Shep Smith Appointed XOCEAN CTO

XOCEAN appointed Shepard "Shep" Smith as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in the latest expansion of its leadership team. Smith served 28 years as a commissioned officer with the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). At NOAA, Smith rose to the rank of Rear Admiral and was closely involved in advancing state-of-the-art hydrography and nautical cartography.His 10 years of working at sea included tours in Alaska…

Oceanside Harbor Dredging Begins

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District began its annual dredging of the Oceanside Harbor inlet starting April 19.Manson Construction Company of Seattle is dredging the channel to its authorized federal depth of 20 feet. Dredging is expected to be completed prior to Memorial Day weekend.About 250,000 cubic yards of beach-quality sand will be removed from the harbor’s entrance channel and placed along Oceanside’s beaches.

INVENTION: Pitching a Tent Underwater

Divers are one step closer to being able to camp underwater. A pair of innovators have developed an underwater habitat – a subsea ‘basecamp’ if you will – that  provides a portable deep-sea space for divers, a habitat and dedicated life support system that provides creates a breathable environment. Developed by NYU Meyers professor Winslow Burleson and diving pioneer and explorer Michael Lombardi,…

Sonar Assists Deepest Solo Sub Dive

In December 2018, Victor Vescovo became the first person to reach the deepest part of the Atlantic, piloting his private submersible the Limiting Factor 8,376 meters below the ocean's surface to the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench -- the deepest solo human submersible dive ever.It goes without saying that state-of-the-art subsea technology was key to the mission's success. The submersible, a Triton 36000/2…

MTR100 Spotlight: Armach Robotics

The MTR100 is a look at the 100 leading companies, technologies and people in the global subsea sector. In the September/October edition, Marine Technology Reporter published the 17th Annual MTR100. Today's spotlight is on Armach Robotics, launched by Greensea Systems Inc.Armach Robotics (Armach) is setting out to revolutionize proactive in-water cleaning of ship hulls by using of small, autonomous robots.

Scana's Subseatec Wins 'Sizeable' Riser Joints Order

Scana's Subseatec has won a contract with an international energy company for the delivery of riser joints. The joints are intended for an offshore field development. Scana said the deal was a sizeable contract for the company, meaning it is worth between NOK 10 million and NOK 50 million.Subseatec’s scope is a delivery of ready-to-use riser joints in low alloyed steel, including engineering, manufacturing, procurement, and documentation.

General Dynamics to Christen U.S. Navy Submarine

General Dynamics Electric Boat, a wholly owned subsidiary of General Dynamics, will christen North Dakota (SSN-784), the U.S. Navy’s newest and most advanced nuclear-attack submarine, at its shipyard here on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 11 a.m. Katie Fowler, wife of retired Vice Adm. Jeff Fowler, is the ship’s sponsor. The event’s principal speaker is Vice Adm. Michael J. Connor, commander – Submarine Forces. The submarine North Dakota is the 11th ship of the Virginia class, the first U.S.

Keppel FELS Wins US$265-million Ensco Jack-up Contract

Scheduled for delivery in 2Q 2016, this will be the fourth ENSCO 120 Series jackup rig that Ensco has ordered from Keppel FELS since 2011. As part of the contract, Ensco has an option to order another similar rig. The ENSCO 120 Series rigs are based on the KFELS Super A Class, which is an enhancement of the proven KFELS MOD V-A Class jackup and features its proprietary and superior jacking and fixation system that has a perfect track record operating in a variety of environments.

Subsea Energy Production Beats Topside Method Says ABB

ABB recently entered a partnership with international energy company Statoil to develop power solutions for subsea oil and gas production. A key challenge they identify is to develop reliable long-distance power transmission technology and to build components that can function for several decades at depths of up to 3,000 meters. The subsea industry has gained worldwide importance as oil companies strive…

Registration Open for Oceanology International

Registration for the largest-ever Oceanology International (ExCeL London, March 11-13, 2014) is now open at oceanologyinternational.com. With 520 exhibitors from 35 countries taking up over 8,000 m2 net of space, the biennial global forum is where industry, academia and government come together to share knowledge and connect with their peers in the marine technology and ocean science community, thus improving their strategies for measuring…

