US Navy Sends a USV Through the Strait of Hormuz

The U.S. Navy on Wednesday sent an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) through the Strait of Hormuz as it ramps up its use of high-tech unmanned assets for patrols and monitoring at sea.The transit was reportedly the Navy's fist for a USV through the busy and strategically important strait, demonstrating the continued operational integration of unmanned and artificial intelligence systems by U.S. maritime…

Exail Launches New Compact USBL Positioning System

Navigation, subsea positioning, and imaging solutions provider Exail has launched Gaps M3, a new compact and cost-effective subsea ultra-short baseline (USBL) acoustic positioning system for permanent vessel installation.Gaps M3 is a USBL positioning system with no embedded Inertial Navigation System (INS), making it a cost-effective choice for operators who can rely on existing onboard navigation systems.

GHD Tackles Offshore Wind Noise Impacts with New Modelling Kit

Engineering specialist GHD has unveiled a new subsea noise modelling program designed to mitigate the environmental impacts of offshore wind farms.GHD's solution, the RAT (R Acoustics Toolbox), has been developed to address challenges related to underwater noise by providing a bespoke, web-based interface that utilizes existing algorithms in a customizable manner.Developed using R programming language, the RAT is said to enhance efficiency and accuracy in underwater noise modelling.

Advances in Sea-State Forecasting

Marine operations such as offshore oil and gas operations, renewable energy projects and shipping depend on high quality information on sea-state (wave height, period, direction, steepness) for economic and safety decision making. The information currently available is based on atmospheric/ocean models and lacks sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. “Wave conditions are always changing and can vary tremendously over a period of a few hours”, said Chelsea’s Technical Manager, Paul Bolton.

Offshore Wind: Decisions Needed Sooner, not Later

On September 26, the State University of New York Maritime College hosted a conference on the emerging east coast offshore wind industry. “Offshore Wind Power, Planning for America’s Ocean Energy” focused on four fundamental topics:• East Coast Wind Farm Overview – Status of the Industry.• Jobs and Supply Chain Technical Working Group.• Wind Farm Port Development.• Offshore Wind Maritime Operations.In some ways…

Consortium for Ocean Leadership Names Leonardi as President and CEO

Today, the Board of Trustees of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership announced the appointment of Dr. Alan Leonardi as president and CEO, effective May 24, 2021.As the president and CEO of COL, Dr. Leonardi will lead the consortium, which represents the leading ocean science, research and technology organizations from academia, industry and the larger nonprofit sector (to include philanthropy, aquariums and associations)…

USACE Galveston Taps eTrac for $13M Hydrographic Surveying, Mapping Contract

The shared capacity, indefinite delivery contract will support USACE Civil Works projects to help advance navigation safety, dredging, flood control and hurricane response.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District awarded eTrac, a Woolpert Company, with an architect-engineer contract to provide hydrographic surveying and mapping services within the Galveston District and potentially the USACE Southwest Division.

Teledyne Slocum Gliders Delivered to OceanPact in Brazil

Teledyne Marine announced it has delivered of three Teledyne Webb Slocum G3 Gliders to OceanPact, located in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.OceanPact offers services for the study, protection, monitoring and sustainable use of the sea, coast, and marine resources for clients from various sectors including offshore energy, mining, telecommunications, ports, navigation, tourism, fishing and aquaculture. OceanPact…

Fugro Nets Offshore Namibia Survey Contract

The Portuguese oil and gas firm Galp has awarded the Dutch company Fugro a contract to conduct an environmental and geophysical survey offshore Namibia. "Known for its remote location, challenging conditions and ultra-deep water, this site is key to future energy operations in the region. Fugro's advanced technology and expertise in marine geophysical and environmental surveys ensured efficient and accurate data collection…

KVH Intros Digital Crew Welfare Solution

KVH Industries, a provider of mobile connectivity and inertial navigation systems, has introduced a new digital content service called KVH Link to help shipowners, operators and managers provide rest-time entertainment for seafarers and increase onboard productivity.KVH Link provides timely and popular news, sports, movies, TV, music, karaoke, podcasts, documentaries, trending social videos, in the…

