Missing WW II Bombers Found on the Seafloor

Two B-25 bombers associated with American servicemen missing in action from World War II were recently documented in the waters off Papua New Guinea by Project Recover—a collaborative team of marine scientists, archaeologists and volunteers who have combined efforts to locate aircraft and associated MIAs from World War II. The B-25 bomber is one of the most iconic airplanes of World War II, with nearly 10…

'National Marine Technology Week' Date Set

Congressmen Farr and Young introduce a bi-partisan Congressional Resolution designating September 22, 2013 through September 28, 2013, as “National Marine Technology Week”. Resolution coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Marine Technology Society and OCEANS 2013 in San Diego. The Marine Technology Society is an international community of ocean engineers, technologists, policy-makers and educators…

MTR100: Applanix

No. Applanix, a wholly owned subsidiary of Trimble, develops, sells and supports advanced products and scalable solutions for the geospatial industry that maximize productivity through Mobile Mapping and Positioning. Applanix designs, builds, delivers and supports a complete portfolio of products and solutions for the hydrographic survey industry. Applanix’ POS (Position and Orientation System) technology was originally developed and rigorously tested as part of an extensive military project.

Another Mission Needed to Recover El Faro’s VDR

The investigative team who located the El Faro’s voyage data recorder (VDR) has determined that another mission will be necessary in order to retrieve the device, which may contain recorded conversations and sounds from the ship’s navigation bridge, potentially helping investigators to piece together the sequence of events that led to the cargo ship’s sinking during Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015.

EMAS AMC’s Flagship Vessel Contracted

EMAS AMC, the subsea services division of EMAS, a leading global offshore contractor and provider of integrated offshore solutions to the oil and gas (O&G) industry and the operating brand of Ezra Holdings Limited, has  announced  that it has been awarded a major contract by Houston based VAALCO Gabon (Etame) Inc. for the expansion of the Etame Marin Field Offshore Gabon in West Africa. The scope of…

Oceanscience Adds Autonomy to Z-Boat 1800

The Oceanscience Z-Boat 1800 remotely-operated hydrographic survey boat has just completed final trials with an onboard autonomous waypoint navigation system, and is now ready to get surveying. The latest GNSS controlled, IMU aided "robo" Z-Boat option is a result of a partnership between The Oceanscience Group (U.S.A.), MSubs (U.K.) and Swathe Services (U.K.) and adds autonomy to the substantial list of options for the 1.8 meters (6 feet) portable hydrographic survey system.

MTR100 '13 Battelle

At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts cutting-edge research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. Battelle, the world’s largest independent research and development organization, is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1929, Battelle operates in three broad areas: National Security; Energy, Health and Environment; and Laboratory Management.

TGS Expands NE Greenland Seismic Survey

The 2D seismic survey will enable customers to prepare for the announced Greenland Licensing Round in 2013/2014. The seismic data is being acquired by the M/V Akademik Shatskiy supported by the ice breaker M/V Viking Balder. A helicopter is being utilized for ice density monitoring. Data processing will be performed by TGS and data will be available to clients in Q1 2014. The survey, NEG13, will enable customers to prepare for the announced Greenland Licensing Round in 2013/2014.

Floatel Orders Fifth Keppel Accommodation Semi

Keppel FELS Ltd. was awarded a contract worth about $280 million by Floatel International Ltd. to build its fifth accommodation semisubmersible (semi) for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2015. Keppel FELS previously delivered the accommodation semis, Floatel Superior and Floatel Reliance, in 2010 and is currently constructing two more: Floatel Victory and Floatel Endurance. The new semi will be a sister vessel to Floatel Victory and will be built to Keppel's proprietary SSAUTM5000NG design.

PORTS System to be Installed in Jacksonville

Woods Hole Group will be working with the Jacksonville Marine Transportation Exchange (JMTX) for the installation, operations and maintenance of a large-scale Physical Oceanographic Real Time System (PORTS) in Jacksonville, Florida. NOAA PORTS is a network of sensors in ports and harbor providing access to information that improves maritime commerce and safety. Upon completion, JXPORTS networks will be the second largest PORTS installation in the country.

