iXBlue to Supply Gyrocompass Systems to RFA Tankers

iXBlue announced it is to supply QUADRANS fiber-optic gyrocompass systems for installation aboard the four new Tide Class tankers of the U.K. Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA). The systems to be supplied to Kelvin Hughes Limited will be integrated as a sub-system of the Integrated Bridge Systems for delivery to Daewoo Shipbuilding and Marine Engineering (DSME) in South Korea where the vessels are under construction.

NYK: Oil Production Starts at Third FPSO Unit

In July, a third floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit deployed by NYK for the BM-S-11 consortium** through a joint venture company started oil production in a pre-salt area off Brazil. This FPSO unit, FPSO Cidade de Saquarema, is owned by a shareholder consortium comprising SBM Offshore N.V. (Netherlands), Queiroz Galvão Óleo e Gás S.A. (Brazil), and a joint venture company between NYK (48.72 percent…

Submersible Takes Sea Exploration to New Depths

ICTINEU 3 deep submersible flagged in France - a new tool available for deep underwater exploration. The  ICTINEU 3, a manned submersible that can carry three (one pilot and two passengers) to depths of 1,200 meters, completed sea trials and certification tests last April in France under DNV-GL and French Maritime Affairs witnessing, where it obtained French flag and registration number, as well as navigation permits.

Brazil Offshore: Petrobras & Subsea Engineering

Brazil’s Petrobras has been one of the leading players in deepwater, subsea development projects since the turn of the century. These projects include pre-salt and post-salt plays, which require extensive and complex subsea engineering and construction efforts. It would be impossible for Petrobras to develop all of its projects alone, therefore much is done by specialized companies, mostly of foreign origin.

ESS Expands High-Performance Buoyancy Offering

Engineered Syntactic Systems (ESS), a global supplier of foam buoyancy solutions, has announced plans to extend its line of high performance syntactic products to support more traditional oceanographic implementations. The addition of modular product options enables ESS to supply more customers with great performance in a wider range of densities. The experienced team at ESS has been serving the oceanographic industry for over 30 years.

Rayotek: Seeing Under Pressure

According to Bill Raggio, Rayotek Scientific isn’t specifically a maritime company, but it definitely is part of San Diego’s “Blue Economy.” “We’re both an engineering company and a sapphire and glass manufacturer. We makes specialized glass for windows and sight windows, diffusers, pressure vessels, hydraulics and boiler systems, submarine periscopes and camera covers,” says Raggio, Rayotek’s chief technology officer.

SeaBotix: Mini-ROVs Sized Just Right for a Niche Market

SeaBotix President Timm says his company makes mini-ROV systems with a pedigree of underwater expertise. “There are many areas that are either too deep or too dangerous for divers,” says Timm. “Our vehicles give the user the capability to carry a suite of sensors into these locations to inspect, survey, document, cut entanglements and retrieve objects. SeaBotix has about 70 employees, with about $21m in revenue for FY14.

New Data System for Malaysian Navy

As the national hydrographic and charting authority in Malaysia, the Hydrographic Directorate of the Royal Malaysian Navy (HDRMN) has a mandate to collect measurements using modern techniques, and provide adequate and timely hydrographic information to support safety of navigation, national development, defense and security, and numerous other activities related to the use of Malaysia’s marine environment.

ABS Makes it Safer to ‘Walk to Work’

ABS announced the publication of The ABS Guide for Certification of Offshore Access Gangways. The new Guide addresses certification for safety systems used for “walk to work” (W2W) crew transfers. “As advanced crew transfer options become the norm in the offshore oil and gas industry, more and more companies want to benefit from W2W vessels and are looking to ABS for safety guidance,” says ABS Chief Technology Officer, Howard Fireman.

NASA May Send Submarine to Titan

NASA has unveiled plans to send a submarine into the depths of the largest ocean of Saturn's biggest moon, Titan in a bid to explore the depths of its largest ocean. The aim to find the chemical composition of the largest ocean of the moon, Kraken Mare and search for signs of life. Jason Hartwig, a NASA cryogenics engineer has disclosed the idea while he was giving a presentation at NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts Symposium in Raleigh, reports inverse.com.

