Fugro Nets Two Multi-Year Contracts to Support Brazil’s Deepwater Oil Push

Fugro has signed two three-year contracts with offshore energy services company Constellation to support deepwater exploration activities in Campos Basin and the emerging Equatorial Margin, two of Brazil’s most strategically important regions.Fugro’s work will involve deploying advanced remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) aboard Constellation-managed vessels to carry out subsea equipment inspections…

Autonomous Multi-Vehicle System Designed for Long-Term Arctic Studies

Long-term data collection is needed to understand Arctic marine ecosystem changes as sea ice melts in response to climate change.However, direct observation is challenging as satellite sensors have a coarse spatial resolution and cannot detect the fine fractal structure of the ice. Deploying human-crewed ships to the area also is difficult due to extreme weather conditions and risks posed by floating broken ice.

Norwegian Parliament Strikes Deal to Advance Seabed Mining

Norway's minority government and two opposition parties have agreed to allow seabed mineral exploration in the Arctic region, they said on Tuesday, in a key step towards full-scale ocean mining.The deal comes as Norway hopes to become the first country to make deep-sea mining happen on a commercial scale and secure critical minerals and jobs despite concerns over the environmental impact and international calls for a moratorium.The amended version of the government's proposal…

Subsea Vehicles: Diving into the Autosub Program

In our last MTR, to mark 25 years of the UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) working with AUVs, we talked with Dr. Maaten Furlong, Head of the Marine Autonomous & Robotic Systems Group at NOC, about the organization’s history and future plans. Now we take a deep dive into the Autosub program.The UK’s National Oceanography Center (NOC) has a long history, going back to the National Institute of Oceanography…

Williams Named GM at Klein

MIND Technology, Inc. named Michael A. Williams as General Manager at its Klein unit located in Salem, NH, following the retirement of Frank Cobis.Williams has more than 35 years of technical and business management experience covering a broad range of technologies and industries including aerospace and defense, commercial aerospace, homeland security, and medical. He held various roles with Lockheed Martin leading advanced technology development for a wide range of platforms…

'Vibro-Installed' Anchor Concept gets support from U. of Dundee

A marine mooring and anchoring project aiming to improve the operation efficiency of ocean energy devices is recruiting support from the University of Dundee.The UMACK (Universal Mooring, Anchor & Connectivity Kit) Project has teamed up with the University’s Geotechnical Engineering Group to aid the development of a new ‘vibro-installed’ anchor system for Marine Energy applications.The new anchor solution…

Armach Robotics Set to Take the Pole Position on Ship Hull Maintenance, Intelligence

Melding advanced software, intelligence, robotics and navigation, Armach Robotics – a spinoff of Greensea Systems – leads a step change in ship hull cleaning and maintenance with its Robotics as a Service model. Ben Kinnaman, the CEO of Greensea Systems, explains.Ben, to start us off, please give us a background on Armach Robotics? Where did the idea come from and where are we today?Greensea Systems is a software company, well-known for our software platform on ocean robotics.

Ocean Business '23 Registration Opens

Registration is now open for Ocean Business 2023, a technology and science exhibition for marine industries. The three-day event, which is scheduled to run from April 18-20, 2022, at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, is open to all visitors for free by registering online at www.oceanbusiness.com.With more than 300 manufacturers and service providers already booked for the sold-out exhibition…

ROV Services Market Update

Chart courtesy Kimberlite International Oilfield Research The ROV Services market continues to be a key component for helping subsea operators achieve greater levels of operational efficiency and to reduce costs and will play a growing role in supporting the expansion of future offshore wind projects with tasks like laying cables, pre- and post-lay cable survey and other seabed activities.The size of the ROV Services market has declined to approximately $1 billion…

Expro Marks Four Decades of Subsea Work

Expro (NYSE: XPRO) is celebrating 40 years of subsea sector leadership since launching its first subsea test tree system in the North Sea in 1983.From the creation of its first 10ksi subsea test tree assembly (SSTTA) for an exploration and appraisal well project for Hamilton Brothers in the North Sea in 1983, to the development of its high debris 15K shear and seal ball valve technology in 2023, Expro…

Kraken's Robotics as a Service (RaaS) Contract with Royal Canadian Navy Deemed 'Success'

Canadian marine robotics company Kraken Robotics Inc. has successfully completed a Robotics as a Service (RaaS) contract with the Royal Canadian Navy, for the testing of Kraken’s ultra-high-resolution survey equipment. This $0.5 million contract was funded under the government of Canada’s Innovative Solutions Canada program, and the testing department for this service offering was the Royal Canadian Navy's Fleet Diving Unit Atlantic (FDU-A) based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Halter Marine Wins Deal to Build US Navy Oceanographic Survey Ship

Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine announced on Thursday it has been awarded a $149 million contract for the detail design and construction of an oceanographic survey ship (T-AGS 67) for the U.S. Navy.“This contract continues the momentum and growth of Halter Marine by adding a third government program to its shipyard along with the Polar Security Cutter and Auxiliary Personnel Lighter-Small programs.

