University of Limerick Buys ROV for Renewables Research

The University of Limerick (UL) will deploy a brand new remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to support its research into subsea inspection and intervention campaigns on renewable energy sector infrastructure.The new underwater vehicle, a Comanche 2,000 meter observation class ROV designed and manufactured in-house at Forum Energy Technologies’ Kirkbymoorside Yorkshire facility, was officially launched at the docks in Limerick City by Minister of State for Trade…

Subsea Robotics for Renewables

As the global fleet of offshore renewables fleet increases, ways to reduce the cost and increase the efficiency and safety of operations and maintenance work, using robotics and autonomous systems, will also grow. Elaine Maslin reports.Robotics and autonomous systems are moving into many areas of modern day life. It’s becoming harder to avoid them, from our phones to automotive systems and now offshore energy renewable projects.Both are seen as tools to do otherwise dull…

UMaine Developing Offshore Wind Turbines

Universtiy of Maine's Advanced Structures & Composites Center granted up to $4 million to fund offshore windmill project. Habib Dagher, the director of the Advanced Structures and Composites Center, is busy planning the first phase of a “potential $93.2 million deepwater offshore wind demonstration project by the U.S. Department of Energy. The DOE held a competition to screen proposals for clean energy that would jumpstart wind farms in the United States.

Fugro to Train Saudi Students in Marine Technology

Fugro’s new partnership with KAUST (King Abdullah University of Science and Technology) was marked recently with the inauguration of the KAUST - Fugro Center of Excellence for Marine Technology. The new center will provide training in ROV operations and hydrographic survey within the Kingdom as part of the Saudization program.KAUST’s facilities and location, on the shore of the Red Sea, are ideal for addressing the challenges associated with mapping the Red Sea…

Prysmian Orders New Cable Laying Vessel

Vard Holdings Limited reported having been selected by Prysmian Group for the design and construction of one cable laying vessel. The contract value, including owner supplied special equipment, amounts to approximately €170 million (approximately $205 million).The cable layer is designed by Vard Design in Ålesund, Norway. Vard and Prysmian are currently completing the vessel’s design and according to contract activation scheme the commencement of construction phase is foreseen by end 2018.

Odyssey's Recovery to be Featured on Discovery Channel

Odyssey Marine  Exploration, Inc. (Nasdaq:OMEX) will be featured on Discovery Channel's Silver Rush, a  series premiering on February 12 at 10 PM ET. Film crews for the Discovery Channel series were onboard Odyssey's ships during 2012 operations and captured the record-breaking recovery of 48 tons of silver bullion from the Gairsoppa site. JWM Productions, the company that produced Discovery Channel's Treasure Quest also featuring Odyssey…

Video: US Navy Tests Autonomous Swarmboats

The U.S. Navy is examining new possibilities for autonomy in future naval missions, putting autonomous unmanned vessels to the test in a recent demonstration in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Officials from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), together with partners from industry, academia and other government organizations, leveraged a combination of high-tech software, radar and other sensors to get a…

Harness the Energy: Deliver the Prosperity

A new year brings resolutions and renewed optimism for better times, and sometimes a wish for things to at least not get any worse. For the offshore energy industry, 2013 brings a combination of all. The economy is showing signs of life and exploration and production are making a comeback in the Gulf of Mexico. After much upheaval and turmoil, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)…

ABB Wins Order for World's Biggest Offshore Wind Farm

ABB has won orders worth more than $150 million from Danish energy company Ørsted to supply technology to transmit wind energy from the 1,400 megawatt (MW) Hornsea Project Two, slated to be the world's largest offshore wind farm.The orders were booked in the second quarter of 2018 and are the first tranche of a global five year frame agreement for the supply of electrical and automation equipment for offshore and onshore wind power connection and integration to the grid…

Subsea’s Future is Blowin’ in the Wind

Offshore wind is hot, with the potential to be a significant area of growth for the global maritime, subsea and energy markets for years to come. Eric Haun does a deep dive on eight companies leading the way.GE Renewable EnergyAs offshore wind projects across the globe look to incorporate the latest innovations in wind turbine technology to maximize efficiency and drive down costs, many manufacturers are producing larger turbines on advanced foundation designs for even greater water depths.

