Unique Group Expands European Rental Pool

Hydrographic survey and diving equipment specialist Unique Group said it has selected subsea vehicle positioning and navigation technology from Sonardyne International Ltd. to add to its expanding equipment rental pool. The SPRINT Inertial Navigation Systems (INS) and Syrinx Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs) will be held at the company’s regional headquarters in Aberdeen and made available to support survey and construction projects using ROVs and AUVs in water depths up to 4,000 meters.

MTR100: SeeByte

SeeByte provides clients in the maritime, military and oil and gas sectors with smart software solutions to enhance the capabilities of underwater sensors, vehicles and systems. SeeByte came to be in 2002 in the Oceans Lab at Heriot-Watt University, and has since grown to become a leader in advanced software solutions with a global market presence. In October 2013 SeeByte was acquired by Battelle Memorial Institute…

New Vessel Aims to Transform the Fishing Industry

Seattle-based company Blue North has christened F/V Blue North, a state-of-the-art vessel designed to transform the fishing industry by improving conditions for workers, reducing environmental impact and harvesting seafood more humanely. Designed with sustainability in mind, the new longliner is geared specifically for the Alaskan cod fishery, built by Dakota Creek Industries, Inc. of Anacortes, Wash. from a design (ST-155L) by Norwegian firm Skipsteknisk AS.

Marine Ecosystem Assessment Solution for Research Ship

Argentina’s National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (INIDEP) has selected an extensive suite of Simrad marine ecosystem assessment technology from Kongsberg Maritime for installation aboard its new oceanographic and fishing research vessel. Currently under construction at Spanish yard Astilleros Armon Vigo SA and due for delivery mid-2017, the new 52m research ship will be built as a silent vessel…

Michigan Police Upgrades Deepwater Capability

The Michigan State Police Underwater Recovery Unit recently took delivery of an Iver3-580 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) from OceanServer Technology. The AUV system operates at depths to 200 meters and includes EdgeTech’s 2205 high resolution side scan sonar. OceanServer has sold over a dozen systems to customers in the Great Lakes Region including four systems to the University of Michigan and one Iver3 system shipped to Michigan Tech University in 2013.

US Navy Upgrades Mine Hunting Capabilities

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE:NOC) delivered the first of three lots of mine hunting sonar upgrade kits to the U.S. Navy’s Naval Surface Warfare Center, Panama City Division. The ultimate end users will be the HM-12, -14 and -15 Mine Countermeasures Squadrons. The production contracts from the Navy’s PMS-495 are for upgrading 27 AQS-24A mine hunting systems into the more advanced AQS-24B system.

HHI Orders Two MacGregor Subsea Cranes

MacGregor, part of Cargotec, saidi it won an order for two subsea cranes from South Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries Co Ltd. The active heave-compensated cranes will have an SWL of 100 and 25 metric tons, respectively. They will be fitted on board a new 160-meter heavy construction vessel being built at the yard for global offshore specialist, Subsea 7. The MacGregor subsea cranes will support…

DMA Promotes e-Navigation

Co-hosted by The Danish Maritime Authority (DMA) and IALA, the conference ’e-Navigation Underway’ was held for the 8th time. 150 participants from 5 continents joined the hosts on a conference cruise departing from Denmark earlier this week. ​The debate at the conference was lively with a strong focus on applying digitalization to real world uses. President and CEO at DFDS, Niels Smedegaard, said during…

Bourbon Orders ROV Launch and Recovery System

Kongsberg Maritime subsidiary Kongsberg Evotec informs it has signed an agreement with Bourbon Offshore Norway for the delivery of the E-LARS launch and recovery system for remote operated vehicles (ROV). The system, to be delivered in December 215, will be installed on an advanced new VARD 2-12 ARCTIC design AHTS vessel, which is developed for worldwide operations, including arctic regions. Through the development of E-LARS…

Transocean Orders Two New Ultra-Deepwater Drillships

Transocean Ltd. inform that a subsidiary company has awarded contracts to Sembcorp Marine's subsidiary, Jurong Shipyard, in Singapore for construction of two newbuild dynamically positioned ultra-deepwater drillships with contract options for up to three more. The two drillships are expected to be delivered from the shipyard in the second quarter of 2017 and the first quarter of 2018, respectively.

