Industry's First Color Fishfinder by Lowrance

Lowrance, a world-leading brand in marine electronics since 1957 — announced today the newest additions to its Elite family of fishfinder and chartplotter products, the Elite-3x and Elite-3x All Season pack. The most affordable color fishfinder ever introduced, the new Elite-3x includes a dual-frequency 83/200 kHz Broadband SounderTM transducer and features an LED-backlit display with detailed 240x360-pixel resolution that’s easy to see in full sunlight from wide viewing angles.

Technology Advances Fisheries Management

Real or near-real time management of Pacific purse seine tuna fisheries is now possible for the first time in history, changing the game for fisheries management. Observer electronic reporting tools – through the new Observer eReporting App –will now be used to help reduce illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and bolster supply chain transparency and traceability in the Western and Central Pacific tuna fisheries.

EdgeTech Delivers 12 Minehunting Systems to Indian Navy

EdgeTech, the completed delivery of 12 advanced sonar systems for the Indian Navy. EdgeTech was awarded the contract after a performance trial with a competing side scan sonar manufacturer; the LMCS System was selected based on its superior performance and meeting or exceeding all the trial requirements of the Indian Navy. The company supplied their Littoral Mine Countermeasure Sonar (LMCS) System…

China, Korea, Yards Place Kongsberg Maritime Contracts

CIMC Yantai Raffles in China and STX Offshore & Shipbuilding in Korea have selected extensive dynamic positioning (DP), automation, new generation safety system, integrated navigation, hydro-acoustic positioning and latest riser management solutions from Kongsberg. The contracts are in regard to two new Frigstad D90 Design drilling rigs and one Bassoe Technology BT-UDS Design drillship. The total value of the contracts is in excess of MNOK 150.

RoboSub CUAUV Competion Entry Sponsored by ADLINK

Internet-related services provider ADLINK Technology says it is to sponsor the Cornell University Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (CUAUV) team’s entry into next week’s 17th Annual International RoboSub competition at the Space and Naval Warfare Command Research facility in San Diego, CA, from Monday, July 28, through Sunday, August 3, 2014. The CUAUV’s Gemini submarine is powered by ADLINK’s Express-HL COM Express computer-on-module…

IHC Hytech Wins Order for Containerized Air-dive Spreads

IHC Hytech, part of Royal IHC, has secured an order for two innovative containerized air-dive spreads from Bluestream, an offshore and subsea company that operates in the oil and gas, and renewable energy sectors. These high-quality systems consist of a containerized 1,800mm decompression chamber with a full three-dive control panel and a separate machinery container that will be modified to meet the customer’s needs.

Shell Selects Materia's Thermal Insulation System

Materia, Inc., in conjunction with Aegion Corporation, has been selected by Shell Offshore, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell plc (Shell), to supply pipeline insulation materials for the Appomattox development in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The insulation system is unique among existing polymers in its ability to provide an effective thermal barrier between flowlines and seawater.

Voices: Sean Halpin

From a sunken ship on Penobscot Bay to working with the world’s top oil and gas companies, Sean Halpin has always had a love of the ocean. Learn about his start and his perspectives on the role autonomous systems play for the future of offshore operations. From a sunken boat to becoming a geoscientist? I have always loved the ocean. My parents have pictures of me as a kid on a beach in Florida with a wild look in my eyes as I stared at the crashing waves.

North Sea Atlantic Joins the Technip fleet

On Saturday July 26, 2014, a ceremony was held in Bergen to officially name the latest new subsea construction vessel to join the Technip fleet, the North Sea Atlantic. More than 200 guests from shipowner North Sea Shipping, ship charterer Technip and supply chain partners, gathered to attend the ceremony held at the NorYards BMV AS shipyard (previously Bergen Group) in Laksevåg, Bergen, Norway. The event was hosted by North Sea Shipping CEO…

Study: Sunflower Sea Star Population in Peril

The combination of ocean warming and an infectious wasting disease has devastated populations of large sunflower sea stars once abundant along the West Coast of North America, according to research by Cornell University and the University of California, Davis, in Science Advances.“At one time plentiful in nearshore waters, the sunflower sea stars right now cannot be found off the California coast and are rare into Alaska…

