RH Petrogas’ Gets Green Light on Fuyu 1 Block

The approved ODP allows KRL to operate and drill up to 1,008 wells in Fuyu 1 Block over a course of five years. RH Petrogas Limited, which is engaged in the business of exploration, development and production of oil and gas resources, said that the Group’s Overall Development Plan for the phased development of the Yongping Oilfield in the Fuyu 1 Block has received approval from the National Development and Reform Commission of the People’s Republic of China.

Groundbreaking UK Maritime Research Parnership Set to Continue

With new experimental facilities under construction at HR Wallingford, the foundations are in place for another two decades of successful collaboration between HR Wallingford’s Professor Richard Whitehouse and University College London’s Professor Richard Simons. Richard Whitehouse and Richard Simons know first-hand the value of long term collaboration in experimental research. They first worked together…

Subsea Energy Production Beats Topside Method Says ABB

ABB recently entered a partnership with international energy company Statoil to develop power solutions for subsea oil and gas production. A key challenge they identify is to develop reliable long-distance power transmission technology and to build components that can function for several decades at depths of up to 3,000 meters. The subsea industry has gained worldwide importance as oil companies strive…

Meet the CARTHE Drifter

Surface currents in the upper 1 ocean are very important in driving the fate of marine debris and pollutants but are also challenging to measure. Tracking the upper ocean in an effective manner may require massive deployment of GPS tracked drifter buoys, which until now were expensive, cumbersome and quite polluting themselves (i.e. made of PVC, ABS and Nylon). The CARTHE drifter is an answer to the need for a compact, user-friendly, robust, yet eco-friendly solution.

Whorton Named President of Teledyne Optech

Dr. Mark Whorton has assumed the role of President of the U.S. organization Teledyne Optech, Inc., the company announced. In this role, Dr. Whorton will oversee U.S. operations and apply his expertise to the development of the Optech Coastal Zone Mapping and Imaging Lidar (CZMIL) and our line of digital aerial cameras. Dr. Whorton has served Teledyne Brown Engineering (TBE) as Chief Technology Officer since October 2014 and previously as Director, Commercial Earth Imaging.

UK's Newest Submarine Arrives on the Clyde

Artful, the third of the U.K. Royal Navy’s new Astute Class attack submarines, has arrived at her Scottish base port from where she will carry out sea trials before entering service later this year, the U.K. Ministry of Defense announced. The 7,400-metric-ton, 97-meter-long Artful left BAE Systems’ construction yard at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria several days ago before sailing to her new home at Her Majesty’s Naval Base (HMNB) Clyde.

Unmanned Forces: Building a Multi-Domain Autonomous Fleet

Success on the frontline relies largely upon harmonious operations between all sectors of the armed forces, whether that is Army, Navy, Air Force or Amphibious units. Naturally, each unit is assigned operations according the capabilities it brings to the battlefield and together bring the best of each domain. While this concept seems a clear choice for manned operations, multi-domain collaboration is rarely seen in unmanned operations.

MUM's the Word: New UUV Takes Shape in Germany

The Large Modifiable Underwater Mothership (MUM) brings German engineering prowess and cooperation to the fore. As the world of autonomous vehicles flourishes on land and in the air, subsea applications have proven more challenging, despite great strides in recent years to deliver fully autonomous, efficient systems at sea. A team of engineers from Germany, engineers teamed from industry and academia…

Military, Government Agencies Utilize Side Scan Sonars

Many fire and police departments consider side scan sonar an essential piece of dive team equipment as it produces detailed images of the underwater environment regardless of water clarity. In addition, the sonar is able to search large areas quickly, scanning several hundred feet of ocean, lake, or river bottom with each pass of the boat. The acoustic beam reflects off any objects lying there and the data is sent topside where vivid color images are displayed and stored on a laptop computer.

