Wyatt Earp Continues Antarctic Mission

The Royal Australian Navy's Antarctic Survey Vessel Wyatt Earp is currently conducting surveying operations based out of Davis, one of Australia’s Antarctic Stations. The vessel is conducting biological, oceanographic and meteorological experiments and observations as part of Operation SOUTHERN DISCOVERY. Wyatt Earp is fitted with equipment such as multi-beam echo sounders, sediment grabs, sub-bottom profilers and underwater cameras.

Yes, Oceanographers Can Help Predict Piracy Attacks

The US Naval Meteorology & Oceanography Command named a 2013 Computerworld Honors Laureate for its counter-piracy predictive modelling. The Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command (NAVMETOCCOM) received the award for a modeling capability developed by Naval oceanographers at Stennis Space Center that predicts the likelihood of pirate attacks. IDG's Computerworld Honors Program selected NAVMETOCCOM…

Bogazici Of Turkey Deliver Amapola 1

BOGAZICI A.S. of Turkey have recently delivered Amapola 1, the first Robert Allan Ltd. designed RAstar 3000 tug, to International Offshore Engineering and Development Company, Panama for PDVSA of Venezuela. This new design rounds out the RAstar family of Terminal / Escort tugs, which to date encompasses lengths from 27m to 39m and bollard pulls of up 120 tonnes. The RAstar Class are a series of well-proven…

Comark’s Shipboard Applications Display Passes MIL-STD-901D Shock Testing

Comark Corporation completed full environmental testing of its latest version of the MDU19PC ruggedized COTS computer including MIL-901D grade-A lightweight shock test. The MDU19PC is an all-in-one display and computer designed and tested to meet military requirements for shipboard applications including propulsion, machinery control and ECDIS navigation. The panel is NEMA 4 rated when panel mounted and is available with an array of options including touchscreen…

Aker Solutions Wins Umbilical Contract in West Africa

Aker Solutions has been awarded a contract from Technip to deliver umbilicals for the Girassol Resources Initiative (GirRI) phase 2 development off the coast of Angola. Contract value is undisclosed. Aker Solutions will deliver two dynamic power and control steel tube umbilicals, one dynamic power cable and ancillary equipment. GirRI is located in Angola's Block 17, 210 kilometres west of Luanda. The development is 1,300 metres under sea level.

Partnerships Producing Game Changing Safety Innovations

Recent trends toward closer collaboration between operators and contractors—who after all share an interest in avoiding incidents and promoting safe operations—are a good sign for the industry. But it takes the right kind of partners to benefit from the arrangement—an operator must be willing to include its contractor partner in the early stages of engineering and risk assessment, and a contractor needs to have the expertise to advise and support the client effectively.

China-U.S. Ocean Thermal Energy Plant Development

Lockheed Martin and Reignwood Group to develop South China Sea ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC) power plant. A memorandum of agreement between the two companies was signed recently in Beijing. Following the ceremony, both companies met with United States Secretary of State John Kerry during his first official state visit to the People’s Republic of China. The 10-megawatt offshore plant, to be designed by Lockheed Martin…

Melting Sea Ice Opens Arctic Passages for Invasive Species

For the first time in roughly 2 million years, melting Arctic sea ice is connecting the north Pacific and north Atlantic oceans. The newly opened passages leave both coasts and Arctic waters vulnerable to a large wave of invasive species, biologists from the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center assert in a commentary published in 'Nature Climate Change' and excerpted here. Two new shipping routes have opened in the Arctic: the Northwest Passage through Canada…

GL RC Certifies Alstom Tidal Turbine Prototype

Tidal energy is a new realm of renewable energy. As technology advances, GL Renewables Certification (GLRC) is contributing its expertise by certifying Alstom’s tidal turbine prototype. Certification of tidal turbines is one of the key development areas for the tidal industry in the future, and represents a major milestone for Alstom on the REDAPT project. GL RC and Tidal Generation Limited (TGL, now…

Saab Seaeye Invests in Engineers

Manufacturer of electric underwater robotic systems Saab Seaeye has launched a recruitment drive to find software and electrical engineers at all levels, including senior engineering management, for its Fareham, Portsmouth, Head Office and manufacturing base. According to the company, the increased investment comes as rapid advances in miniaturization and control architecture are creating smaller, smarter robotic systems that are more agile…

JFD Debuts Bailout Rebreather System to Safeguard Divers Lives

JFD, the leading global subsea operations and engineering company, part of James Fisher and Sons plc, has today announced the launch of its new Compact Bailout Rebreathing Apparatus (COBRA) for commercial divers, as a direct response to the urgent need for significant improvements in safety in the saturation diving industry. The system significantly extends the duration of the supply of emergency breathing gas, delivering 45 minutes of emergency life support at a depth of 120 meters.