Fugro Expands Geotechnical Vessel Fleet

Dutch offshore survey company Fugro has expanded its geotechnical vessel fleet with the Fugro Quest vessel. According to Fugro, the vessel is equipped with advanced deep-water technology."Fugro uses this type of vessel to determine the exact composition of the soil; the resulting data are essential to establish the optimal location and design of offshore developments, such as wind farms," Fugro explained.The…

Voyis Imaging Chosen as the Camera Package for HII REMUS Vehicles

HII has selected Voyis Imaging Systems as the standard camera option for all REMUS UUVs (REMUS 100/300/620/6000). Voyis has developed the Recon UUV module, consisting of a highly advanced 4K stills camera and extremely efficient, high output external light bar, that enhances all REMUS platforms imaging capabilities in any operational situation. The Recon camera module offers extremely crisp stills imagery with on-the-sensor data processing for real-time…

Port of Sunderland Selects PicoMB Multibeam Technology for Port Surveys

Port of Sunderland has chosen the PicoMB 130Surf integrated echosounder (Pico MB-130 with integrated Applanix POSMV SurfMaster), having witnessed the success of Port of Blyth in completing surveys since their purchase of a PicoMB Multibeam four years ago. They recently took delivery of the system from Geodesea Ltd.The PicoMB-130 facilitates high resolution surveys on man-portable USVs and small survey vessels.

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.

Racing to the Bottom: Seabed Warfare Brings Threats, Opportunities

In the early morning hours of September 26, 2022, seismologists located throughout northern Europe detected two disturbances originating in the Baltic Sea that were consistent with underwater explosions. Within hours, an aerial image captured by a passing Danish F-16 showed an expanse of frothy seawater, suggesting that the Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2 gas pipelines had experienced a catastrophic event.

Divers Find Deepest Known Shipwreck USS Johnston

A privately funded mission has found, surveyed and filmed the USS Johnston, the world’s deepest known shipwreck, offshore Samar Island in the Philippines Sea.The expedition was backed by Victor Vescovo, is an entrepreneur, explorer and retired U.S. Navy Commander who personally piloted his submersible DSV Limiting Factor down to the wreck during two separate, eight-hour dives 21,180 feet (6,456 meters) below the ocean's surface.

DOE Seeks Input on Mooring & Anchoring Systems for Floating Wind

The U.S. Department of Energy is seeking input on research needs related to floating offshore wind energy mooring and anchoring systems. For this, DOE's Wind Energy Technologies Office (WETO) has issued a Request for Information (RFI).Apart from input on research priorities, DOE is seeking information on state-of-the-art innovative technologies, state-of-the-practice common operations, and aspirational targets to help meet deployment goals…

Oceaneering's Hybrid AUV/ROV Achieves TRL 6 For Pipeline Inspection

Subsea services and technology specialist Oceaneering said Monday that its Freedom AUV, has achieved Technology Readiness Level 6 on a 1-9 scale.Oceaneering said that its Freedom, a hybrid AUV/ROV system, is the result of a long-term collaborative relationship between Oceaneering, TotalEnergies, and Chevron dating back to 2014, with Equinor joining the collaboration in 2019. In 2014, Oceaneering began efforts to optimize the delivery of a pipeline inspection service from an AUV.

VideoRay Acquires Blue Ring Imaging

VideoRay has acquired Blue Ring Imaging, a St. Petersburg, FL-based innovator in 3D visualization, multi-view perception, and simulation for unmanned systems.Blue Ring Imaging, known for its OctoView mixed reality software and OctoCAM multi-view 360°camera, will improve situational awareness and object detection capabilities of VideoRay's Defender. Blue Ring Imaging already boasts an impressive client list…

First in Middle East: Aramco’s Survey Vessel Gets ABS' Infectious Disease Mitigation Notation

Aramco’s hydrographic survey vessel, KARAN 8, has become the first in the Middle East region and second worldwide to be awarded an ABS Infectious Disease Mitigation (IDM) notation.ABS' IDM-A notation is offered to vessels that meet the arrangement requirements addressing the configuration of spaces that can be used for the isolation and segregation of crew, passengers, and onshore visitors, as well…