US Ports Dredging FY2014: Record Grant Recommended

Following on the heels of House Committee's recommendation, U.S. Senate Subcommittee recommends record US$1-billion for FY2014 maintenance dredging. The U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee’s Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development completed its mark up of the fiscal 2014 appropriation bill for the U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which includes a record $1 billion draw…

TE SubCom Introduces Open Cables, Ocean Gateway

TE SubCom introduced today “Open Cables,” a new flexible business model that allows customers to select preferred Submarine Line Terminating Equipment (SLTE) line card supplier to create an interoperable and complementary dry and wet plant. SubCom will continue to offer and invest in its advanced SLTE product line, in addition to the new Open Cables alternative, to provide customers with ultimate flexibility.

SeeByte Sells Additional SeeTrack CoPilot Units to Seatronics

SeeByte, a creator of smart software for unmanned maritime systems, announced the sale of a further five SeeTrack CoPilot licenses to Seatronics. This market-leading software will be integrated into Seatronics’ Predator ROV, allowing the system to benefit from improved capabilities. Adil Ali, International Product Sales Manager at Seatronics, said, “We are committed to offering our customers a more capable platform and our relationship with SeeByte allows us to do that.

Damen Delivers Reservoir Dredge Package

The Damen Field Service crew has just returned from commissioning the Barracuda cutter suction dredger in Algeria. The customised Damen Cutter Suction Dredger (CSD) 500 has been delivered with a complete dredging package including a booster station and dredge piping enabling immediate start up. The CSD500 will perform maintenance dredging in a reservoir. As reservoir dredging can be quite a challenge, the standard dismountable CSD500 has been customised.

China Hosts Deep-Sea Exploration Contractors Meet

The third annual meeting between the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Secretariat and the contractors with deep-sea exploration contracts in the international deep-seabed (the Area) concluded in Changsa, China on Sunday.Delegates gathered at the three-day meeting hosted by China Minmetals from October 11-13 to discuss areas of common interest, and the next steps in moving from exploration to the sustainable development of deep-sea mineral resources.In his remarks at the opening ceremony…

INVENTION: Pitching a Tent Underwater

Divers are one step closer to being able to camp underwater. A pair of innovators have developed an underwater habitat – a subsea ‘basecamp’ if you will – that  provides a portable deep-sea space for divers, a habitat and dedicated life support system that provides creates a breathable environment. Developed by NYU Meyers professor Winslow Burleson and diving pioneer and explorer Michael Lombardi,…

Sonar Assists Deepest Solo Sub Dive

In December 2018, Victor Vescovo became the first person to reach the deepest part of the Atlantic, piloting his private submersible the Limiting Factor 8,376 meters below the ocean's surface to the bottom of the Puerto Rico Trench -- the deepest solo human submersible dive ever.It goes without saying that state-of-the-art subsea technology was key to the mission's success. The submersible, a Triton 36000/2…

Fugro Receives New Offshore Survey Vessel

Fugro has formally taken delivery of  'Fugro Brasilis', the fourth of Fugro’s FSSV series of dedicated offshore survey vessels. Designed to the Dutch company's specifications and fitted with the latest survey equipment, Fugro say that these are the most advanced vessels in this field. The new vessel will be utilised on a variety of projects offshore South America. Fugro Brasilis will be capable of carrying out a wide range of offshore services including geophysical mapping…

Roboboat Competition: Embry-Liddle Boat Wins

Navigating a floating obstacle course with aplomb, an autonomous LiDAR-equipped boat from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University  captured first place overall at the 7th Annual International RoboBoat Competition in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Outfitted with Velodyne’s HDL-32E LiDAR sensor, the pilot-less Embry-Riddle vessel crossed the finish line ahead of the 12 other teams participating in the event…

US Navy Partners with ALFA International

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport has entered into an agreement with ALFA International Inc. of Woonsocket, R.I. for the commercialization of NUWC XP-1, a high-performance polyurethane developed for protection of marine acoustic and optical equipment. The two-part polyurethane exhibits good hydrolytic stability and acoustic properties while also being optically clear, the manufacturer said. NUWC XP-1 can be cured at room or elevated temperatures in less than 24 hours.

