Methane: The Arctic's Buried Treasure

Trapped beneath permafrost and ocean sediments, the release of the world’s largest natural gas resource, methane, has become a hot topic for international research. As rising temperatures continue to warm the Arctic region, the vast frozen fields of gas, known as gas hydrates, grow unstable beneath the retreating ice. The Centre for Arctic Gas Hydrate, Environment, and Climate (CAGE) strives to address…

FarSounder Sponsor Superyacht Technical Workshop

FarSounder is a sponsor for Day 2 of the 2013 American Superyacht Forum in Las Vegas, hosted by The Superyacht Group. FarSounder, Inc. is a U.S. based high technology marine electronics manufacturer specializing in underwater acoustics, and the provision of realtime 3D sonar systems. The workshops and exhibits at the American Superyacht Forum will run throughout the day, providing an opportunity for…

Kraken Delivers Sonar System to Canada Defense Agency

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. announced today that it has successfully completed Sea Acceptance Testing of an AquaPix Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar (INSAS) system for Defense Research and Development Canada (DRDC). As a defense and security science and technology agency of Canada’s Department of National Defense (DND), DRDC provides DND, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) and other government departments…

SeaRobotics Delivers Autonomous Hull Cleaning System

SeaRobotics has delivered the first HullBUG (Hull Bio-inspired Underwater Grooming) System to the Center for Corrosion and Biofouling Control at Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne. This will be tested and further developed at the newly commissioned Large Scale Seawater Facility , which is located at Port Canaveral and funded by the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research (ONR). The HullBUG system…

STR Adds Two Sonardyne DVLs to Rental Pool

Subsea Technology and Rentals (STR), a provider of technology and services to the offshore marine sectors, has added two Sonardyne Syrinx Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs) to its expanding rental inventory. The order for two 4000-meter depth rated units was placed with Sonardyne International Ltd following demand from STR’s customers. The Sonardyne Syrinx differs from other DVLs through its use of fully linear signal processing, low noise electronics and adaptive bottom lock.

Seatronics Expands Inertial & Acoustic Product Range

Seatronics Ltd invests in iXBlue's inertial and acoustic products used for positioning in deepwater projects. Seatronics Ltd, an Acteon company, has expanded its equipment rental pool to include more iXBlue inertial and acoustic products in response to increasing market demand for inertial navigation technology to enhance positioning for deepwater projects in West Africa and Brazil. The order, which brought the company’s total 2012 expenditure with iXBlue to more than €3 million…

New Research to Examine Oil Spill Impacts

A research team led by University of South Florida College of Marine Science professor Dr. Steven Murawski has been awarded a $1 million grant to explore how oil spills, such as the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) in 2010, impact the economic, ecological and social system aspects of fishing communities. The Gulf Research Program (GRP) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine announced Thursday a total of $2.1 million in grants. Murawski’s team, which also includes Dr.

UK’s New Naval Survey Ship Passes Sea Trials

The U.K. Royal Navy’s new hydrographic survey vessel encountered a bout of rough weather during sea trials in the Irish Sea.Launched less than a month ago, HMS Magpie is the newest addition to the Navy's hydrographic squadron, replacing veteran survey launch Gleaner decommissioned earlier this year after 35 years’ under the White Ensign.The new 18-meter catamaran is being delivered by Atlas Elektronik UK through a subcontract with Cork shipbuilder Safehaven…

Drone Technology Aids Antarctic Ship Operations

A quadcopter drone has helped navigate the Aurora Australis through the sea ice on its annual resupply voyage to Casey station. Flown off the aft deck of the ship, the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) provided the crew with real-time imagery of the sea ice conditions ahead of the ship, optimising navigation decisions. Australian Antarctic Division Future Concepts Manager, Matt Filipowski, said the drone was a valuable addition to the current suite of sea ice navigation tools…

Kraken Awarded AquaPix Sonar Contract

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc., a  marine technology company, has announced  that it has been awarded a contract for an AquaPix Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar system by Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organization (DSTO). DSTO is the Australian government’s lead agency charged with applying science and technology to protect and defend Australia and its national interests. DSTO delivers expert…

General Dynamics: $17.6B Contract for Submarines

The U.S. Navy awarded General Dynamics Electric Boat a contract valued at $17.6 billion for the construction of 10 additional Virginia-class submarines. Electric Boat is a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD). The multi-year Block IV contract enables Electric Boat and its industry teammate, Newport News Shipbuilding, to proceed with the construction of two ships per year over a five-year period. Construction of the first Block IV submarine, SSN-792, will begin May 1.

