Australian Agency Believes it Can Locate MH370

Australia's main scientific agency said on Wednesday it believed with "unprecedented precision and certainty" that a missing Malaysia Airlines aircraft crashed into the sea northeast of an area scoured in a fruitless two-year underwater search. The agency's assertion is based on satellite pictures taken two weeks after Flight MH370 went missing on March 8, 2014, with 239 people on board, on a flight to Beijing from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur.

FairfieldNodal to Acquire WGP

FairfieldNodal  is in advanced discussions with Thalassa Holdings to acquire WGP Group Ltd., a premier provider of marine geophysical services headquartered in the U.K. FairfieldNodal continues to seek opportunities to strengthen and expand its technology portfolio, and transform itself into a world-class provider of integrated life of field seismic services, data and data analytics over the next three to five years through a combination of strategic partnerships and acquisitions.

Nexans’ New Cable-Layer under Construction

Nexans said construction has started on its new cable-laying vessel for submarine HV cable systems installation. The vessel is being built by Croatia-based shipyard ULJANIK Group and is expected to be delivered and start operations by Q3 2020. The high capacity vessel is designed for worldwide installation of large volumes of HVDC and HVAC cable systems, covering the complete Nexans submarine product range, and has a 10 000-ton capacity turntable.

Smarter Ocean Robotics

It is evident by now that we are in a robotics revolution. In almost every industry, from healthcare to hospitality, robots are emerging that can successfully complete a task without the human element. Artificial intelligence (AI) is also advancing at phenomenal rates beyond what some imagined possible this decade. The marine sectors have embraced robotics in data collection and exploration, but the…

General Dynamics Delivers Submarine Colorado

General Dynamics Electric Boat delivered the nuclear-powered attack submarine Colorado (SSN 788) to the U.S. Navy. The 15th ship of the Virginia Class, Colorado is the fifth of the eight-ship group known as Block III. According to the builder, these ships embody a Navy and industry commitment to reduce costs while increasing capabilities through an initiative comprising a multi-year procurement strategy, improvements in construction practices and the Design For Affordability (DFA) program.

Greensea Announces Software Upgrades, VideoRay Partnership

Marine robotics technology specialist Greensea Systems Inc announces the introduction of major software updates to its OPENSEA platform add-ons, Workspace and Professional Workspace. Additionally, Greensea announces the release of EOD Workspace 6.3. These software updates are the result of collaboration with VideoRay in response to the company’s ongoing development of their Mission Specialist Series ROVs.

ROVOP Expands ROV Fleet

Subsea specialist ROVOP announced that it is set to take delivery of five new remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), representing an investment of £17 million (approx. $28 million) and building upon the company’s existing fleet of ROVs. The ROVs include two UHD-III’s, which are the most advanced heavy-duty work-class vehicles in the market, as well as three HD work-class systems. All ROVs are being supplied by leading manufacturer FMC Technologies Schilling Robotics in Davis…

Neptune Adopts Sonardyne’s All-in-one Platform

UK-based subsea technology company Sonardyne said Australian headquartered subsea services firm Neptune has become the latest to adopt its new, all-in-one acoustic and inertial positioning technology platform to support offshore survey projects.The order, made through Sonardyne’s Singapore subsidiary, includes the supply of Fusion 2 software, Compatt 6 seabed transponders and ROVNav 6 LBL (Long BaseLine) vehicle-mounted transceivers.

Borstad Receives Val Shaw Memorial Award

Dr. Gary Borstad has received the Val Shaw Memorial Award in recognition of his career-long contribution and lifetime achievements in practical remote sensing applied to natural resource management. The award was presented at the 40th Canadian Symposium on Remote Sensing in Fredericton, New Brunswick on June 25, 2019. The Val Shaw Award was established in 1990 in memory of Val Shaw, an executive with…

Foster Wheeler Wins Contract For Retrofit-SCR System

Foster Wheeler AG (Nasdaq: FWLT) announced today that a subsidiary of its Global Power Group has been awarded a contract by Turun Seudun Energiantuotanto Oy (TSE) for the design, supply and erection of a retrofit-selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system for TSE’s Naantali unit 3 in Finland. Foster Wheeler has received a full notice to proceed on this contract. The terms of the agreement were not disclosed…

France Picks: GE is the One for Alstom

France chose General Electric to form an alliance with Alstom on Friday - rejecting an offer from Siemens and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries - but said the deal still needed some work and added it would buy a 20 percent stake in the hotly-contested company. Economy Minister Arnaud Montebourg said he had used a newly- created state decree to reject both of the existing offers as not being in France's strategic interest, and had formulated fresh demands to GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt.

