Reducing the Costs of Port and Terminal Ops

The global economic outlook is uncertain; this uncertainty is leading to depressed investment worldwide, particularly in energy and mining activity. The international ports and terminals sector forms an important part of the infrastructure supporting these activities. As the sector is exposed to restraints on investment, the emphasis is on reducing in operating cost. HR Wallingford advises clients on how their activities interface with the water environment.

Marine Archaeology Center Launched

Scripps Institution of Oceanography and the Department of Anthropology have recently joined efforts within the University of California San Diego to launch the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology (SCMA). Researchers with the Scripps Center for Marine Archaeology will conduct fieldwork at key underwater and coastal archaeological sites around the world, studying the influence of marine environments on human cultures.

Partners Aim to Advance Methane Harvesting Tech

Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. (MES), one of major heavy industry manufacturers in Japan, has partnered MHWirth, a global provider of drilling solutions and services, to harvest shallow methane hydrates from the seabed of the Japan Sea. Methane hydrates generally are categorized as either shallow-type or pore-filling sand-layer type. For pore-filling sand-layer methane hydrates, the studies for the recovery have been conducted since around FY2001 in Japan.

Silver Ships Delivers Survey Vessel to US Army Corps of Engineers

Alabama shipbuilder Silver Ships announced it has delivered a new marine surveying vessel for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Venice Sub Office in Venice, La. The 49-foot Tobin is the latest expansion in Silver Ships’ Endeavor series of workboats and is the largest marine surveying vessel of its series.Custom designed for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to hydrographically map the mouth of the Mississippi River…

NOAA Taps Planet to Track Oil Spills, Marine Debris, And Marine Life

Satellite imagery company Planet is providing data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who are leveraging the company's PlanetScope and SkySat products to gain oceanic insights by evaluating oil spills, tracking marine debris, detecting vessels, and identifying large marine mammals like whales.In 2004, Hurricane Ivan caused severe damage in the Gulf of Mexico, including the collapse and sinking of an oil platform.

Oi Americas Announces Key Partnerships for February 2023 Event

RX Global, the organizers of Oceanology International Americas (OiA), announced a new collaboration with the Marine Technology Society (MTS), a collaboration designed to complement an existing relationship with the Society of Underwater Technology (SUT) Houston Branch. The MTS San Diego Section will be delivering conference content and market support while SUT Houston Branch will continue to deliver…

UKHO supports Montserrat with Seabed Mapping Data Survey

The UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has conducted a seabed mapping data survey in Montserrat to improve the safety of navigation around the island and to help with understanding, managing, and protecting its marine life.For this project, funded by the UK’s Conflict, Security and Stability Fund (CSSF), the UKHO worked alongside the Montserrat Hydrographic Survey Team to collect data from the waters around the island.

Aker Solutions, LR Partner on Subsea O&G Engineering

Lloyd’s Register (LR) and Aker Solutions collaborate under a new global framework agreement to drive efficiency in engineering and subsea oil and gas developments. With this new global framework agreement in place, Norwegian oil services company Aker Solutions can further improve efficiency and uphold their position as forerunner in advanced technologies for the offshore oil and gas industry, LR said in announcing the partnership today.

BHGE Wins Subsea Award from Beach Energy

Beach Energy has awarded Baker Hughes, a GE company, a contract to supply subsea production systems for its Victorian Otway Basin brownfield development project located in offshore Victoria, Australia.The Otway Basin is approximately 500 kilometers long from Cape Jaffa in South Australia to northwest Tasmania, covering both onshore and offshore.BHGE said its contract was awarded in the first quarter…

Poland Employs New Seismic Tech

The Polish state-controlled oil and gas company PGNiG said that its geophysical services provider Geofizyka Toruń SA became the first company in Europe to employ new seismic data acquisition technologies in searching for hydrocarbon deposits.The Polish oil and gas company said in a press release that the company is replacing the hitherto used cabled geophone networks with ultra-lightweight wireless nodal sensors.