OceanGate Acquires Deep-Sea Submersible

Global Submersible Solutions Provider Acquires Additional Deep-Sea Submersible; Acquisition to Meet Growing Market Demands in Commercial and Research Sectors. OceanGate Inc., a global provider of deep-sea manned submersible solutions, announced today the acquisition of the three-person, diesel-electric submersible Lula from Portugal's Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation. The submarine, which can operate at a depth of 500 meters (1…

GE Oil & Gas Win Petrobas FPSO Contract

GE Technology will be used on 4 new Floating Production, Storage & Offloading Units (FPSOs) for the Santos Basin (São Paulo State), in the Pre-Salt Fields. GE Oil & Gas wins the contract worth more than US$500-million to supply turbomachinery equipment and services to Petrobras, a world leader in deep-water oil production. The contract will serve the four new floating production, storage and offloading units (FPSOs P-74…

Nexus 2 USBL Available for Rent in the U.S.

Applied Acoustics’ new Nexus 2 USBL positioning system, launched at Oceanology in London earlier this year, is now available for rent in U.S. via the company’s American representatives Subsea Technologies Inc based in Katy, Texas. Nexus 2 is the latest and most sophisticated system in the range of subsea USBL systems that are designed and manufactured by the Great Yarmouth, U.K., based company. Incorporating advanced bidirectional spread spectrum acoustic protocols Nexus 2 achieves greater…

Subsea Contracts Galore for Ezra

Ezra Holdings announces multiple contracts, worth + US$160-million, for its subsea, offshore & energy services divisions. Ezra divisions, EMAS AMC, EMAS Marine and EMAS Energy have been awarded multiple contracts for projects in the North Sea and Asia Pacific. The average tenor for all contracts is approximately 2.6 years including options. EMAS AMC has been awarded several new contracts and options worth up to US$85 million in aggregate for several projects in the North Sea and Asia.

Fugro Goes Seep Hunting off Eastern Canada

A geophysical acquisition portion of a 2018 Carson Basin seep hunting program offshore eastern Canada recently completed by Fugro covered an area of 18,875 square kilometers in water depths from 300 to 3,300 meters in this frontier region offshore Newfoundland. From its deepwater survey vessel, Fugro Searcher, Fugro acquired multibeam echosounder data (bathymetry, backscatter intensity and water column)…

#Oi2020 History

In 1976, testing began by the Naval Electronics Laboratory Center of two fiber optic undersea tow cables. This was done to measure “changes in optical attenuation caused by cabling, tension, temperature and pressure,” according to the book Advances in Marine Technology, as published by the Marine Technology Society. The testing led to the six-fiber cable (as manufactured by ITT Electro-Products Division, as the caveat to commence the accuracy of using fiber optics in undersea tow cables.

Bay State Wind Revises Turbine Layout

Bay State Wind, an offshore wind joint venture between developer Ørsted and New England electric transmission company Eversource, announced a significant change to its proposed wind farm layout in response to feedback from fishermen and community members.The revised turbine layout pattern accommodates historical fishing patterns and helps to provide greater ease of fishing within, and transiting through…

HydroSurv, Sonardyne in 'Transformative' USV Tech Collab for Offshore Industry

Uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) specialist HydroSurv Unmanned Survey has teamed up with marine technology specialist Sonardyne to develop and demonstrate what the companies say will be transformative seabed-to-shore sensing and data acquisition technologies for offshore operations.The project is part-funded by Innovate UK. HydroSurv’s REAV-40 USV will be paired with intelligent seafloor and vessel-mounted instruments from Sonardyne.

#Oi2020 History

While today’s technologically advanced robotics systems continue to dominate the industry, the offshore petroleum industry, coupled with the scientific needs for manned subsea diving continue to move forward. Therefore, today’s modern atmospheric diving systems provide and enclosure for the operator at one atmospheric pressure—this is “regardless of depth, thereby eliminating the necessity for decompression,” according to the Oil & Gas Historical Society.

STR Upgrades to Sonardyne's Fusion 2

Subsea Technology and Rentals (STR), a multi-disciplinary technology expert specializing in the design, production, rental and sale of innovative marine survey equipment, has become the first company to invest in Sonardyne International Ltd.’s new Long BaseLine (LBL) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) software, Fusion 2. The announcement was made following Sonardyne’s launch event at OSEA 2018 in Singapore.STR will upgrade its existing 6G hardware to Sonardyne’s new 6 ‘plus’ variants…