Scientist Pool Data to Create the $3B Ocean Map

For experts in the field of ocean mapping it is no small irony that we know more about the surfaces of the Moon and Mars than we do about our planet's sea floor."Can you imagine operating on the land without a map, or doing anything without a map?" asked Larry Mayer, director of the U.S.-based Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping, a research body that trains hydrographers and develops tools for mapping."We depend on having that knowledge of what's around us - and the same is true for the ocean…

WFS, Fugro Offer Wireless ROV Integration

WFS Technologies (WFS), a global leader in the delivery of underwater wireless instrumentation and control solutions to the Offshore Oil and Gas and Renewables industries and Fugro Subsea Technologies (Fugro), which designs, builds and delivers the FCV range of ROVs to its Subsea Services Division, are pleased to announce an agreement to offer subsea wireless capability on all FCV Work Class ROVs from 2015 onwards.

Pharos Acquires 1200HP Subsea Cable Trencher

Pharos Offshore Group has acquired an SMD built 1200HP cable burial tool. The Universal Trenching Vehicle (UTV 1200) is a unique low and wide Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) specifically designed to bury submarine power cables. Modifications to the 1200HP UTV 1200 are underway. The enhancements will facilitate more effective post lay/installation burial and improve the handling and stability of the vehicle.

Seatools Debuts New Dredging Monitoring Systems

Seatools has introduced the fourth-generation DipMate backhoe dredging monitoring and control systems, with an upgrade that encompasses two models: Essential and Pro. Seatools described Essential as a cost-competitive visualization system that contains all essentials for efficient backhoe dredging, while the Pro is an advanced version that can be delivered with a range of automation modules enabling operators of all skill levels to dredge safely and maximize dredging productivity.

HYPACK Schedules 2015 Training Event

The annual HYPACK 2015 USA Training Event will be held in San Antonio, Texas from January 5-8 at the HYATT REGENCY San Antonio River, situated directly on the San Antonio River walk. During this event, HYPACK will reveal the newest version of our software, version HYPACK 2015. Some of the big changes in HYPACK 2015 will be the new 3D Real Time point Cloud, Water Column Integration and a new Anchor Handling Routine.

Topaz Resolve Goes to Work in the Mediterranean

International offshore support vessel company Topaz Energy and Marine said its multipurpose supply vessel (MPSV) Topaz Resolve has commenced a charter in support of geophysical and geotechnical survey operations in the Mediterranean Sea for a European oil major. Topaz Resolve is operating from Limassol, Cyprus for an initial period of one month. The vessel is a multi-functional ROV, dive and survey vessel and is equipped for deep and shallow water operations, in DP2 or by 4-point mooring.

New Software from EIVA

The EIVA NaviSuite software suite now includes a dedicated solution for anchor handling operations that offers advanced catenary simulation. This ensures users data they can trust and a complete picture of the entire operation. NaviSuite Beka is designed to be a versatile, scalable and user-friendly software solution that increases the efficiency and safety of anchor handling operations during rig move and barge management projects.

British Survey Ship Identifies 18 Libyan Shipwrecks

In ten days’ work, Devonport-based survey ship 'HMS Echo' found a string of sunken obstacles and wrecks – including what is believed to be a sunken amphibious ship from the Gaddafi era – in the waters of the capital Tripoli and the port of Al Khums. Lying some 160 feet (ft) beneath the surface of the Mediterranean, the Gaddafi era ship was one of nearly 20 wrecks and objects peppering the seabed off Libya, found by HMS Echo in a remarkable 10-day search for hidden dangers to mariners.

Seadrill Names Dibowitz CEO

Oslo-listed rig firm Seadrill named a new chief executive from within its own ranks on Wednesday and said its talks to restructure $14 billion of debt and liabilities had reached an advanced stage. Once the world's most valuable rig firm, Seadrill's business was hard hit when oil companies sharply cut investments and exploration in the wake of a 2014 crash in oil prices. Anton Dibowitz, current chief commercial officer…

New Data Safety Service for Inmarsat FleetBroadband

Supported by European Space Agency (ESA) funding, Inmarsat’s forthcoming Maritime Safety Data Service (MSDS) for FleetBroadband, delivers an increased data capability over the Inmarsat-4 network, including the Alphasat satellite, providing global coverage and the same reliability of over 99.9 per cent associated with the Inmarsat network. MSDS will continue to offer distress alerting, priority messaging and SafetyNET safety information broadcasts…