Sonardyne Ranger 2 Chosen for Russian Salvage Vessels

Sonardyne International Ltd.’s Ranger 2 acoustic positioning technology has been selected by marine navigation systems group, Transas, for use on two new build ice-class multipurpose salvage vessels (MPSVs, the project is developed by Marine Engineering Bureau) commissioned by the Russian Ministry of Transport. The vessels are currently under construction at Nordic Yards in Germany and will each be fitted with dual Ranger 2 Pro systems…

JDR to Supply Equipment for West African Field

JDR, a provider of technology connecting the global offshore energy industry, has won a contract with FMC Technologies in Kongsberg to design and supply umbilicals and reelers for Intervention Workover Control System (IWOCS) for a West African field development. The project calls upon JDR’s experience across the spectrum of IWOCS componentry, from hydraulics to fiber optics, with 20km of specially designed JDR IWOCs umbilicals which will be deployed across nine JDR-designed reelers.

Ocean Power Technologies Launches Hybrid PowerBuoy

Ocean Power Technologies, an ocean energy technology developer, has expanded its offering with the latest product called the hybrid PowerBuoy.The hybrid PowerBuoy is a buoy that offers remote power for subsea and topside applications, data communications, and a nominal 1.5-megawatt-hours of energy storage. While OPT is known for its moored floating buoys - such as OPT PB3 PowerBuoy - that harvest and store wave energy…

US Navy Awards Unmanned Surface Vehicle Prototype Contract

The U.S. Navy on Monday awarded a $34,999,948 to L3 Technologies, Inc. for the development of a single medium unmanned surface vehicle (MUSV) prototype, with options to procure up to eight additional MUSVs. The award follows a full and open competitive procurement process.Funding is in place on this contract for the initial prototype. With all options exercised, the contract is valued at $294,508,976…

SubCom Supplies Undersea Communications for OSI

TE SubCom, a TE Connectivity Ltd. company was contracted by Ocean Specialists, Inc. (OSI) as the supplier of the Poseidon project, a high-capacity undersea cable system that will enable advanced communications for the oil and gas industry in the Eastern Mediterranean region. Designed to deliver communication to an active region for oil and gas production, Poseidon will be owned and operated by Radius Oceanic Communications, Inc. (Radius), a wholly owned subsidiary of OSI.

Six Mile Deep GoM Oil Strike

Chevron Corporation has announced an oil discovery at the Coronado prospect in the deepwater U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The Walker Ridge Block 98 Well No. 1 encountered more than 400 feet (122 m) of net pay. The well is located approximately 190 miles (308 km) off the Louisiana coast in 6,127 feet (1,868 m) of water and was drilled to a depth of 31,866 feet (9,713 m). The well results are still being evaluated, and additional work is needed to determine the extent of the resource.

General Dynamics Introduce Airborne Acoustic Processing System

General Dynamics Canada says more powerful, reliable and accurate detection of underwater threats is now possible with the introduction of its newest airborne acoustic processing systems. Venom, the UYS-505 system, is the latest addition to General Dynamics’ family of acoustic processing offerings. It leverages commercial-level advances in hardware and the latest innovations in signal processing technologies to maximize the detection of submerged threats in deep and coastal waters.

Deepwater Heavy Lift Crane Orders for Cargotec

Cargotec's MacGregor contracted by Hornbeck Offshore Services Inc. to deliver 4 AHC cranes for 4 multi-purpose supply vessels (MPSV). The cranes will be delivered between fourth quarter 2014 and third quarter 2015, and the value of the order is EUR 37-million for the four 250-tonne active heave-compensated (AHC) subsea cranes. "MPSV's are specialized vessels that are principally used to support complex deepwater subsea construction…

EvoLogics Showcase Latest Developments

EvoLogics extended its ranges of underwater acoustic modems (S2CR series) and combined positioning and communication devices (S2CR USBL series), with new products - the S2CR 42/65 and S2CR 42/65 USBL, high-speed devices with hemispherical beam patterns for transmissions in vertical, slant and horizontal channels. Both devices rely on the EvoLogics patented S2C (Sweep-Spread Carrier) broadband communication technology.

CARIS to Host 15th International User Group Conference in France

CARIS is pleased to announce its 15th International User Group Conference, CARIS 2014, will be held in Brest, France from June 2 – 5, 2014. The four-day user group conference will be the world’s largest gathering of CARIS users, providing an invaluable opportunity for new and existing users to congregate. The theme of the conference will focus on Developing the Blue Economy. The blue economy refers…