Testing of New Survey ROV Underway

MMT Sweden AB and Reach Subsea ASA have jointly invested in developing a new special underwater tool for seabed mapping and pipeline inspection with the Norwegian ROV manufacturer Kystdesign AS to serve a market for pipeline inspection and survey in the North Sea potentially worth 2 Billion NOK yearly. According to the developers, the new remotely operated vehicle (ROV), called Surveyor Interceptor…

WHOI Spins Off Tech Start-up EOM Offshore

On February 5, 2018, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) sold its majority ownership interest to EOM Offshore’s management team and investors while continuing to receive royalties under the existing exclusive licensing of its stretch hose technology. Rockland Trust Bank provided a line of credit to assist the change in ownership and help assure EOM Offshore’s continued financial strength. EOM…

Underwater Laser Mapping on the Move

Subsea technology companies Newton Research Labs Inc. and Sonardyne International Ltd, UK. have completed tests to integrate Newton Labs’ underwater laser scanners with Sonardyne’s acoustically-aided inertial navigation system for underwater vehicles, SPRINT-Mapper. The companies say the milestone paves the way for greater adoption by industry of mobile laser mapping technology to survey seafloor sites and subsea structures…

PicSea: A New Concept for Ocean Autonomy

“I just can’t believe that 70 percent of the world’s surface is underwater, but it remains almost entirely unexplored. We offer a solution that could make a huge difference to underwater survey, exploration and research. By using hundreds or even thousands of our low-cost underwater robots, we can intelligently explore these hidden depths more easily now than ever before,” said Andrew Durrant, Founder of PicSea…

OSI Maritime Systems’ ECPINS Earns MED Type Approval

OSI Maritime Systems has received Marine Equipment Directive (MED) Type Approval certification from DNV GL for ECPINS Submarine (ECPINS) against new International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards for Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS). The new IHO standards include new editions of IHO S-52 and S-64 which cover chart content, display aspects, and testing of data respectively.

BMT to Showcase at Oceanology International

BMT Group Ltd (BMT)  will showcase its portfolio of offshore support products and services on Stand R400 at the Oceanology International conference taking place in London’s ExCeL this month. BMT provides fully integrated services in monitoring, understanding and managing the risks associated with working in the offshore environment. Visitors will have the opportunity to engage with BMT’s technical experts and discuss the specific challenges they face.

Drones: The Next Great Leap in Hydrography

Hydrographic charting is becoming more important outside the world of shipboard navigation as both industry and conservation have gone offshore to meet the increasing demands of a growing global population. By 2020, the subsea sector of oil exploration and extraction is expected to account for 20% of total crude oil production. In addition, global marine fisheries, which provide 15% of all animal protein consumed by humans, have been steadily collapsing for the last half century.

Dutch Government Picks Panther from Bluestream

For wreck removal, security and waterway maintenance, the Dutch Government chose the Saab Seaeye Panther XT Plus ROV. This followed a year-long evaluation of ROV manufacturers using European Union tendering rules. Subsea operator Bluestream, drove the bid and have gone on to boost their existing fleet to 16 Saab Seaeye vehicles with the purchase of their own two Panther XT Plus, along with three additional Tigers, in an ROV investment plan for 2014 worth over £4million.

Robot School Opens, Addresses Environmental Challenges

The National Oceanography Center (NOC) is a partner in a new $3.8m Center for Doctoral Training in the use of 'robotic' systems for environmental sciences. The NOC component of the center will focus on innovative marine robotics and sensors, which can be used to address key scientific challenges such as; climate change, deep-sea exploration, and identification of biodiversity ‘hotspots’. The fleet…

X (Prize) Marks the Spot

Nonprofit organization XPRIZE creates and manages large-scale, high-profile competitions that aim to stimulate research and development solutions to grand problems across a number of scientific fields. The group has previously held competitions targeting advances in personalized medicine, automotive fuel efficiency, oil cleanup and privatized space exploration, to name a few. For its latest competition…