Advanced Acoustic Concepts selects Sonardyne for Subsea Target Tracking

Advanced Acoustic Concepts, a U.S.-based subsea weapon, sensors, and integrated systems specialist has chosen Sonardyne's subsea positioning technology to work for the US Department of Defense (DoD).Advanced Acoustic Concepts chose Sonardyne’s portable Micro-Ranger 2 Ultra-Short Baseline (USBL) system to support its existing DoD programs and provide its operatives with increased situational awareness…

USCG's Keeper Class Buoy Tenders Set for Navigation Upgrade

The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has tapped Exail to replace obsolete gyrocompass systems on the 175-foot WLM Keeper Class Buoy Tenders. The $2,244,009 contract awarded to Exail includes Octans gyrocompasses and Netans Navigation Data Distribution Systems (NDDS) and covers a base year and nine options over a 10-year performance period.This upgrade will provide the USCG Keeper Class Buoy Tenders with more precise and dependable navigation capabilities.

BIRNS Launches Ecommerce Capability for NPT Penetrators

BIRNS, Inc., a designer and manufacturer of high performance connectors, cable assemblies and lighting systems, announced its new e-commerce offering for NPT (National Pipe Thread) penetrators on its website.This new capability provides customers an online one-stop shop for BIRNS’ ABS Product Design Assessment (PDA) certified penetrators. Available configurations on the site include sizes P25N-16-RA-LS, P25N-12-RA-LS, P13N-4-RA-LS and P19N-12-RA-LS, available with 4, 12 or 16 conductors.

FarSounder Argos for Turkish USVs

FarSounder Argos 3D Forward Looking Navigation Sonars have been included in the navigation control system for two Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV) built in Turkey. The vessels have comprehensive automation technologies enabling them to sail autonomously. The addition of the Argos systems will help them carry out their missions safely. Promar Deniz Malzemeleri A.S., FarSounder’s dealer in Türkiye, was instrumental in securing this sale.

Teledyne Marine Pays Tribute to Doug Webb

Douglas Webb, an esteemed Oceanographer Emeritus from Woods Hole, MA, and founder of Teledyne Webb Research, received recognition for his lifelong contributions to science at the Teledyne Marine facility located in North Falmouth, MA, on June 5, 2024.Teledyne staff members Clara Hulburt, Shea Quinn, and Clayton Jones delivered an informative and historical talk about Webb’s legacy as an engineer, scientist…

DriX USV Takes Part in Military Exercise in Bahrain

Exail, formerly iXblue, recently took part in the Digital Horizon Unmanned & Artificial Intelligence Exercise in Bahrain, organized by the US Navy. The U.S. Navy’s 5th Fleet held the three-week exercise in December to test new unmanned technologies, as part of its plans to establish the world’s first Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) fleet of one hundred drones in the Gulf by the end of the summer.The current geopolitical situation means that manned assets are in increasing demand elsewhere…

Cruise Lines Invests $22 Bln in Clean Fuel Tech

Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) said that its Cruise Lines have invested more than $22 billion in ships with new, energy-efficient technologies and cleaner fuels and achieved substantial progress.“While cruise ships comprise far less than 1% of the global maritime community, cruise lines are at the forefront in developing responsible tourism practices and innovative technologies. Our industry leads in environmental stewardship…

USCG: Revisions to NVIC 01-89 Change 1 Underwater Survey Guidance – UWILD Considerations

Review of the Updated UWILD PolicyThe updated UWILD policy has no direct impact on the brown water fleet. It emphasizes the importance of visibility during underwater surveys conducted by divers or remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).Brown water operations—typically conducted in inland and coastal waterways such as rivers, canals, and bays—often involve confined waters and limited visibility. These conditions make it difficult to meet the policy’s visibility requirements…