Wesmar Equips National Geographic Endurance

Lindblad Expeditions' new vessel National Geographic Endurance, billed as the world’s most advanced polar expedition ship, is currently under construction at Ulstein in Norway.The new expedition cruise ship features a range of state-of-the-art technologies that will help it to navigate safely through some of the world's most remote locations, including several planned cruises through Arctic and Antarctic waters.Wesmar’s EV860 sonar was chosen for the vessel for a variety of reasons…

Armach Robotics Introduces Proactive In-water Hull Cleaning

Karl Lander, Director, Regulatory Compliance and Outreach of Armach Robotics joined a host of leaders in sustainable technologies and innovation at the 3rd Decarbonizing Shipping Forum, being held in Hamburg this week. He introduced the concept of autonomous robots making proactive in-water cleaning a reality, in support of the worldwide goal of decarbonizing in shipping.During the presentation, Lander discussed the impacts of fouling…

MASSA: Innovation Inside its DNA

From designing the world’s largest transducer; to lobster-like surf crawling robots to detect and destroy mines; to creating a new bowling score system; to designing, building and delivering sonar systems used by the most powerful navy on the planet, Massa Products Corporation represents nearly eight decades of invention and innovation. Dawn Massa Stancavish shares her insights and experience as a female…

Klein, Elbit Conduct Mine Hunting Exercises

Klein Marine Systems teamed with Elbit Systems to conduct  structured mine countermeasure exercises in the Mediterranean Sea. Klein’s advanced, state-of-the-art, 5900 mine hunting side scan sonar, integrated onboard Elbit’s Seagull Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) not only successfully detected and classified all detectable moored and bottom Mine Like Objects (MLO’s) but did so in one-third the allotted time period for each exercise.

Sunken WWI Battleship HMS Hampshire Surveyed

A secret mission to persuade Tsar Nicholas II of Russia to stay in the First World War failed when Britain’s Secretary of State for War Lord Kitchener and over 700 sailors died in the sinking of the warship HMS Hampshire after it hit a mine off the Orkney Isles. Now 100 years later, a Saab Seaeye Falcon underwater robotic system operated by Roving Eye Enterprises examined the wreck in a collaborative project that includes the University of the Highlands and Islands Archaeology Institute…

New Plug and Play Module for Gavia AUVs

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) provider Teledyne Gavia announced the release of its new Science Bay Module, further expanding the capabilities of the Gavia AUV. The new a standard payload Gavia Science Bay module comes with several hull penetrations designed to accommodate a variety of scientific sensors. There are four penetrations that can accommodate WET Labs ECO pucks, two external wet plugs to provide power and serial communication for external devices…

Ocean Cleanup Expands to Rivers

The Dutch non-profit The Ocean Cleanup has just announced a new device to catch plastic before if flows into the ocean.The organization that develops advanced technologies to rid the world’s oceans of plastic, unveiled its invention to prevent the unrelenting flow of plastic pollution into the world’s oceans.The Interceptor, under development by The Ocean Cleanup since 2015, complements the organization’s founding mission by attacking the flow of plastic garbage at its source…

SGS Acquires TTSA's Diving Division

Commercial diving company Subsea Global Solutions (SGS) said it has acquired the commercial diving division of T&T Salvage Asia, Pte Ltd. (TTSA), enhancing SGS’ capabilities in Singapore and strengthening its position in the Asia-Pacific region.Paul Peters, CEO of SGS said, “This is a strategic addition to our recent acquisition of Underwater Contractors Pte. Ltd. Singapore (UWC). Creating a single platform under the SGS umbrella with the most advanced technologies…

New Tech Aids US Navy Mapping

Rapid Airborne Multibeam Mapping System (RAMMS), showcased last week during a Naval Oceanography event held at Southern Mississippi’s Marine Research Center, has resulted in improved maritime domain awareness for the US Navy, and demonstrates the value of federal investments in private-sector research, development and commercialization efforts.RAMMS is based on Areté’s Pushbroom Imaging Littoral Lidar System (PILLS)…

Offshore Energy Outlook for 2020

The “new normal” is a phrase tossed around often in offshore energy circles today as those servicing and operating in the sector grapple with the harsh realities of the prolonged industry downturn. Operators, service companies and equipment suppliers have been forced to adjust to oil selling at prices well below the $100+ per barrel mark seen in years past. As of this writing, Brent oil was hovering around $62 per barrel…