Greensea Hires Abbott as Robotics Engineer

Greensea, creator of the universal marine industry operating platform OPENSEA, has hired Geoffrey Abbott as its new robotics engineer, responsible for advancing Greensea’s user interface and vehicle control systems for original equipment manufacturer products. As a robotics engineer at Greensea, Abbott will help further the company’s ability to easily integrate, configure and deploy its technology across vehicles and sensors in the marine industry.

NASA, Norway to Develop Arctic Laser-Ranging Station

NASA and the Norwegian Mapping Authority are partnering to develop a state-of-the-art satellite laser ranging station 650 miles from the North Pole that will produce high-precision locations of orbiting satellites, help track changes in the ice sheets and improve the efficiency of marine transportation and agriculture. The Arctic station will be the latest addition to a global network of space geodetic stations…

UKHO Supports HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has supported the safe arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth into Portsmouth by providing specialist marine geospatial and hydrographic expertise and data capabilities. Following initial dredging operations to make Portsmouth’s navigation channel and entrance deeper, hydrographic data was collected by the survey launch HMS Gleaner using modern multibeam echosounder technology to confirm the available water depth.

Thales Invests to Advance Autonomy

Thales is announcing a major commitment to develop future autonomous and unmanned technology across air and sea by investing in two new UK-based trials and training centers. Following Thales’s successful trials during the Royal Navy’s Unmanned Warrior exercise in 2016, Thales is now investing in two trials and training centres based in West Wales and in South-West England to test and develop autonomous systems for both military and civil activities.

Floating Offshore Wind Turbine Design Passes ABS Review

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has completed the design review of the Front End Engineering and Design (FEED) documentation for the VolturnUS, a floating offshore wind turbine (FOWT), developed by the University of Maine Advanced Structures and Composites Center. “UMaine is pleased that its innovative design became the first floating wind turbine concrete semisubmersible hull to be reviewed by ABS, and found to meet the ABS requirements,” said Dr. Habib J.

Ping DSP Releases MBES Mode Bathymetry Software

Aiming to raise the bar for shallow water mapping and imaging, Ping DSP has introduced its new MBES Bathymetry Engine. With a useable swath width of up to 14 times water depth, the 3DSS brings accurate, wide swath echo sounding to shallow water and provides the same operational and bathymetric performance benefits of Multibeam Echosounders but over the larger swath. Ping DSP said the new MBES Mode…

Advanced Monitoring Proves Its Capabilities Offshore

New monitoring technology developed by RED Engineering has been used for the first time to improve accuracy, speed and safety during the installation of jacket foundations for wind turbines at the Beatrice Offshore Wind Farm Ltd project in the Moray Firth, Scotland. The development by the North East-based firm of engineers features remote proximity sensors to confirm the correct engagement of an internal lifting tool (ILT) in use by Seaway Heavy Lifting, a Subsea 7 company.

Fugro Advances Bathymetric Lidar Mapping Capabilities

Fugro is introducing a new bathymetric lidar system that delivers industry-leading depth penetration and point densities for nearshore and coastal mapping. Known as RAMMS (Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping System), the field-proven technology promises to deliver an efficient and cost-effective solution, dramatically improving upon other bathymetric lidar mapping capabilities.“Traditional bathymetric lidar technology requires customers to compromise between price…

High-tech Sensors Advance Tsunami Monitoring

Accurate and long-term measurements of sea level, tidal harmonics and tsunami activity are a growing requirement to address global coastal developments and risk mitigation programs. Real-time tsunami monitoring and warning systems are being developed to save lives, model wave propagation and quantify coastal hazards.The Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (DIAS) has recently taken delivery of five…

Aker Solutions to Supply Umbilicals for Liuhua FPSO

Aker Solutions said it has been contracted to deliver power umbilical systems to China National Offshore Oil Corporation's (CNOOC) Liuhua oil fields in the South China Sea, off Hong Kong.The order, which is said to be worth more than NOK 350 million ($36.6 million), was booked in the third quarter of 2018. The work scope includes more than 35 kilometers of dynamic and static power umbilicals for the Liuhua 16-2…

