Spotlight to Shine on Technology at Subsea Expo

New technologies and how their implementation can boost or support oil and gas exploration production will be brought to the fore at this year’s Subsea Expo. For the first time, Subsea UK’s annual conference and exhibition, which takes place from February 11-13, will provide a platform for organizations to introduce, discuss and demonstrate their latest innovations. The Spotlight on Technology session…

NYK to Sponsor Shell XPrize Finalist

NYK has agreed to sponsor Team KUROSHIO,* a finalist in the Shell Ocean Discovery XPRIZE competition, by providing the transportation for the team’s unmanned robots, which are being used in this international competition to quickly and accurately map the ocean floor. Team KUROSHIO has participated in this competition over the past three years, and after passing through the technical documentation stage and an actual ocean test in Round 1…

US: $4B in Loan Aid for Renewable Energy

The U.S. Energy Department on Wednesday unveiled a plan for up to $4 billion in loan aid for renewable energy companies to help rejuvenate a program that faced harsh political attacks over past failures of federally subsidized projects. The Obama administration's draft plan would provide loan guarantees for innovative projects that limit or avoid greenhouse gas emissions. It will specifically focus on advanced electric grid technology and storage…

When Will Deep Sea Mining Commence? The Robot is Ready

The world's first deep sea mining robot sits idle on a British factory floor, waiting to claw up high grade copper and gold from the seabed off Papua New Guinea (PNG) - when a wrangle over terms is solved. Beyond PNG, in international waters, regulation and royalty terms for mining the planet's subsea wealth have also yet to be finalised. The world waits for the judgement of a United Nations agency based in Jamaica. "If we can take care of the environment we have a brand new day ahead of us.

RS at SEA JAPAN 2014

Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) was the only Russian company to take part in SEA JAPAN 2014 exhibition and conference – one of the major exhibitions of the maritime industry. The event which brought together the leading industry representatives of the world took place between 9 to 11 April 2014 at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre in Tokyo, Japan. The participants of the exhibition were 489 companies from 27 countries of the world.

Tidal Turbines to Power Remote Site in Indonesia

Over the last year a team of Indonesian and international specialists has worked in a remote part of Bintuni Bay, West Papua, Indonesia. The goal was to assess the local electricity situation, renewable energy options, including tidal in-stream power; and to then install a demonstration tidal turbine to support an isolated industrial island micro-grid. This project may act as a model for smaller scale energy developments in coastal areas throughout Southeast Asia.

ASV Global, BMT Team-up for Autonomous Navigation Project

ASV Global (ASV) is leading a new £1.2 million research project in partnership with BMT to enhance the safety and reliability of autonomous navigation. The project team will use deep learning machine vision systems trained with a combination of simulated and real world data. Part funded by Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency, this project will enhance situational awareness enabling the USV to operate in extreme and congested marine environments.

JW Fishers Celebrates 50 Years

In 1968, Jack W. Fisher began developing underwater search equipment, setting the stage for JW Fishers to become a trusted name in underwater search equipment.The JW Fishers story began in the mid-1960s when Jack, an avid diver, required an underwater metal detector for use on a salvage project. He discovered that there was no such device available, and over the next several years he built his own.

Kongsberg Maritime: University Students Test Own DP algorithms

Students and researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) were given the opportunity to test their own Dynamic Positioning (DP) algorithms in a full-scale setting last week. The trials took place in the Trondheimsfjord aboard the ‘R/V Gunnerus’, the NTNU-owned research and education vessel to which KONGSBERG donated a state-of-the-art K-Pos DP system in 2015. Called ‘The AMOS DP Research Cruise 2016’…

Five Minutes with Kevin Lord, Chet Morrison Contractors

In conjunction with the Underwater Intervention exhibition MTR set forth to find an excellent source to speak in the first person on the diving industry, and more specifically the balance today between deploying man and machine. Kevin Lord is the Subsea Operations Manager within the Marine Construction Division of Chet Morrison Contractors. He began his commercial diving career in the Gulf of Mexico after serving four years in the United States Navy.