EIVA's New Blended Learning Courses

EIVA NaviSuite software users can now join EIVA’s new blended learning courses. The agendas of the traditional classroom courses have been amended to include more advanced subjects, supplemented by basic training via dedicated eLearning modules. The result is more extensive training, which starts as soon as users sign up online. EIVA has redesigned their training setup to more easily match users’ needs and open hours. Also, this allows the software provider to offer more advanced training.

Studying Aliens of the Deep

Folding polyhedron sampler enables easy capture and release of delicate underwater organismsThe open ocean is the largest and least explored environment on Earth, estimated to hold up to a million species that have yet to be described. However, many of those organisms are soft-bodied—like jellyfish, squid, and octopuses—and are difficult to capture for study with existing underwater tools, which all too frequently damage or destroy them.

Russian PSV Icebreaker Named, Yards to Build More

President Vladimir Putin names icebreaking platform supply vessel 'Vitus Bering' & Russian shipbuilders sign newbuild contracts. Modern multipurpose vessels of the Vitus Bering series will conduct year-round deliveries of personnel, goods and expendable supplies to oil production platforms. In particular, it is planned to use this type of icebreaker to ensure the smooth operation of Sakhalin-1 oil platforms in the Arkutun-Dagi field in the Sea of Okhotsk.

Aker Solutions to Supply Umbilicals for Liuhua FPSO

Aker Solutions said it has been contracted to deliver power umbilical systems to China National Offshore Oil Corporation's (CNOOC) Liuhua oil fields in the South China Sea, off Hong Kong.The order, which is said to be worth more than NOK 350 million ($36.6 million), was booked in the third quarter of 2018. The work scope includes more than 35 kilometers of dynamic and static power umbilicals for the Liuhua 16-2…

Remote Monitoring System Delivered for The Ocean Cleanup

Subsea technology company Seatools said it has completed the development, manufacturing and testing of a remote offshore monitoring system on behalf of The Ocean Cleanup, a nonprofit organization dedicated to removing plastic from the world’s oceans.The monitoring system is currently integrated into the first-ever ocean cleanup system at The Ocean Cleanup’s assembly yard in Alameda, Calif.In the third quarter of 2018…

GC Rieber Delivers Polar Queen to Schmidt Ocean Institute

Norwegian offshore vessel owner GC Rieber Shipping has delivered the Polar Queen vessel to new owners Schmidt Ocean Institute. The company announced the sale of the IMR vessel in February."The vessel has today been delivered to the new owner," GC Rieber Shipping said in a brief statement on Tuesday, without disclosing the name of the buyer. U.S.-based Schmidt Ocean Institute has said it acquired the…

The Importance of FAIR Data in Earth Science

Data’s valuation as an enterprise asset is most acutely realized over time. When properly managed, the same dataset supports a plurality of use cases, becomes almost instantly available upon request, and is exchangeable between departments or organizations to systematically increase its yield with each deployment.These boons of leveraging data as an enterprise asset are the foundation of GO FAIR’s…

Kraken, ThayerMahan Demonstrate SeaScout for US Navy

Kraken Robotics Inc. wholly owned subsidiary, Kraken Robotic Systems Inc., in cooperation with ThayerMahan Inc., demonstrated its SeaScout Expeditionary Seabed Mapping and Intelligence System during the U.S. Navy’s Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) held last month in Newport, R.I. This was the first at-sea test and evaluation carried out since both companies signed a strategic alliance agreement in February 2018.U.S.

Ashtead Technology Upgrades Tech Center to Support Renewables and Decom Work. Launches Recruitment Drive

UK-based subsea technology and services provider Ashtead Technology said Tuesday it has invested £ 1million to develop a new R&D and engineering facility in Aberdeenshire to support renewables and decommissioning work. "Upgrading an existing site at Thainstone Business Park, the new 15,000 ft2 technology center located in Inverurie features an engineering, research, and development suite, a dedicated equipment trial and testing zone…