Offshore Casualty: Harkand Group Collapses

As the prolonged slump in energy prices continues to drag on a number of oil and gas and maritime players, word has it that Harkand Group has succumbed, according to staff reports and a report on www.bbc.com. The company was a high-flyer building an enviable fleet of advanced tonnage. Established in 2012 and headquartered in London with operations bases in Aberdeen, Houston, Mexico, and Ghana, global…

A Tool for Advancing Environmental Academic Research

Researchers at the Institute of Oceanology in Qingdao, China, are using the Signature55 current profiler to improve the understanding of El Niño and advance their environmental academic research. “Information about Western Boundary Currents in the lower latitudes of the Pacific and their influence on low frequency pulsing of warm currents are vital for scientific research. But so far we have had insufficient…

Kongsberg Tech for Peruvian Arctic Research Vessel

Kongsberg Maritime has been chosen to deliver an integrated subsea technology systems package including two HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) for a new Peruvian Navy Hydrographic & Oceanographic research vessel. The 97 meter BAP Carrasco’is built at Construcciones Navales P. Freire shipyard in Vigo, Spain. The advanced new research ship will have Polar capability and be classified with PC7 notation to perform research in Peruvian waters…

USN's Oceanography Warrant Officers to Make a Return

The Navy is bringing warrant officers back to Naval Oceanography in 2018 after a 28-year hiatus. In late March, the Navy Personnel Command released the message, NAVADMIN 079/16, reestablishing the program and at the same time disestablishing the Oceanography Limited Duty Officer (LDO) Program. "In order to meet the increasing demand for officers with specific technical meteorology and oceanography knowledge…

New Acoustic Release Technologies from Teledyne Benthos

Teledyne Benthos, a member of Teledyne Marine, has announced three new technologies that it said will greatly expand and enhance its Acoustic Release product line. Built on the Teledyne Benthos’ UDB-9400 Universal Deck Box, the company has released an upgraded universal top side unit. The new UTS-9400 offers a host of new features and capabilities including a color touchscreen display, universal command…

Gemini Sonar Integrated onto CoPilot Software

SeeByte, creator of smart software for unmanned maritime systems, and Tritech International Limited, a business dedicated to providing imaging and ancillary equipment for use in underwater applications, have integrated the Gemini sonar onto SeeByte’s CoPilot software. The system was demonstrated on Heriot-Watt University’s Seaeye Falcon 1256 ROV in the university’s wave tank facilities. CoPilot provides ROV pilots with a simple point-and-click tool to fly the ROV.

Petrobras, Total ink Strategic Alliance Deal

Petrobras signed a Master Agreement with French outfit Total today related to the strategic collaboration set forth in the memorandum of understanding signed on October 24 by our CEO Pedro Parente and Total CEO Patrick Pouyanné. Under the new agreement, Petrobras will substantially increase the level of technological cooperation in the fields of geosciences, subsea systems, and in joint studies in…

Tech File: Blue Robotics BlueROV2

The popularity and availability of aerial quad-copter drones have grown exponentially over the past few years. But, in large part because of the complexities that water penetration poses for electronics, underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) have not experienced that same level of popularity. The technology required to fabricate the components for an ROV to explore beyond a few meters depth has been beyond the capabilities of all but a handful of companies who have mastered the skills.

Fourth Submarine in UK’s Astute Class Named

The fourth submarine in the Astute class was officially named Audacious during a December 16 ceremony at builder BAE Systems’ Submarines site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Guests watched as Lady Jones, Audacious' sponsor and wife of Admiral Sir Phillip Jones, the First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, named the 7,400-metric-ton, 97-meter-long attack submarine, and then smashed a bottle of beer against her hull.