Triton Imaging, Applied Acoustics Ink OEM Agreement

Triton Imaging, Inc. and Applied Acoustic Engineering Ltd. announced that they have signed an OEM agreement under which Applied Acoustics will offer Triton ISIS Offshore-SB data acquisition and Perspective-SB processing and interpretation software bundled with Applied Acoustic sub-bottom profiling hardware. With this arrangement, Applied Acoustics’ customers will have the advantage of using the proven…

McDermott Order Deepwater S-Lay Vessel

McDermott International inks contract with Keppel Offshore & Marine for construction of a dynamically-positioned combination S-Lay vessel with a 2,000-ton crane. The vessel, tentatively named Derrick Lay Vessel 2000 (“DLV2000”), will be constructed at Keppel Singmarine in Singapore and is expected to take approx 2.5 years to build. “DLV2000 is expected to address a market demand we consider to be extremely robust for deepwater pipelines as well as our traditional markets,” said Stephen M.

Mitsubishi Minatomirai Museum to Open "Ocean" Zone

On March 1 (Sun) the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum will launch its newly renovated "Ocean" zone, an area dedicated to introducing advanced technologies relating to the earth's oceans. In its new configuration the zone will display items in a way that enables visitors to experience what it's like to undertake deep-sea exploration using, for example, a simulator of a next-generation submersible research vessel.

Study: Sea Lion Brain Damage Due to Algae's Toxin

A toxin produced by marine algae is inflicting brain damage on sea lions along California's coast, causing neurological and behavioral changes that can impair their ability to navigate in the sea and survive in the wild, scientists said on Monday. Brain scans on 30 California sea lions detected damage in the hippocampus, a brain structure associated with memory and spatial navigation, in animals naturally exposed to the toxin known as domoic acid, the researchers said.

Liquid Robotics, NOAA Sign Forecasting Agreement

Liquid Robotics and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the signing of a multiyear, Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) designed to advance ocean observations to improve U.S. weather forecasting, fisheries management and environmental monitoring. The NOAA/Liquid Robotics CRADA combines the significant product capabilities of the Wave Glider, a revolutionary…

At Hamburg port E-mobility Project, BESIC enters crucial phase

Ten battery-operated heavy goods vehicles now transport containers between ships and the yard at the highly automated handling facility in the HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA). The aim is to charge the batteries of these container transporters when the grid has a surplus of renewable energy generated in northern Germany. The first battery-powered heavy goods vehicles in the world went into use at the HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) back in 2011.

Major BP Upstream North Sea Project Starts Production

BP and partners start production of oil/gas from the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea, one of a series of new major upstream projects. “The start-up of Skarv is a key operational milestone for BP, adding new production from one of our core higher-margin areas,” said Bob Dudley, BP group chief executive. The Skarv field is approximately 210 kilometres west of the Norwegian coast in water depths of approximately 350-450 metres.

SMS Launch Hydrogen Sulfide Safety Program

Safety Management Systems (SMS) is now offering an H₂S health and safety program for the oil & gas industry. Hydrogen sulfide gas, or H₂S, is the second most deadly gas and develops along with crude oil and natural gas. Because of this, having the proper H₂S safety measures in place is imperative to any company working with oil & gas. The new SMS H₂S program offers the oil & gas industry the most comprehensive H₂S solution on the market.

Eco Wave Power Set to Install Wave Energy Tech in Port of Jaffa as Sea Wall Works Near Completion

Swedish wave energy development company Eco Wave Power said Wednesday it was nearly done with the wall reinforcement works, meant to enable the installation of floaters on the sea wall of the Port of Jaffa, Israel.The works so far have included clearing the top cement layer of the relevant sections of the sea wall, followed by adding two layers of steel rebars for reinforcement and finally, in several days (in accordance with weather conditions)…

Port of London Launches Fully-electric Survey Vessel

In a first for UK ports, the Port of London Authority (PLA) and University College of London (UCL) have launched a fully electric, remotely operated survey vessel.It will support a MSc Hydrographic Surveying course they have run in partnership since 1999.The state-of-the-art platform, manufactured by Maritime Robotics, was acquired by the partners, following a successful bid and award of an £263,000…