DP-PHINS Adds to Acoustics

iXBlue expanded the functionality of its PHINS inertial navigation system (INS) to interface with third-party acoustic positioning equipment, providing INS-enhanced acoustic data input to marine dynamic positioning (DP) systems. DP-PHINS can also take data from a range of additional sensors, some not normally associated with DP, such as Doppler velocity logs (DVL), for use in maintaining vessel position.

Navigation, Tide and Weather Information via Twitter

Whereas the proliferation of social media has generally not had dramatic impact on the b2b community, particularly in the technical realm, an interesting new service from Ohmex Ltd. was a hot topic in the hallways in Southampton: Using Twitter to deliver near real time navigation, tide and weather information direct from sensors. The original suggestion for a Twitter based service came from a Navigation Pilot working at a small port on the N.E.

Submarine Minnesota Delivered on Budget and Ahead of Schedule

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that the company's Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) division delivered the submarine Minnesota (SSN 783) to the U.S. Navy. The boat, the last of the Block II Virginia-class submarines, delivered nearly 11 months ahead of schedule. Construction of Minnesota began in February 2008, and the keel was authenticated in May 2011. The 10th Virginia-class submarine, named to honor residents of Minnesota and their continued support of the U.S.

Deepwater Market Surge Spurs Ensco Drillship Order

UK-based Ensco has ordered an additional advanced-capability DP3 ultra-deepwater drillship based on the Samsung GF12000 hull design. The vessel, ENSCO DS-10, will be the eighth Samsung DP3 drillship in the Ensco fleet, further extending the benefits of Ensco’s fleet standardization strategy. It will be built at the Samsung Heavy Industries, Co. Ltd. (SHI) shipyard in South Korea, with delivery scheduled for the third quarter of 2015.

Forum Subsea Continues Sonardyne 6G Investment

Sonardyne International Ltd. has received another major order for Compatt 6G transponders from Forum Subsea Rentals, a division of Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. Formerly know as DPS Offshore, this latest order brings the total value of 6G equipment purchased by the company to approximately $3 million over the past year. In addition to the Compatt 6s, Forum Subsea Rentals has also taken delivery of a Ranger 2 USBL tracking system from Sonardyne’s Asia office.

Seatronics: Large Purchase of Sonar Equipment

Seatronics Ltd., an Acteon company, announced the purchase of more than $1.5 million of advanced sonar imaging systems and associated equipment from EdgeTech. The purchase is part of a multi-million dollar investment by Seatronics which will expand the world’s largest marine equipment rental fleet. Working with recognized leaders in the marine industry, Seatronics selected EdgeTech to provide the most advanced and reliable underwater survey equipment to meet their customers’ needs.

Unconventional Wisdom

Atle Jacobsen the CEO of Dolphin Geophysical, is, in many ways, a bit of a paradox. An experienced, no-nonsense, veteran of the marine seismic surveying industry, he is also disarmingly easy to ‘talk shop’ with, engaging and has an obvious thirst for new ideas and technology. But the core contradiction lies in his approach to business. This is a man that shows no qualms about ripping up the rulebooks and making brave decisions…

Greensea Systems Launches openSEA

Greensea Systems, Inc., a software developer for Unmanned Underwater Vehicles, launched a new commercially packaged software suite for AUVs and ROVs based on the company's successful Open Software and Equipment Architecture, openSEA. The openSEA Suite, a collection of applications built on the proven openSEA core library, provide off-the-shelf modular software solutions for aided inertial navigation, vehicle control, mission management, device and sensor integration and operator interfaces.

Seatronics Choose SeeByte Software for ROV

SeeByte and Seatronics announced that the Predator ROV will now be fully integrated with SeeByte’s SeeTrack CoPilot software. This collaboration will allow Seatronics to offer the advanced applications available through SeeTrack CoPilot as an integrated package and as a rental option for their customers. David Currie, MD at Seatronics commented, “As the builders and global distributers of the Predator Inspection Class ROV…

GL Noble Denton Awarded BG Group Offshore Asset Contract

GL Noble Denton has renewed & expanded its contract to provide structural integrity management services to BG Group’s North Sea assets following a competitive tender. The three-year deal will see the independent technical advisor continue its 13-year tenure as structural integrity management provider for BG Group’s North Sea Armada platform. As part of the new contract, GL Noble Denton will also extend its role to support further assets operated by the international gas company in the North Sea.