Boeing to Acquire Liquid Robotics

Aiming to grow its seabed-to-space autonomous capabilities, Boeing said it has entered into an agreement to acquire Liquid Robotics, developer of the Wave Glider ocean surface robot. “With Liquid Robotics’ innovative technology and Boeing’s leading intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance solutions, we are helping our customers address maritime challenges in ways that make existing platforms smarter…

STR Increases Rental Inventory

Subsea Technology & Rentals Ltd (STR); global specialists in the design, production and rental of advanced subsea technology for the offshore industry; continue to grow its rental equipment inventory with the addition of the new automated sound velocity profiling system developed by Teledyne Oceanscience using Valeport's RapidSV Profiler. Teledyne’s rapidCAST and Valeport’s SVT Probe, purchased during the recent Ocean Business exhibition in Southampton…

OPTECH South 2017: Littoral Challenges in Colombia

Naval experts from around the world are meeting in Cartagena, Colombia, for the Operations and Technology (OPTECH) South 2017 conference. The event is being conducted by the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School’s (NPS) Littoral Operations Center (LOC), supported by the Office of Naval Research-Global and the Colombian Naval Science and Technology Office and Swedish defense company Saab. The littoral is the complex “near shore” environment where hydrography…

Seatools Debuts New Dredging Monitoring Systems

Seatools has introduced the fourth-generation DipMate backhoe dredging monitoring and control systems, with an upgrade that encompasses two models: Essential and Pro. Seatools described Essential as a cost-competitive visualization system that contains all essentials for efficient backhoe dredging, while the Pro is an advanced version that can be delivered with a range of automation modules enabling operators of all skill levels to dredge safely and maximize dredging productivity.

Topaz Resolve Goes to Work in the Mediterranean

International offshore support vessel company Topaz Energy and Marine said its multipurpose supply vessel (MPSV) Topaz Resolve has commenced a charter in support of geophysical and geotechnical survey operations in the Mediterranean Sea for a European oil major. Topaz Resolve is operating from Limassol, Cyprus for an initial period of one month. The vessel is a multi-functional ROV, dive and survey vessel and is equipped for deep and shallow water operations, in DP2 or by 4-point mooring.

First Steel Cut for Australia's New Polar Research Ship

Marking the commencement of construction of the Damen Antarctic Supply Research Vessel (ASRV), a steel cutting ceremony has been held at Damen Shipyards Galati, Romania. Damen is constructing the ASRV for Serco Defence, a wholly owned subsidiary of Serco Australia who, in turn, signed a contract with the Australian Government last year for the delivery, operation and maintenance of the vessel. “Cutting the first steel for any vessel is always significant.

Creating Superior Buoyancy with Air

Many people may think of empty space or air as nothingness – space that’s perhaps waiting to be filled with something useful – but scientists and engineers know that the voids are intrinsically valuable. They can fortify structures to make them stronger without burdening them with weight. The ability to manipulate that nothingness brings new opportunities to many fields, especially in deep sea exploration.

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.

HUGIN AUV Now Available in a Turnkey Package

A new turnkey HUGIN package, featuring the synonymous autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) and all systems needed to store, transport, launch, operate and recover it from survey operations anywhere in the world is now available as a limited release from Kongsberg. “Although many HUGIN AUVs are delivered as turnkey solutions on a customized basis, this is the first time we have offered a HUGIN AUV as a predefined package with everything ready to go…

New Fisheries Research Vessel for Angola

A new 74-meter fishery research vessel (FRV) will be built at Damen Shipyards Galati, Romania and delivered to the Angolan Ministry of Fisheries in July 2018. Kongsberg Maritime has been awarded a contract by Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding of Vlissingen, the Netherlands to provide a diverse, integrated technology solution for the high-tech vessel, which was designed by Skipsteknisk and uses Silent…

Teledyne Optech Aids Study of Great Pacific Garbage Patch

Teledyne Optech said it has partnered with The Ocean Cleanup in their Aerial Expedition research mission, where the Optech CZMIL (Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar) carried out the first in a series of low-speed, low-altitude survey flights across the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Every year, about eight million tons of plastic enters the oceans. Part of the trash accumulates in 5 ocean garbage patches, the largest located between Hawaii and California.