RRS Sir David Attenborough Launched

The hull of the U.K.’s new polar research ship RRS Sir David Attenborough was launched from Cammell Laird shipyard Saturday, marking a major milestone toward the completion of one of the world’s most advanced scientific maritime vessels.Shipyard workers, engineers, scientists and maritime industry experts were among thousands who gathered to celebrate the launch along with special guest speakers, including renowned naturalist and broadcaster Sir David Attenborough…

All IOOS Regional Networks Are Now NOAA-certified

NOAA announced it has certified the last of 11 Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) regional associations as Regional Information Coordination Entities. Data coming from all IOOS partners now adheres to common federal collection, storage and management standards, meaning it can be integrated with other data, and help make "big data" research and development possible.IOOS is a coordinated network of regional associations that compile and distribute data on America’s coastal waters…

Shearwater to Buy Schlumberger’s Seismic Business

Norwegian marine geophysical services company Shearwater GeoServices Holding AS has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire the marine seismic acquisition assets and operations of Schlumberger’s geophysical services product line, WesternGeco.The transaction, which remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2018.Houston…

iXblue Offers a Full Range of INS for All AUV Types

With Phins C3, C5 and C7 range, iXblue now provides fully scalable systems that cover all inertial navigation needs for any size of AUV. Based on iXblue’s silent true solid state Fiber-Optic Gyroscope technology, the Phins Compact Family guarantees high accuracy, unrivalled reliability and proved robustness. The iXblue’s Phins Compact Family has been designed to offer the AUV industry players the ability to choose an inertial navigation system adapted to their vehicle…

Fiber-rope Retrofit Extends Subsea Crane Capabilities

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, has launched a fiber-rope retrofit option for its subsea cranes; the modular upgrade replaces the crane's original steel wire rope with synthetic fiber rope, using the same technology as MacGregor’s fiber-rope crane, the FiberTrac 1500, introduced earlier this year. These cranes combine MacGregor's offshore crane technology with the fiber-rope tensioning technology perfected by Parkburn Precision Handling Systems.

Ocean Cleanup Prototype Set for a Test Run

The first ocean cleanup system ever tested at sea will soon be deployed for trials 23 kilometers (12 NM) off the Dutch coast. The goal of the test is to see how the floating barrier design is able to cope in extreme weather at sea during a 12-month period. The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch foundation developing advanced technologies to rid the oceans of plastic, unveiled its North Sea prototype today in the presence of The Netherlands government…

Charting the Shift of Oceanic Boundary Currents

Global warming results in fundamental changes to important ocean currents. As scientists from the Alfred-Wegener-Institute show in a new study, wind-driven subtropical boundary currents in the northern and southern hemisphere are not only going to increase in strength by the end of this century. The Kuroshio Current, the Agulhas Current and other oceanic currents are shifting their paths towards the pole and thus carry higher temperatures and thus the risk of storms to temperate latitudes.

Security Check List for Internet Access at Sea

An increase in internet access at sea will lead to an increased risk of suffering a cyber-attack, says a research report by Protection Vessels International. However, if addressed correctly, this risk can be lowered to sit comfortably within the acceptable risk tolerance levels of an organisation. Britain is a maritime nation. We depend on the sea to trade with others. Over 90% of the world’s trade goes by sea – this figure is 95% for the United Kingdom.

Oregon State University Seeks New Research Vessels

Oregon State University (OSU) will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a project to construct up to three advanced regional class research vessels to help replenish the aging United States academic fleet. OSU will implement a two-stage “best value procurement process” for selecting a single U.S. shipyard to construct the vessels, which allows the university to evaluate proposals on qualitative factors in addition to cost factors.

Another Step toward Wind Energy off California

BOEM assessing competitive interest in proposed floating wind turbine project site offshore Morro Bay, Calif. Signaling a major step forward in supporting wind energy development in federal waters offshore California, U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Director Abigail Ross Hopper announced that the department is issuing a Request for Interest in a lease area requested by Trident Winds, LLC for its proposed 765 megawatt (MW) floating wind energy project.