SSBN Force Level Requirements: It’s Simply a Matter of Geography

There have been recent claims that today’s ballistic missile submarine force is operating with excess capacity and, therefore, force reductions to save resources may be in order. As I have noted in response to a recent op-ed, this supposition is untrue – in fact, our lean SSBN force is providing the cornerstone of our national security at a pace that has remained essentially constant since the late 1990s.

Quay Contract Awarded at Lerwick Port

Plans for significant further expansion of Lerwick Harbour’s extensive deep-water facilities for the offshore oil and gas industry have advanced with the award of a major contract to extend the quay at Dales Voe South to support subsea developments and decommissioning. Lerwick Port Authority has commissioned the Scottish business unit of civil engineering contractor BAM Nuttall as main contractor for an £11.95 million investment to lengthen the quay to 130 metres.

Missing WW II Bombers Found on the Seafloor

Two B-25 bombers associated with American servicemen missing in action from World War II were recently documented in the waters off Papua New Guinea by Project Recover—a collaborative team of marine scientists, archaeologists and volunteers who have combined efforts to locate aircraft and associated MIAs from World War II. The B-25 bomber is one of the most iconic airplanes of World War II, with nearly 10…

Seabed Geosolutions Wins Brazil Survey Work

Fugro said its joint venture with CGG has secured a contract from Petrobras for a 3D ocean bottom node (OBN) survey in the Brazilian Santos Basin. The seven month contract awarded to the survey firms’ joint venture Seabed Geosolutions is valued at around $90 million and is scheduled to commence at the end of the fourth quarter of 2017 or early 2018, Fugro said. According to Seabed Geosolutions CEO…

Spread of GE Tech Ordered for DSV Newbuild

Shanghai Salvage Bureau’s (SSB) new ship is purpose-designed for a range of roles including deep-water salvage operations, deep-water pipelay and construction as well as a saturation diving capability for up to 24 divers in two bells. Recently, GE’s Marine Solutions has been chosen by SSB, one of the largest rescue and salvage companies in the world, to provide a suite of marine technologies including power and propulsion equipment…

Research Vessels Construction Progressing as Scheduled

Seattle-based Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering company Guido Perla & Associates, Inc. (GPA) reports that construction of the AGOR 27 R/V Neil Armstrong is progressing according to plan at Dakota Creek Industries (DCI) in Anacortes, Wash. A major milestone was achieved recently with the completion of the hull assembly after the stern block was set, followed by the installation of the pilot house.

Deep-sea Canyons and Seeps Discovered Off U.S. Northeast

Ocean explorers in July on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer discovered a wide diversity of seafloor features and communities of life in the largely unexplored deep-sea canyons off the northeast U.S. coast. Now through August 16, as the expedition continues, the public can join the mission as "citizen scientists," at oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos, to see live seafloor video and listen as scientists discuss their observations in real time.

China Offshore Fugro Geosolutions to Sign New Contract

When the recently signed 10-year extension comes into effect on 23 August 2013, Fugro will enter the fourth decade of the successful joint venture with China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL). Services provided include precise navigation services, subsea positioning, construction support services and remotely operated vehicle (ROV) services. The joint venture, named China Offshore Fugro Geosolutions (COFG) in which Fugro holds 50%, has been operating successfully offshore China since 1983.

Teledyne Maintains Course

In what has become something of an MTR100 tradition, MTR visits with a trio of executives from Teledyne, a diverse company with links in each sector of the market, for insights on current developments and future trends. This year we speak with Mike Read, President of Teledyne Marine; William Egan - Vice President Sales & Marketing – Imaging & Instruments for Teledyne Marine; and Ken Nagengast, SVP, Global Technology & Group CTO.

Australian Navy to Upgrade Survey Vessels

FarSounder, Inc. said it has been awarded a contract to provide four complete FarSounder-1000 systems plus spare parts for the upgrade of four Paluma class hydrographic Survey Motor Launches operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Seismic Asia Pacific Pty. Ltd. of Salisbury, Australia will be responsible for the purchase of the equipment and assist with the systems integration. Seismic Asia Pacific is the FarSounder dealer for this project with BAE Systems as the prime contractor.