SYRENE: An Underwater Embedded Artificial Intelligence Camera for Invasive Fauna Monitoring

Invasive species have a major impact on marine ecosystems by disrupting the natural balance and biodiversity. Introduced mainly through human activities such as maritime transport, fishing and aquaculture, these invasive species can supplant endemic species and cause changes in the functioning of ecosystems. These changes can have significant negative consequences, both ecological and socio-economic, including biodiversity loss, leading to a decline in species stocks.

HII and Shield AI Partner on Autonomy for ROMULUS USVs

HII and Shield AI have successfully completed the first major test of their integrated autonomy solution aboard HII’s ROMULUS unmanned surface vessel (USV).The three-day test, conducted in late October in Virginia Beach, Virginia, integrated Shield AI’s combat-proven Hivemind autonomy software, using the Hivemind Enterprise software development kit (SDK), with HII’s Odyssey autonomy suite onboard a ROMULUS 20 USV.The test also marked the first maritime deployment of Hivemind…

Australia Opens a Wave Data Portal

Nearly 90% of Australians live within 50 kilometers of the coast, and Australia’s State of the Climate Report 2024 found that the nation’s weather, climate, and ocean conditions continue to change. Rising sea levels pose a significant threat to coastal communities and coastal ecosystems by amplifying the risks of coastal inundation, storm surge, erosion, and saltwater intrusion into groundwater systems.For most of Australia…

Denmark to Bolster Maritime Security with Terma’s Coastal Surveillance Radars

Terma, surveillance radar technology specialist, has signed an agreement with the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) to deliver 32 modern coastal surveillance radars, aimed at boosting the country’s maritime security.The new systems will replace the current radar infrastructure, ensuring continued maritime domain awareness and sovereignty protection across Danish waters. Deliveries…

CCG's New Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel Begins Sea Trials

CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk, the Canadian Coast Guard’s (CCG) new Offshore Oceanographic Science Vessel (OOSV), began sea trials this week in North Vancouver, sailing from Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards where final outfitting, installation, and commissioning work has been taking place since the vessel’s launch in August 2024.CCGS Naalak Nappaaluk is a Polar Class 6 vessel, with a displacement of 5,058t, and is 88 meters long…

HII Launches Virginia-class Submarine Arkansas

HII announced that Virginia-class submarine Arkansas (SSN 800) was recently launched into the James River at the company’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division.Shipbuilders transferred the submarine from a construction facility to the floating dry dock, where it was launched and moved by tugboats to a submarine pier at the shipyard for final outfitting, testing and crew certification.The ship’s sponsors are the six women of the historic group known as the Little Rock Nine…

TGS Kicks Off Second Phase of Equatorial Margin Survey off Brazil

Energy data and intelligence firm TGS has started PAMA Phase II 3D multi-client survey in the Equatorial Margin area offshore Brazil.The first phase covered 19,343 square kilometers and more than 25 future exploration blocks within the Pará-Maranhao Basin, one of the world’s largest, most unexplored, and highly prospective basins.PAMA Phase II extends coverage by approximately 11,500 square kilometers…

Vast Hydrogen-Rich Hydrothermal System Found in Western Pacific

A research team led by Prof. Sun Weidong from the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS) has uncovered a massive hydrogen-rich hydrothermal system beneath the western Pacific seafloor.Hydrogen-producing hydrothermal systems in the deep ocean are rare, yet vital for understanding both Earth's internal processes and the conditions that may have supported the origin of life.The system…

Acteon’s Rocksteady Tension Tool Selected by InnovateUK

Acteon’s Rocksteady Tension Tool (RSTT) has been selected by InnovateUK iX, a UK program designed to fast-track knowledge transfer and accelerate innovation. The RSTT is a reusable in-line winch and connection system designed to enable mid-line hookup of mooring lines at final tension to optimize the hook-up and disconnection processes between mooring systems and floating offshore wind turbines.The…

Supersize It: The U.S. Navy Is Seeking an Ultra-Large AUV

In late May of this year, the Office of Naval Research (ONR) issued a broad agency announcement (BAA) seeking the rapid design, build, and testing of an ultra-large autonomous underwater vehicle (UL-AUV) capable of conducting long-range, high-endurance missions while carrying large modular payloads. The initial demonstrator vehicle, "Ocean Explorer" (OEX), will establish the technical feasibility of such an unprecedented platform…

