Sonardyne Tests Autonomous Vehicles Navigation for UK MOD

Marine robotics company Sonardyne International Ltd. demonstrated technologies that will aid autonomous vehicle operations in challenging environments under a project funded by the UK’s national Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA).Working with a 12-meter-long SEA-KIT X class unmanned surface vehicle (USV), Sonardyne tested and validated sensors already used by unmanned underwater vehicles for use on USVs in support of missions in coastal watersSpecifically…

The Ocean's Microplastics Mess: Technology & Technique to Identify & Clean Up

The science and technology surrounding discovery, mitigation and clean-up of microplastics in the world’s environment makes this year’s “MTR100.” Here we offer insights on the organizations, people and technologies taking the lead.As marine journalists, scientists, technologists, activists and enthusiasts, we are aware of the large-scale impact that consumer macro-plastic products have on aquatic ecosystems.

Babcock Wins £45 Million Contract to Maintain UK Research Vessels

The U.K. has awarded Babcock International’s Rosyth shipyard a £45 million (approx. US$56.6 million) contract to maintain its fleet of three scientific research vessels.The initial three-year contract, announced by U.K. Industry and Maritime Minister Nusrat Ghani earlier this month, will see the large oceanographic and polar research vessels RRS Sir David Attenborough, RRS Discovery and RRS James Cook dock at Babcock’s state-of-the-art facilities in Rosyth…

US Navy Demonstrates New LARS for Large UUVs

A collaborative research and development effort led by a U.S. Navy team recently demonstrated a new launch and recovery concept for large unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), with staff from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and HII, which is headquartered in Virginia.The demonstration, conducted at Division Newport’s Narragansett Bay Test Facility in October, showed both a land-based launch and recovery approach and a new solution for launching large UUVs from U.S.

NOAA Awards $18.9 Million for Harmful Algal Bloom Research, Monitoring

NOAA is announcing $18.9 million in funding for harmful algal bloom (HAB) research projects and monitoring activities throughout U.S. coastal and Great Lakes waters.HABs can produce toxins or cause other harmful effects that can damage ecosystems, disrupt our seafood supply, impact economies and threaten human health. Marine and fresh waters of the U.S. are increasingly impacted by HABs, with blooms reported in every state. They cost the U.S.

Miros Cloud Home App Gets Weather Forecast Layers

Miros, a global ocean insights specialist, said Monday it had advanced its offering to the maritime sector by integrating weather forecast layers into its Miros Cloud Home solution (miros.app)."The new version of Miros Cloud Home incorporates popular weather forecasting conditions from Windy with its proprietary accurate real-time wave, current, and weather measurements, bridging the gap between actual measurements and weather projections…

Forum Builds Advanced Submarine Rescue Vehicle

ROV manufacturer Forum Energy Technologies has completed the construction of what it says is a highly advanced submarine rescue vehicle (SRV), which may be utilized to extract submariners from distress situations.According to Forum, the LR-class SRV is capable of rescuing up to 17 people at a time and operate at depths of up to 600 meters. "The new model has increased power and an advanced auxiliary thruster control system that allows for speeds of up to four knots…

Greensea IQ Expands its Plymouth, MA Production Facility

Greensea IQ celebrated the 25,000 square foot expansion of its Cordage Park production facility on October 17, 2023. This expansion establishes a manufacturing center for the production of several navigation and robotics systems including the Bayonet line of surf zone crawlers, EverClean hull cleaning robots, RNAV3 diver navigation systems and OPENSEA Edge autonomy hardware.“We were excited to open…

Tech File: A Resident Eyeball ROV

There's also space in the market for resident observation systems, believe Boxfish Research and Transmark Subsea. The two companies signed a partnership agreement in October 2020 to deliver a fully autonomous resident observation ROV, the ARV-i.The ARV-i combines underwater vehicle, photography and robotics technology from Boxfish Research and underwater power and communications from Transmark Subsea.

Orbital Marine Power Secures $9.31m Investment

Orbital Marine Power Ltd, operator of the world’s most powerful tidal turbine, has secured a multi-million dollar investment to advance its international commercial projects and contribute to the wider decarbonization of energy.PXN Ventures—the combined VC arm of Praetura Ventures and Par Equity—joined existing shareholders including Scottish Enterprise to invest in Orbital, a company that uses floating tidal turbines to generate clean…

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…

Kongsberg Discovery, MacArtney Partner for ROTV Surveying and Inspection Capability

Kongsberg Discovery and MacArtney Underwater Technology have signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) creating a new level of turnkey capability in towed underwater sensing solutions. The agreement will see all Kongsberg Discovery systems integrated onto MacArtney’s remotely operated towed vehicle (ROTV) platforms, bringing two technology leaders together in one offer for defense, energy and ocean science users worldwide.The agreement…

TechnipFMC to Supply Subsea Systems for Chevron’s Gas Project off Australia

TechnipFMC has been awarded a significant contract by Chevron to supply Subsea 2.0 production systems for the Gorgon Stage 3 brownfield project in Australia.The contract introduces the first seven-inch series of TechnipFMC’s Subsea 2.0 horizontal subsea trees and includes the delivery of flexible jumpers designed to increase production rates and support flow assurance for gas applications.Gorgon Stage 3 forms part of Chevron’s ongoing development of the Gorgon LNG project…

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…

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…

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…

Fugro's New USV to Chart Waters Off South Australia

Fugro will use its new uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to chart the waters of South Australia’s Gulf St Vincent and Investigator Strait as part of the Australian Government’s HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP).The Dutch-based offshore survey services company will carry out  the 998 km2 survey will be conducted on behalf of the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO), which will use the data to update nautical charts for safer navigation.

The Troubled History of Protecting Marine Assets

The history of protecting marine assets is a tale of endless perseverance. From the moment humans have put infrastructure in the water, it has been damaged by other humans. Despite incredible advances in technology and installations, incidents still occur at an unacceptable rate. The types and volume of marine assets have exploded since the 1850s when the first submarine telegraph cables were laid.

Kraken Gets $3m Funding for ThunderFish XL Development

Kraken Robotics will receive a $2,909,891 non-refundable financial contribution from the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP). The funding will be received over a 26-month project period and will be used to support the development of Kraken’s seabed resident ThunderFish XL Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (TFXL AUV).Building from the previous development efforts of the ThunderFish Alpha AUV…