Block Island’s Sandy Restoration Continues

Almost two years after Hurricane Sandy, the storm’s impacts are still being seen on both land and sea. The United Sates Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) - New England is on a mission to restore and clean the beaches and channels in Block Island, R.I,., and the Corps is now using a special dredge to make the entrance channel to the Harbor of Refuge to remove hazardous shoals in the channel. During this Block Island restoration project…

Heriot-Watt University Orders ASV C-Enduro

Heriot-Watt University’s Edinburgh Campus, has confirmed the order of an ASV C-Enduro. The C-Enduro Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) will be used for research in persistent and long term autonomy with multiple remote and autonomous marine platforms. The vehicle’s primary application will be as a moving navigation and communication platform for AUV’s. Professor David Lane of Heriot-Watt said: “The vehicle…

Students to Pilot Pioneering Falcon ROV

America’s very first Bachelor of Science in Maritime Technology program, offered by Northwestern Michigan College, is to get a special Falcon ROV. In what the college says is a pioneering new capability, the Falcon will be fitted with an advanced sonar system that will help students study ROVs as a multicomponent resource used across a range of subsea activities. The aim of the BSc program is for students to become proficient in applied technology for the marine industry onshore and offshore.

Uncrewed Vessel Tech: Argeo Argus Launched for Offshore Energy Sector

Argeo launched its first uncrewed, remotely supervised survey and inspection vehicle dubbed Argeo Argus. The Argus USV (Uncrewed Surface Vehicle) will conduct mapping and inspection services using robotics and autonomous ocean space technology for offshore and energy projects in water depths from 2 to 200 meters.Did you know: The name "Argus" comes from Greek mythology, "a giant with a hundred eyes.""Investments in the offshore energy sector are growing at a massive rate.

Fredericksburg Christian School Robotics Team Places First at Innovation Challenge @Dahlgren

The sounds of sonar echoed through the room as Fredericksburg Christian School’s (FCS) robot navigated a maze of landmasses and ships on its way to acquiring and destroying a squadron of jets assembled like bowling pins at the end of the course. FCS robot’s flawless performance launched the team into first place in the inaugural Innovation Challenge @Dahlgren event held at the University of Mary Washington’s (UMW) Dahlgren campus…

Seabed 2030 Enters Partnership with Terradepth

Terradepth and The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 project have announced a new partnership which will utilize Terradepth's geospatial data portal known as Absolute Ocean. Seabed 2030 will use Absolute Ocean as a data visualization and exploration tool as part of the international effort to map the entire ocean floor.Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation in Japan…

MTR 100: Teledyne Marine Interconnect Solutions

Describe the companies in your group, citing examples of your group collaboration. Teledyne Oil & Gas consists of Cormon, DGO, Impulse, PDM, ODI, Storm Cable  and VariSystems. This synergistic collection of product lines formed from Teledyne companies with 13 locations around the globe. They work in symphony to provide a broad range of power and data transmission interconnect solution options from terrestrial and topside applications to littoral and deep ocean environments.

UNOLS Seeks Research Vessel Feedback

The UNOLS Council and Fleet Improvement Committees have been working over the past few months on a response for the NSF to evaluate the need on the number of regional class research vessels to be built as part of the UNOLS fleet replacement efforts. As the UNOLS Council continues to discuss and research this issue, it is seeking reviews and input. UNOLS is asking the public to send thoughts to: [email protected].

Divex to Supply US Navy with Helicom Matrix

Divex has been awarded a contract to supply the U.S. Navy with its diver communications system the HeliCom Matrix. Divex, a subsidiary of James Fisher and Sons plc, has received the order from the Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU) through American partner, Chase Supply Inc. To be used at their deep trials and training facility in Panama City, Florida, the HeliCom Matrix is a fully digital diver communication system that provides communications for the chamber complex and wet test chamber.