Exail Set to Deliver USV to Global Hydrographic Authority

Robotics, maritime, and navigation technology supplier Exail has secured the sale of its new long-range Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV), the DriX H-9, to a global hydrographic authority.Building on the success of the DriX H-8, the new H-9 model delivers up to 20 days of autonomous endurance, increased payload capacity and enhanced flexibility to support a wide range of maritime missions.Designed to address the growing demand for persistent…

Thales, HII Partner to Develop Autonomous Undersea Mine Countermeasure Capabilities

HII and Thales announced the successful integration and field exercise of the Thales SAMDIS 600 sonar with HII’s next generation REMUS 620 medium unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV).The integration demonstrates the compatibility of Thales’ multi-aspect synthetic aperture SAMDIS 600 sonar with HII’s modular, long-endurance REMUS 620 UUV. Together, the systems deliver advanced autonomous mine detection…

Nortek Nucleus Supports Coral Reef Photogrammetry Project

In a collaboration between the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), University of Sydney, California Academy of Sciences (CalAcademy), Oceanly, University of Western Australia, and University of Auckland, supported by Inkfish, the University of Sydney’s Seeker AUV, equipped with a Nortek Nucleus 1000, worked alongside divers to create a 3D map of a coral reef off the coast of Tonga.Researchers from NTNU…

ESA, UK Space Agency Back ACUA Ocean’s Subsea Inspection Robotics System

ACUA Ocean has secured a European Space Agency (ESA) contract, supported by the UK Space Agency, to further advance its ‘nested robotic’ system for subsea inspection.The project will accelerate ACUA0’s development of Pioneer-class autonomous uncrewed surface vessel (USV) capabilities to launch and recover (LAR) remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).The ‘nested robotics’ approach - or robots deploying other…

Bayonet Ocean Vehicles Debuts Product Range at UDT

Bayonet Ocean Vehicles, a new company, launched at Undersea Defence Technology (UDT) in Rotterdam last week, using the platform to debut its new line of amphibious crawling vehicles the Bayonet 150, 250 and 350.Deployable from land or water independent of weather, the new Bayonet crawlers have been designed to transit along the ocean floor as well as on land; capable of working the surf zone, at ocean depths of up to 100 meters…

Current Profiling & China’s Maritime Infrastructure Drive

China’s recent wave of infrastructure renewal has included a large portfolio of developments, such as ports and other developments, that have a subsea component. Accurate, efficient and cost-effective current profiling is vital in the successful implementation of major maritime projects.Nortek has been able to play a role in this side of China’s economic revolution, through its collaboration with a subsidiary of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC)…

XLUUV: If You Build It, They Will Buy

In August, 2021, after years of delays, cost overruns, and rising tensions, the Australian government canceled a A$90 billion order with France’s Naval Group for 12 conventionally powered submarines intended to replace the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)’s aging fleet of six Collins-class attack subs. Overnight, the future of the RAN’s undersea warfare capability was cast into uncertainty. The very next month…

Awards for Fugro Geotechnical Engineers

Two members of Fugro’s geoconsultancy team have won international awards – one recently presented in London, UK and the second in Regina, Canada. Dr. Kokkuen Lee, Principal Engineer at Fugro Advanced Geomechanics (Fugro AG), received the David Hislop Award from the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE). His paper ‘Bearing capacity on sand overlying clay soils,’ published in ‘Géotechnique’ and coauthored with Winthrop Professor Mark J. Cassidy and Winthrop Professor Mark F.

Arctic Ecosystem Study Launched in US, Canadian Waters

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP) partners announced the award of a broad Arctic study that will investigate the interrelationship among the physical, biological, chemical and social science components of the Beaufort Sea ecosystem from Barrow, Alaska, to the Mackenzie River delta in Canadian waters. The Marine Arctic Ecosystem Study…

Construction of Mermaid Ausana Begins

Mermaid Maritime Public Company announced that it has marked the start of its new vessel / rig construction by participating in a steel cutting ceremony for its performance class tender rig ‘MTR-3’ and DP2 multipurpose subsea dive support and construction vessel ‘Mermaid Ausana’. The ceremony took place at the shipyards of China Merchants Heavy Industry in China in Nantong and Shenzhen, respectively.