Signet Maritime Acquires State-of-the-art Tractor Tug

Adding to its fleet of 37 conventional and ASD vessels, Signet Maritime Corporation took ownership of its ninth newly constructed tractor tug in six years. SIGNET ARCTURUS, a 105’ x 38’ Z-Drive, designed by Robert Allan Ltd. of Vancouver, British Columbia was delivered by Patti Marine Enterprises of Pensacola, Florida on May 25, 2014. SIGNET ARCTURUS is powered by two Caterpillar model C175-16 main engines, each rated 3417 BHP at 1800 RPM.

iXBlue to Equip SAAB A26 Submarines

iXBlue will equip the two type A26 next-generation submarines with MARINS units, the state-of-the-art in fiber-optic gyroscope technology. Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France, February 23rd, iXBlue, a global leader in navigation, positioning and imaging solutions, is providing MARINS inertial systems to outfit the Swedish Navy’s two future A26 class submarines. Scheduled to be operational in 2024, the A26 is a unique and high-tech submarine with proven modular design.

Subsea SE Alaska: Seismic Sensors Deployed

The US Coast Guard Cutter 'Maple' helps the U.S. Geological Survey to deploy 12 seismic sensors along the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault, northwest of Craig, Alaska. The team placed the ocean-bottom seismometers along a 28-mile section of the Queen Charlotte-Fairweather Fault to improve understanding of recent earthquake activity and associated seismic and tsunami hazards in Southeast Alaska coastal communities.

FORCE: Tidal Project Begins Construction on Subsea Platform

Understanding the Bay of Fundy’s powerful tides is getting easier thanks to a new advanced sensor platform being built for the Minas Passage. Simon Melrose, the platform project manager for the Fundy Ocean Research Center for Energy (FORCE), speaking at the Nova Scotia Energy Research and Development Forum, announced construction contracts for a new underwater platform designed to measure the tide in real time via cable connection – a breakthrough for Nova Scotia’s tidal energy efforts.

Oceans 15 MTS/IEEE Focuses on Change

The premiere North American conference and exhibition on marine technology will be held at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center on National Harbor from October 19-22, 2015. The conference is now accepting abstracts for technical presentations. The Technical Program draws its topics from the areas of interest of the co-sponsoring professional societies, the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the Oceanic Engineering Society of IEEE (OES).

Retractable 3D Sonar System Used With Falcon ROV

Subsea Fenix has developed a retractable sonar system specially designed to set atop a Saab Seaeye Falcon ROV that was used to perform a detailed inspection of a reservoir dam in central Italy. Faced with the problem of mounting a BlueView 3D Sonar system high enough above the ROV to gather all-round images and avoid the vehicle’s chassis obstructing the scan, Subsea Fenix knew it would be impossible for the ROV to swim any distance top-loaded in this way.

Expro Celebrates 40 Years of Technology at OTC 2013

An international oilfield services company, Expro, is celebrating its 40th anniversary at this year’s Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston by showcasing its investment in new technology and innovation. As part of that commitment Expro is launching the proto-type HawkEye V downhole camera, new high pressure/high temperature (HP/HT) Drill Stem Testing (DST) BigCat  packer, and Expro Annulus operated Circulating and Test (ExACT) tool.

Underwater Center Names ROV Op'ns Manager

New role created to develop ROV training and trials portfolio. The Underwater Centre, has appointed Steve Cullen to the newly created role of ROV Operations Manager, where he will lead the development of the Centre’s ROV training and trials activities. He joins the Centre from Ashtead Technology and Subsea 7 where he took up similar training roles, with responsibility for ROV personnel’s technical and engineering training.

The Black Sea is a Goldmine of Ancient Genetic Data

When Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) marine paleoecologist Marco Coolen was mining through vast amounts of genetic data from the Black Sea sediment record, he was amazed about the variety of past plankton species that left behind their genetic makeup (i.e., the plankton paleome). The semi-isolated Black Sea is highly sensitive to climate driven environmental changes, and the underlying…