MTR100: Nortek AS

Nortek designs, develops and manufactures scientific oceanographic instruments that are used to measure the movement of water in its different forms. For 20 years, the company has produced acoustic Doppler instrumentation, employing innovative processes in its product development and production. Its Doppler Velocity Logs (DVL), used for subsea navigation, and Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP)…

Students Bring Robotics to US Naval War College

A group of students from the robotics teams at Slater Junior High School and Shea High School from Pawtucket, R.I. visited U.S. Naval War College (NWC) on Tuesday, December 12. The students brought two robots which they designed and built to NWC to demonstrate to the NWC students, staff and faculty how they operate and what tasks each robot could complete. Beginning in 2013, the goal of the Slater…

Wynne Named President and CEO of AUVSI

Brian Wynne has been named president and CEO of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), succeeding the retiring Michael Toscano on January 12, 2015. Wynne is currently president of the Electric Drive Transportation Association (EDTA), a post he has held since April 2004. The organization promotes battery, hybrid, plug-in hybrid and fuel cell electric vehicles and infrastructure.

MTR100: Klein Marine Systems, Inc.

Founded by Marty Klein in 1968, in a small factory in Salem, N.H., Klein Associates became the world’s first commercial manufacturer of side scan sonar, and since then has gone on to become a leading supplier of side scan sonar equipment, as well as waterside security and surveillance systems to navies, shipbuilders, secure installations, researchers, oil and gas explorers and hydrographers. Klein designs and manufactures high-resolution side scan and multi-beam sonar equipment…

Normand Vision Ready for GOM SURF Job

Ocean Installer won a contract for an umbilical installation project with Oceaneering for LLOG on the Delta House project. The location of the project is in the Mississippi Canyon Area. This marks the highly advanced construction support vessel (CSV) Normand Vision’s first SURF contract in the Gulf of Mexico (GoM). “We are very pleased that we are able to present Normand Vision to the region and demonstrate her capabilities on an interesting project…

Teledyne RESON Wins Major Contract from Lockheed Martin

Teledyne RESON A/S said it has been awarded a double-digit million Euro contract by Lockheed Martin Global Inc. for the delivery of multiple SONAR systems for Mine Counter Measure applications for an international defense program. The award includes delivery of the new SeaBat 7123-MkII, which is an advanced dual use high resolution SONAR suitable for both commercial and military applications. Commercial applications include underwater inspection related tasks…

‘A Step Forward in Submarine Radar Technology’

Kelvin Hughes, a U.K. baesd designer and supplier of navigation and security surveillance systems, announced that it can now bring all the benefits of its SharpEye radar technology to submarines. Traditionally, submarines only use radar for navigation in and out of port because a high power RF transmission can compromise its ability to remain undetected. However, with its low power output – up to 300W…

Teledyne Marine Plans 2nd Technology Workshop

Teledyne Marine said it plans to host its second biennial Teledyne Marine Technology Workshop in which speakers, influencers and attendees from around the globe will converge to explore, learn and share their experiences on a broad range of technologies spanning commercial, academic and defense applications. The 2017 event, slated for October 15-18 2017, will once again be hosted at the Catamaran Resort in San Diego, Calif.

SBG Systems Unveils Ekinox Subsea Series

SBG Systems will unveil at SUBSEA EXPO (Aberdeen, U.K.) the Ekinox Subsea Series, a product family of survey-grade inertial systems designed for underwater applications – up to 6,000 m. Based on the robust and cost-effective MEMS technology, the series includes the Ekinox-M, a Motion Reference Unit (MRU), and the Ekinox-U, an underwater Inertial Navigation System (INS). The state-of-the-art Ekinox Subsea Series integrates the latest MEMS sensors to offer robust…

ROVOP Starts 2014 with Further Growth

Subsea specialist ROVOP has expanded its fleet of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) by taking delivery of four new hydraulic work class systems with a further four new ROVs expected later in the year. The company has invested $20 million in the four hydraulic Schilling HD work class ROVs, which were delivered during January, and is actively working to grow its offshore team by 50 to 110 to expand its provision of best in class ROV service to the oil and gas industry.