Navy Establishing Unmanned Surface Vessel Fleet for Persistent ISR in Middle East

“We're not tinkering. We're building enhanced maritime domain awareness.”The U.S. Navy’s Task Force 59, based in Bahrain as part of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) and U.S. Fifth Fleet, is advancing the operational employment and integration of unmanned systems and artificial intelligence in fleet operations.According to Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the fleet commander, unmanned systems and artificial intelligence are helping to accelerate innovation…

Ashtead Technology Adds iXblue Subsea Positioning Systems to Its Rental Fleet

Subsea equipment rental and solutions specialist Ashtead Technology said it has added iXblue subsea positioning systems its rental fleet.The investment includes the addition of iXblue’s Gaps M5 USBL acoustic positioning systems which are now available to rent throughout the company’s nine international technology and service hubs.Gaps M5, the latest addition to iXblue’s USBL product range, is a medium…

Van Oord Orders Autonomous Offshore Vessel from Demcon

Dutch marine services and dredging contractor Van Oord has ordered an unmanned, autonomous offshore vessel from Demcon unmanned systems, a company that develops and builds unmanned, autonomously vessel platforms for survey and inspection activities in inland, coastal and offshore environments.According to Demcon, the vessel is suitable for challenging offshore conditions and weeklong survey operations at sea.

Viridien Sells Marlin Vessel Monitoring and Alert System to ExxonMobil Guyana

Viridien, formerly CGG, has made a sale of its Marlin vessel monitoring and alert system to ExxonMobil Guyana to support its offshore operations in Guyana.The sale was made through Viridien’s Sensing and Monitoring business line, marketed under the Sercel brand.As part of the wider Sercel Marlin software suite for optimizing offshore operations, the Marlin  vessel monitoring and alert system represents…

Greensea IQ opens new service center in Miami

Greensea IQ expanded its EverClean operations with a new service center in Miami, Florida. The new facility, located in Hialeah, Florida, will house both office and workshop space. The Miami location will accommodate an expanded EverClean support team dedicated to servicing customers in the region. With Miami serving as a global hub for cruise operations, the expansion furthers Greensea IQ's ability…

Teledyne Marine autonomously surveys DEEP's quarry lake in Wye Valley

Teledyne Marine joined forces with Maritime Robotics and DEEP to survey DEEP's quarry lake, affectionately referred to as Loch Lye, in the Wye Valley.The team deployed the latest survey equipment mounted on a Maritime Robotics Otter Pro vessel, including a Teledyne RESON SeaBat T51 (800 kHz) multi beam sonar with integrated inertial navigation, paired with a Teledyne Valeport SWiFT profiler. Loch Lyr serves as the centerpiece of the DEEP campus, a facility spanning 50 acres.

What Does Climate Change Mean for Extreme Waves?

In 80% of the world, we don’t really know.Across much of the world’s oceans, waves are getting bigger. In the Southern Ocean, where storm-driven swell can propagate halfway across the world to California, the average wave has grown about 20cm in the past 30 years.These changes are part of climate change, and are likely to continue well into the future. If you’re making long-term plans near the sea – like building ships…

Vard to Build Second Cable Layer for Prysmian Group

VARD, a subsidiary of the Italian shipbuilding group Fincantieri, said it has won a contract worth approximately €200 million ($205.3 million) to design and build a new cable laying vessel for Prysmian Group.Scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2025, the new vessel will be similar to Leonardo da Vinci, which was delivered from VARD to Italy-based Prysmian in 2021. Once operational, the new vessel will be dedicated to the execution of important projects such: as Dominion Energy…

EU Invests in 13 Ocean Projects

A new wave of projects has secured funding under the latest EU Mission Ocean and Waters calls.With a total budget of €116 million ($136 million), the 13 projects will be implemented across various sea basins, including the Black Sea, Danube River, Baltic and North Sea, Mediterranean Sea, and Atlantic and Arctic regions.The projects focus on:• preserving offshore marine protected areas• protecting and…

DNV: Hexicon's TwinWay Floating Wind Concept Feasible for Further Development

Energy expert and assurance provider DNV has provided Swedish floating wind tech firm Hexicon with a Statement of Feasibility for its TwinWay demonstrator which will be installed and operated at Metacenter, off the coast of Norway. With achieving this first step in the certification process, DNV considers the TwinWay concept feasible for further development towards a full-scale demonstrator.The intention…

