Call for Papers Ahead of ROV Conference

Industry experts are being urged by Subsea UK to step forward and voice their concerns over the challenges currently facing the sector as a result of the falling oil price at its ROV conference in September. The industry body has launched a call for papers for the annual conference, now in its third year, which is focused on remotely operated vehicle activities. The event, which takes place at the…

Kongsberg, KBC Enter Software Cooperation

Kongsberg Oil & Gas Technologies AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Gruppen ASA (KONGSBERG), has announced a non-exclusive cooperation agreement with KBC Advanced Technologies plc  (KBC) to develop stronger simulation software integration and more effective engineering and operation workflows. The objective is to enable the oil and gas marketplace to respond to the demand for significantly…

Arctic Seas a 'Dead End' for Floating Plastic

The Arctic is a dead end for floating plastic waste dumped in the Atlantic Ocean off Europe and the United States and swept north by ocean currents to a polar graveyard, scientists said on Wednesday. Levels of plastic found east of Greenland and in the Barents Sea off Norway and Russia were far higher than expected for the sparsely populated regions, according to the report showing how man-made pollution extends even to remote parts of the globe.

Hull Cleaning Robot Deployed in Rotterdam

Recently the hull of the vessel Vlieborg from Wagenborg has been cleaned in the Port of Rotterdam by Fleet Cleaner and OH Ship Cleaning. The vessel was heavily fouled with slime and algae, which were all removed from the hull and captured by the installation. The collected wastewater was carefully filtered in order to comply with environmental regulations. Since the Vlieborg was not loaded during the cleaning, a large portion of the fouled hull had to be cleaned above water.

Lifesaver Energy Platform Installed off Hawaii

After several months of assembly, testing and integration, Sound & Sea Technology, Inc. (SST) successfully installed the Lifesaver Energy Platform (LEP) at the U.S. Navy's Kaneohe Bay Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in Hawaii, an offshore infrastructure that was established and is managed by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Expeditionary Warfare Center. The Lifesaver Energy Platform is the first…

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…

Acoustic Pingers for Submarines and AUVs

U-Boat Worx reported that personal submarine and autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) sales are on the rise. Not long ago personal submarines were high tech toys available only to the super wealthy and AUVs were expensive pieces of equipment used primarily by the military and oil industry. Thanks to advances in technology that reduced their cost, both are now in widespread use by individuals, businesses and universities.

Thales Sponsors Caltech Engineers in AUV Contest

Thales is supporting the next generation of engineers with its sponsorship of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) Robotics team’s entry into the 17th Annual International RoboSub competition. The event, cosponsored by the Association for Unmanned Systems International (AUVSI) Foundation and the Office of Naval Research, aims to advance the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) by challenging new engineers to perform realistic missions in an underwater environment.

JFD Wins DSRV Contract from Republic of Korea Navy

The subsea operations and manufacturing company JFD, a part of James Fisher and Sons, has received a multi-million dollar contract for the design and build of an advanced Deep Search and Rescue Vehicle (DSRV).The DSRV will be delivered as a part of a submarine rescue capability being provided to the Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN).The contract, awarded by South Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME)…

Swathe Services Provides New Product to ABP Humber

Swathe Services has announced a new bespoke custom Peli-case product which has been designed to fit the surface components of an R2SONIC Multi-Beam Echo-Sounder (MBES) SIM box and Inertial Navigation System. This product is specifically designed for use in open boats such as ABP Humber’s 5 meter RIB. The Peli-case incorporates all the required bulkhead connectors for external cable fittings; an inverter for operating off a DC battery power and a shrouded cooling system.

DOE: $28M Available for Floating Offshore Wind

The U.S. Department of Energy announced up to $28 million in funding for a new Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) program, Aerodynamic Turbines, Lighter and Afloat, with Nautical Technologies and Integrated Servo-control (ATLANTIS). ATLANTIS projects will develop new technologies for floating, offshore wind turbines (FOWTs) using the discipline of control co-design (CCD).“The United States has 13…

Seatronics Choose SeeByte Software for ROV

SeeByte and Seatronics announced that the Predator ROV will now be fully integrated with SeeByte’s SeeTrack CoPilot software. This collaboration will allow Seatronics to offer the advanced applications available through SeeTrack CoPilot as an integrated package and as a rental option for their customers. David Currie, MD at Seatronics commented, “As the builders and global distributers of the Predator Inspection Class ROV…

Fugro Awarded Survey Work Papua New Guinea

Fugro has been awarded a total of six hydrographic survey contracts by the National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) of Papua New Guinea to help contribute capacity development in the country, which has over 5,000 kilometers of coastline. The surveys will be conducted utilizing a combination of Fugro’s Airborne LiDAR Bathymetry (ALB) and multibeam echo sounder (MBES) sensors and a seamless dataset will be delivered to the NMSA.

WHOI Selects Ranger 2 USBL for RV Neil Armstrong

Houston-based subsea technology company, Sonardyne Inc., has announced that its deep water acoustic positioning system, Ranger 2 USBL, has been selected for the U.S Navy’s new oceanographic research vessel, R/V Neil Armstrong. The ship is operated by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) on behalf of the Navy and replaces the recently retired R/V Knorr vessel which had been in operation since 1970.

MacArtney Launches Hydrostatic Pressure Vessels Range

MacArtney introduced its new range of advanced in-house developed hydrostatic pressure vessels. While the company has long offered worldwide access to hydrostatic test facilities and services, the company also designs and supplies its own range of pressure vessel to clients who require to set up their own facilities for testing underwater equipment. “When it comes to quality, safety and performance in harsh underwater environments…

Engineers Aid UK Subsea Diversification Drive

Two engineers from Wood Group have supported the National Subsea Research Initiative (NSRI) in its drive to speed up the development and implementation of near to market technologies in the subsea sector. Jamie McCallum and Christer Fjellroth, who are both working toward becoming Chartered Engineers, beat off competition from a number of hopefuls who applied to join NSRI on a one year secondment last year.

MakaiLay Suite Adds Features for Power Cable Installers

Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc. said it continues to address issues experienced by the subsea power cable industry by enhancing submarine cable lay software, MakaiLay, and its desktop simulation sister product, MakaiPlan Pro. 1. Cable Top Angle. MakaiLay now has the option to use the cable departure angle, or “Top Angle”, which can be measured at the over-boarding point. When high quality measurements of top tension are not available…

Photline Technologies Joins the iXBlue Group

iXBlue extends a warm welcome to Photline, a company in which the group already had a large stake and which now holds almost 100% equity. Photline is now a wholly owned subsidiary of the group. Founded more than ten years ago by formers researchers at CNRS and University of Besançon, France, Photline designs, develops and manufactures integrated optical components and products for scientific and industrial applications in the instrumentation…

ThunderFish AUV Program Gets $745,000 Boost

Kraken Sonar Inc. wholly-owned subsidiary Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. has received a $745,950 contribution from the the Research & Development Corporation (RDC) of Newfoundland and Labrador to support development of its ThunderFish autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) program. The ThunderFish program will combine smart sonar, laser and optical sensors, advanced pressure tolerant battery and thruster technologies…

Dyneema: Making Light Work of Ultra-Deep Sea Recovery Operation

A salvage operation on a ship wreck 3200 meters below the surface of the South Atlantic has been successfully carried out thanks to the use of lightweight ropes made with Dyneema ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene fiber. Dyneema fiber, the world’s strongest fiber, is manufactured by DSM Dyneema. It is used by Hampidjan, one of the largest fishing gear and “super rope” manufacturers in the world…