DOF Extends VSAT Contract with Marlink

DOF Group has renewed its VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) services contract with Marlink for five more years, with options to further extend the services. Under the new contract announced at Nor-Shipping 2015, Marlink will provide customized VSAT services to 60 DOF owned offshore and subsea vessels, counting an additional eight vessels on the previous contract, including several imminent newbuilds.

Sound Velocity Profiling System Launched

Teledyne Oceanscience has announced the launch of rapidCAST, an automated sound velocity (SV) profiling system for moving vessels. With the capability to automatically cast and recover a high quality SV probe to 500 meters at 8 knots without an operator on deck, rapidCAST offers many of the benefits previously only available from large costly towed profilers while simultaneously giving surveyors the convenience and cost savings of a small and portable unit that is easy to mobilize…

MTR100 '13 LinkQuest Inc.

San Diego, Calif., U.S. LinkQuest Inc., of San Diego, Calif., manufactures precision acoustic instruments for offshore oil exploration, construction, drilling, survey, environmental study and other oceanographic applications. The company’s acoustic communication and positioning products are based on the innovative Broadband Acoustic Spread Spectrum (BASS) Technology and are widely used worldwide. LinkQuest’s…

Submersible Cyclops : Hull Design "Revolutionary"

OceanGate Inc. announced the completion of the initial carbon fiber hull design and feasibility study for its next generation manned submersible – Cyclops. Under a contract issued to Boeing Research & Technology (BR&T), OceanGate, the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington (APL-UW) and Boeing have validated the basic hull design for a submersible vehicle able to reach depths of 3,000 meters.

Jee to Host Subsea Installation Analysis Webinar

Webinar to focus on optimizing subsea installation analysis, helping companies minimize offshore time and costs. Jee Ltd., an independent subsea engineering and training company, will draw on its subsea installation analysis experience to host a free-to-attend webinar exploring the topic on September 11, 2014. Taking place globally, the webinar – “Optimizing Installation Analysis – a Pragmatic Approach” - will be presented by Jee Subsea Engineer…

GC Rieber Charter Agreement with Reach Subsea

GC Rieber Shipping ASA has entered into a time charter agreement with Reach Subsea for the CSV Polar King to support Norwegian University for Science and Technology’s (NTNU) scientific operation under the MarMine Project in the mid-Atlantic ridge. The project will deploy ROV, AUV and grabs for seabed mapping and sampling for geological and biological research related to marine mining. Estimated duration is three weeks.

The Autonomous Future of Seabed Mapping

No longer can we truly say “95 percent of the ocean is left unexplored.” In fact, thanks to advances in satellite monitoring by pioneers such as David Sandwell and colleagues, we now have coverage of the entire ocean. While these maps are only at a resolution of around 5 kilometers – less than current global maps of Mars and Venus – it has given us submarine topography data in locations we weren’t able to access previously.

IMarEST Supports Research into Collaborative Autonomous Fleets

Thompson holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Naval Architecture, and is a PhD candidate at the Australian Maritime College of the University of Tasmania. Greg Hellessey from the IMarEST’s Victoria Branch said that Thompson’s research was chosen because of its global potential: “Out of all the applications from across Australia, Fletcher’s was an absolute stand-out in that it was clear it would be ground-breaking work at a national and international level.

SCRIPPS Procures ROV from Shark Marine

SCRIPPS institution of OCEANOGRAPHY, an oceanic research institution on the southwestern coast of the United States, has acquired a Shark Marine Barracuda ROV. The Barracuda will be used in conjunction with the Shark Marine Navigator, procured by the institute a couple years back. The Barracuda is a high power, lightweight two man deployable ROV, packed with technology and plenty of thrust to get the job done. The ROV can operate at multiple power levels, from 2,000 to 6,000 watts.

BP Doubles Down on Deepwater

About 300 BP workers commute 150 miles here by helicopter, from the Louisiana coast to a deep-sea drilling platform that can produce more oil in a day than a West Texas rig can pump in a year. On the deck of Thunder Horse, they work two-week shifts, drink seawater from a desalination plant, and eat ribs and chicken ferried in by boat. On the ocean floor, robots provide remote eyes and arms as drills extract up to 265,000 barrels per day.