MATS, A New Uncrewed Platform for Offshore Wind

Survey, positioning and data management firm UTEC, part of the Acteon Group, is targeting the offshore wind survey and inspection market with a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV).Torsten Marten, lead surveyor, UTEC, outlined the new design at the Marine Autonomous Technology Showcase (MATS), at the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in Southampton, UK, early November.It’s a 12m-long, “DP equivalent” catamaran design…

USACE Working to Prevent Saltwater from Rising Up the Mississippi

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New Orleans District is working to delay upriver progression of salt water from the Gulf of Mexico by augmenting the sill initially constructed in July 2023.Construction is underway to increase the existing underwater sill from a depth of -55 feet to a depth of -30 feet. A 620-foot-wide navigation lane will be kept to a depth of -55 feet to ensure deep-draft shipping…

Prysmian Takes Delivery of High-tech Cable Layer Leonardo da Vinci

Energy and telecom cable systems company Prysmian Group announced it has taken delivery of the "unique" and "record-breaking" battery-hybrid cable laying vessel Leonardo da Vinci. “Leonardo da Vinci is the most efficient cable layer in the world and from now onwards it will support the group’s long-term growth in the submarine cable installation business. It will be a game changer in strengthening our leadership in the interconnection and offshore wind farm markets…

Interview: Harry Stewart, President & CEO, The Dutra Group

Harry Stewart recently took the helm as President and CEO of The Dutra Group, succeeding Bill T. Dutra, the man who founded the company at the age of 26 and led it for the last 50 years. With a renewed vigor for national infrastructure, there are myriad opportunities in the dredging and marine construction sectors, opportunities balanced by a similar number of challenges. We recently visited with Mr.

New Under-ice Observing Capabilities Could Lead to New Discoveries in the Great Lakes

During the dog days of summer here in the Great Lakes, scientists at NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) are already thinking about the ice that will form on the lakes this winter.This year, NOAA GLERL and a team of federal, university, and industry partners are conducting test deployments of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in Lake Michigan, with the ultimate goal of using it under lake ice during winter to collect ecological and water quality data.

UK Researchers Tackle Landslide Risks for Offshore Wind Turbines with New Tool

Researchers at Heriot-Watt University have developed an advanced simulation tool that accurately predicts underwater landslides caused by offshore wind turbines.The new method enables developers to assess seabed stability not only at the design stage but throughout a wind farm’s lifespan, helping to optimize placement and ensure long-term resilience.Underwater landslides - when sections of the seabed suddenly shift - can impact the stability of wind turbines…

Fugro Boosts Offshore Wind Service Capabilities in Taiwan with New Geotechnical Lab

Offshore survey services and geo-data specialist Fugro on Tuesday announced the opening of its new geotechnical testing laboratory in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Fugro said the new lab would bolster the company's capability to deliver advanced geotechnical testing for the offshore wind market, and the energy and infrastructure sectors.The new laboratory is expected to increase Fugro’s lab capacity in Asia Pacific by 20% and reduce the turnaround time on testing by at least 30%.

Teledyne To Host Doppler Velocity Log Training

Teledyne RD Instruments (TRDI) will host a two‐day training seminar focused on their Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) technology. DVLs are used extensively onboard underwater platforms and surface vessels to provide precision navigation capability. All current and potential DVL users are encouraged to attend this event to quickly expand their working knowledge of the principals behind their DVL and its application to their underwater platform.

Mapping Drone Powered By HYPACK

Southeastern geospatial solutions company SurvTech Solutions, Inc. has selected the NEXUS 800 powered by HYPACK as its aerial mapping solution. When asked why the HYPACK Solution was chosen, SurvTech Solutions president David O’Brien said the answer is simple: “Our goal was to acquire upland data simultaneous with subaqueous data and make a seamless point cloud of upland and submerged data. The integration of the Puck with our heading RTK GPS…

NOAA Ship's Annual Shakedown Cruise

The 'Okeanos Explorer' is conducting mapping operation in the Western North Atlantic as part of the annual ship shakedown. Multibeam and singlebeam mapping operations are being conducted 24/7 between Rhode Island and the U.S.-Canadian territorial boundary, while sub-bottom profile mapping is being conducted each day between the hours of 1000 and 1800 throughout the March 18, 2013, to April 5, 2013 cruise.