the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) Aberdeen Section, the annual awards recognise some of the industry’s most innovative technology developments as well as talented individuals and exceptional large and small company performance. This year’s shortlist comprises a wide cross-section of the offshore sector…

McDermott, BHGE Score Ichthys Contracts

McDermott International and Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE), announced on Tuesday that the companies have been awarded contracts to provide a joint subsea umbilicals, risers and flowlines (SURF) and subsea production systems (SPS) solution for the INPEX-operated Ichthys liquefied natural gas (LNG) field development, located off the northwest coast of Western Australia.The award, which follows the…

iXblue Equips Ifremer's New 6000m AUV

iXblue reports it has been chosen by Ifremer, the French National Institute for Ocean Science, to equip its new 6,000-meter-rated autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for the CORAL Project. The AUV will be equipped with synthetic aperture sonar (SAS), Sams-150, a Phins C7 Inertial Navigation System (INS), a sub-bottom profiler Echoes 5 000 and will use iXblue’s Delph Software suite for SAS and navigation…

NOAA Scientists Honored for Innovative Research

Eight NOAA scientists today were awarded the prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) for pioneering research on the Earth’s atmosphere, weather, our ocean, coasts, fisheries and marine ecosystems.They were among 314 federally-supported scientists who received a PECASE at a ceremony hosted by the White House Office of Science Policy and Technology at the Daughters of the American Revolution Constitution Hall in Washington…

New GNS Voyager Planning Station Ready

The maritime services group Global Navigation Solutions (GNS) has announced a further enhancement to its Voyager Planning Station (VPS), with the addition of tools to manage compliance with special environmental requirements under International Maritime Organization (IMO) MARPOL regulations.The specialist providers of maritime navigation information, solutions and support to the global shipping industry said in a press release that the upgrade comes as part of the release of Voyager 7.3.4…

Pick your Poison: NOAA Study Finds Less Air Pollution brings more Hurricanes

A new study from NOAA finds that reducing air pollution in North America & Europe brings more hurricanes; increased pollution in Asia reduces tropical cyclonesA NOAA study published in the journal Science Advances about four decades of tropical cyclones reveals the surprising result that reducing particulate air pollution in Europe and North America has contributed to an increase in the number of tropical…

Seismic Handling System Contracts for Kongsberg Evotec

Kongsberg Maritime’s wholly owned deck equipment specialist Kongsberg Evotec reports a strong start to the year with three separate new contracts for advanced Seismic Handling systems. Two contracts, for customers located in China, are for delivery of Seismic Handling systems for a six streamer vessel and a two streamer vessel. Both vessels are currently under construction in China and Kongsberg Evotec will start equipment deliveries from October 2016.

Asian Ports to Use Handheld XRF Analyzer

Port authorities in Asia are getting ready to enforce IMO 2020 with the help of Hitachi High-Tech Analytical Science’s X-MET8000 handheld XRF analyzer.The Hitachi High-Technologies Corporation informed that it has recently delivered X-MET8000’s to both the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) as they get ready to enforce the IMO’s (International…

Fred. Olsen 1848 Introduces Floating Solar Array

Fred. Olsen 1848 has introduced near and offshore floating technology it has named BOLETTE.The company says it has overcome the main challenge for floating solar, particularly in marine environments: how to handle wave loads in combination with wind.BOLETTE achieves this by allowing the PV modules to move freely and independently within a rope mesh, distributing the forces to the mooring system.BOLETTE enters the market at an advanced technological stage…

ECOsubsea Wins Contracts in North European Ports

ECOsubsea, the Norwegian cleantech firm with a unique hull cleaning technology has won contracts to clean in North European ports of Antwerp and Zeebrugge thanks to the technology’s ability to remove all hull fouling from the water.The technologically-advanced system has now been approved for use in the two North European ports following around 500 vessel cleanings in Southampton and Norway and its…