AXSUB, Darkwater Vision Partner

AXSUB and Darkwater Vision have agreed to partner on research and development activities for a underwater vision product line developed using UVAS Technology (underwater vision augmentation system), a patented technology. AXSUB will also act as a manufacturing agent for products dedicated to the commercial diving sector, and the agreement provides for the sharing of distribution channels. “With AXSUB…

NOAA Awards $9.3 Mln for Aquaculture Research

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced 32 research grants totaling $9.3 million for projects around the U.S. to further develop the nation’s marine and coastal aquaculture industry. “This country, with its abundant coastline, should not have to import billions of pounds of seafood each year,” said Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The grants were awarded through two competitions…

Klein Plans 2018 Side Scan Sonar Training

Side scan sonar manufacturer Klein Marine Systems will host three days of side scan sonar training, including a one day on-water practical training, from January 29-31, in Pensacola, Fla. The training, organized with the support of Higgs Hydrographic Tek, will help participants to develop a thorough understanding of sonar image analysis as well as hands-on experience with single beam sonar such as the dual-frequency Klein 4900. Guest instructor Vincent Capone, M.Sc.

Ecuador Adds TRIAXYS Wave Buoys to Coastal Network

AXYS Technologies Inc. has recently delivered three more TRIAXYS Next Wave Directional Wave Buoys to Instituto Oceanográfico De La Armada (INOCAR) of Ecuador. These TRIAXYS buoys will be added to the existing coastal wave monitoring network of TRIAXYS buoys owned by INOCAR and deployed along the Ecuador coastline. The AXYS Services Team traveled to Guayaquil to provide instruction to INOCAR personnel on managing and operating the network and will visit again for continued system training.

When It Comes to Inspiring Innovation, 'X' Marks the Spot

The XPrize is seeking to incentivize innovation to spur a new era of ocean discovery, as Jyotika I. Virmani, Ph.D. explains. We are living in an age of rapid innovation. Over the past 150,000 years we have evolved primarily in a local and linear world where most of our activities happened within a day’s walk. Life was relatively constant, millennium to millennium. The Industrial Revolution and the advent of the Steam Engine saw a shift from this predominantly arable and local lifestyle…

How Many Red Snapper Are in the Gulf of Mexico?

How many red snapper are in the U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico? A two-year, $12 million independent study led by a team of university and government scientists aims to come up with an estimate. Several stakeholder groups have expressed concerns that there are more red snapper in the Gulf than currently accounted for in the stock assessment. In 2016, Congress directed the National Sea Grant College Program and NOAA Fisheries to fund independent red snapper data collections…

Rolls Royce to Lead Canadian Naval Research Project

An award of $3 million from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) funds the project. The development of Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) and Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUVs) is a rapidly expanding part of naval marine technology, and Rolls-Royce has extensive capability in the handling systems that enable these advanced craft to be launched, refuelled and recovered from the sea. Rolls…

Containerships Figure in Disaster Relief Plan

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's  (DARPA)  Tactically Expandable Maritime Platform (TEMP) program has completed the design of innovative technologies to transform commercial container ships into self-contained floating supply bases during disaster relief operations, without needing port infrastructure. The program envisions a container ship anchoring offshore of a disaster area, and the ship’s crew delivering supplies ashore using DARPA-developed…

Hydroid Names Rogers VP of Engineering

Dr. Andrew K. Rogers has joined Hydroid Inc. as vice president of engineering, responsible for leading all engineering and program management activities at the Massachusetts based Kongsber Maritime subsidiary, including research and development, new product development, program planning and execution and product support. Dr. Rogers brings to the role more than 28 years of experience that spans a broad range of technologies and markets.

Researchers to Visit ‘Battle of the Atlantic’ Wreckage

Researchers from the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and its partners are set to visit what remains of two ships—a German U-boat and a Nicaraguan freighter – which sank off Cape Hatteras during World War II’s “Battle of the Atlantic,” which pitted the U-boats of the German navy against combined Canadian, British, and American forces defending Allied merchant ships. By July 1942…

ROV Operations Market Facing Near-term Challenges

Energy industry analyst and consultancy Douglas-Westwood (DW) forecast the market for the operation of work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROV) to total $14.2 billion over the period to 2019, in its seventh edition of the World ROV Operations Market Forecast. The report's author, Antoine Paillat, commented, "This represents a 19 percent increase on the previous five-year period, however, near-term…