Keppel Wins Add-on Mexican Jack-up Order

Keppel FELS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Keppel Offshore & Marine Ltd (Keppel O&M), has secured a contract to build a jackup rig worth US$206 million from repeat customer Grupo R, a Mexican drilling company. Scheduled for delivery in 4Q 2015, the jackup rig will be built to Keppel's proprietary KFELS B Class design. It will be added to the fleet of another four similar rigs that Keppel FELS is building for Grupo R.

Partners Developing Dynamic Subsea Laser Mapping

A formal collaboration agreement between subsea technology companies 2G Robotics Inc. and Sonardyne International Ltd, UK. will see the two organizations work together on the development and promotion of a dynamic underwater laser mapping solution which reduces the time needed to survey seafloor sites and offshore structures. The new agreement centers on the integration of Sonardyne’s acoustically-aided inertial navigation system for underwater vehicles…

Offshore Wind Floating TLP Model Tests Complete

US-based Glosten Associates (Glosten) announce that the 3-week scale-model testing of the PelaStar tension-leg platform (TLP) has been completed. The three-week test program was conducted in support of the Offshore Wind Floating Platform Demonstration Project FEED Study awarded to Glosten by Energy Technologies Institute (ETI). The test results are being used to further demonstrate PelaStar’s technical feasibility and to calibrate state-of-the-art software used to design…

Delta SubSea Adds New Vessel

Delta SubSea has entered into an agreement with Norwegian company Olympic Shipping AS for the Olympic Delta, a newly built Multipurpose Subsea Support & Construction Vessel. The Olympic Delta is a 94m-long green-friendly vessel designed for greatly reduced fuel consumption and emissions. It will carry two Schilling HD 150 HP work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) from DSS’s fleet, with the focus on inspection, repair and maintenance jobs, says a statement from the company.

Seadrill Ultra-deepwater Newbuilding Contracted to Chevron

Seadrill secures commitment for newbuild ultra-deepwater unit 'West Tellus'. The company has signed a contract with Chevron China Energy Company for the newbuild ultra-deepwater drillship West Tellus in support of Chevron's affiliated global exploration program. The contract commences in China immediately upon shipyard delivery and thereafter relocates to Liberia. The agreement is for a period of 180…

SSBN Force Level Requirements: It’s Simply a Matter of Geography

There have been recent claims that today’s ballistic missile submarine force is operating with excess capacity and, therefore, force reductions to save resources may be in order. As I have noted in response to a recent op-ed, this supposition is untrue – in fact, our lean SSBN force is providing the cornerstone of our national security at a pace that has remained essentially constant since the late 1990s.

WindSentinel Floating LiDAR Helps Cut Costs

The WindSentinel Floating LiDAR solution developed by AXYS Technologies is a wind resource assessment buoy capable of accurately gathering data on wind speed and wind direction offshore at turbine hub-height and across the blade span. The data enables developers to understand how strong the winds are at the heights of wind turbines, provides a clear picture of how much power can be generated at specific sites, and helps to validate wind predictions from computer models.

Kiewit to Serve as MCV Shorebase for MWCC

Marine Well Containment Company (MWCC) announced today that Kiewit Offshore Services (Kiewit) in Ingleside, Texas has been selected as the shorebase location to house equipment to outfit the company's modular capture vessels (MCVs) in the event of a deployment to a deepwater well control event. The equipment, which includes modular processing facilities for the MCVs and the centerpiece of the containment systems…

New Marine Energy Generating Device Gets R&D Grant

The Whatever Input to Torsion Transfer (WITT) transmission system is unique and capable of collecting chaotic movement in any direction to turn it into useable power. The Technology Strategy Board award for Vessel Efficiency is the first of its kind and follows successful testing of the device in the Wave Tank at Plymouth University and in Plymouth Sound, UK. The project, Energy Harvesting Technology from Vessel Motion…

Three New Offshore Seismic Surveys for TGS

TGS announces three new multi-client surveys; a 3D survey in UK West of Shetlands and two 2D surveys offshore Newfoundland-Labrador. Rona Ridge 2013 (RR13) is a 2,420 km2 3D survey that will provide the industry's first 3D data in the highly prospective UK West Shetland Basin. Data processing will be performed by TGS with initial data available to clients in Q4 2013 ahead of the UK 28th Licensing Round.