IHO Director to Give CARIS Keynote Speech

Developers of geospatial software CARIS inform that Gilles Bessero, Director of International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), will deliver the closing keynote address at the CARIS 2014 conference June 2-5, 2014 in Brest, France. Gilles Bessero, is Director at the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), the intergovernmental organization whose role is to ensure that the world’s seas, oceans…

Ultra-Deepwater Pipe Order Challenge for French Firm

France-based manufacturer of tubular pipes & fittings, Vallourec, informs it has been awarded a $100 million contract for the supply of premium pipes with VAM® 21 connections for the offshore ML-South Project, operated by Total’s affiliate Total E&P Borneo in Brunei. The development wells will be producing at depth greater than 5,000m, in a highly corrosive environment and sustaining High Pressure/ High Temperature (HP/HT).

Three NOAA scientists honored by White House

The White House yesterday awarded three NOAA scientists with Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the highest honor given by the federal government to outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. Laboratory. The NOAA scientists are part of a group of 102 scientists from across federal agencies that received the prestigious award.

Europe’s Largest Tsunami Simulator Under Construction

UCL and HR Wallingford, the specialist hydraulic research and consultancy, are collaborating to construct the largest tsunami simulator in Europe, to better understand the impact of these devastating natural phenomena on buildings and coastal defenses. The facility, which is being funded by a €1.9 million European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grant “URBAN WAVES”, will be 70 m long and 4 m wide, enabling – for the first time – the simulation of a tsunami impact on urban areas…

Kongsberg Makes Multiple Debuts in London at Oceanology 2014

Kongsberg Maritime announced at OI ‘14 that it will add the new MUNIN AUV to its subsea equipment rental pool in Aberdeen. Expected to be available for hire in October 2014, the MUNIN AUV will further enhance the existing portfolio of Kongsberg Maritime Ltd rental equipment, which supports customers within the offshore oil and gas, environmental and renewable energy markets. The MUNIN AUV is designed to collect high resolution sonar data geo-referenced by a survey grade positioning system.

European Consortium Targets Sustainable Seabed Mining

The European Commission is helping to take seabed mining to the next level by funding a four-year project entitled: “Breakthrough Solutions for Mineral Extraction and Processing in Extreme Environments – Blue Mining”. The overall aims of this project are to develop new cost-effective solutions for environmentally friendly mining and processing in difficult conditions and extreme environments, and to further unlock the large potential of raw materials in Europe.

Olympus Debuts Portable Eddy Current Flaw Detectors

Olympus announced the introduction of its new NORTEC 600 Series high-performance eddy current flaw detectors. The NORTEC 600 incorporates the latest advancements in high-performance digital circuitry and eddy current flaw detection into one compact and durable unit. With its crisp and vivid 5.7 inch VGA display and true full-screen mode, the NORTEC 600 is capable of producing user-selectable, highly contrast eddy current signals in any lighting condition.

Good Undersea Vehicles Come in Small Packages

The holiday season has just passed, and many may have heard the phrase, “good things come in small packages.” Does this hold true for today’s undersea vehicles? Indeed it does. One of the most striking recent trends in the field is the proliferation of compact and affordable, yet highly effective, undersea vehicles. The past decade has seen new remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) produced that are easily carried and deployed by one person.

SevenCs, HCU Join for Hydrographic Education

A group of students participating in the GIS-Hydrography module of the HCU Masters program in Geomatics, were invited to attend a workshop at the SevenCs’ office in Hamburg on May 5, 2014. The course was an introduction to the production of S-57 data by means of SevenCs ENC Tools. Attendees could experience hands –on training to gain insight into the production of Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs).

NavPlay Launches iPad-based Navigation app

NavPlay’s Interactive App Provides Easy Way to Enjoy Navigation & Share Experiences Capannoli, Italy – NavPlay, an innovative manufacturer of iPad apps, announced today a planning, navigation and social media app designed to enhance the navigation experience, NavPlay. A complete, easy-to-use navigation app for iPads, NavPlay allows boaters to plan routes and navigate on C-Map by Jeppesen charts and satellite imagery.

Kraken Delivers Real Time Sonar Signal Processor

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. has announced  that Sea Acceptance Testing of its Embedded Real Time Synthetic Aperture Sonar (RTSAS) Signal Processor for Australia’s Defence Science and Technology Organization (DSTO) was a success. In 2013 DSTO procured an AquaPix Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar system from Kraken for research related to enhancing mine detection and neutralization techniques using Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).

Sheldon Joins CDI

Ray Sheldon brings 40 years of experience to the company’s global engineering business. CDI Corp. (NYSE:CDI)  has announced that Ray Sheldon has joined its Global Engineering and Technology Solutions (GETS) unit as Vice President of Naval Architecture and Systems Engineering. Mr. Sheldon will lead CDI's greater Washington, DC, area operations, which provide advanced technology consulting and solutions to the United States Navy, US Coast Guard, and other defense and commercial clients. Mr.

iXBlue Subsea Acoustic Positioning System for C&C

Survey and mapping service provider for the land and offshore oil and gas industry, Houston's C&C Technologies, says it has bought the iXBlue fourth-generation GAPS USBL acoustic positioning system for the company's Mexico division. This will be the first time the system is directly available to customers in Mexico. The new system, which was launched by iXBlue early in 2014, will be used to track subsea…

Fugro's Survey Vessel to Search for Malaysia 370

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has awarded Fugro a contract that will see the deployment of its specialist vessel, equipment and expertise in the underwater search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 (MH370). Using its advanced survey vessel, the Fugro Equator, fitted with state-of-the art multibeam echosounder equipment, Fugro will conduct a bathymetric survey of the search area.

CAN-DO Approach Leads to £200m of Contract Renewals

CAN Group has secured two major contract renewals, totalling approximately £200million, following competitive re-tendering. These two contracts, coupled with an increase in business, will lead to the safe-guarding of 150 jobs. The Aberdeen headquartered business has been awarded a five year contract for the provision of asset integrity services to ConocoPhillips and a three year contract for the provision of topsides inspection and integrity support services with Apache in the North Sea.

Ocean Power Technologies Launches Hybrid PowerBuoy

Ocean Power Technologies, an ocean energy technology developer, has expanded its offering with the latest product called the hybrid PowerBuoy.The hybrid PowerBuoy is a buoy that offers remote power for subsea and topside applications, data communications, and a nominal 1.5-megawatt-hours of energy storage. While OPT is known for its moored floating buoys - such as OPT PB3 PowerBuoy - that harvest and store wave energy…

US Navy Awards Unmanned Surface Vehicle Prototype Contract

The U.S. Navy on Monday awarded a $34,999,948 to L3 Technologies, Inc. for the development of a single medium unmanned surface vehicle (MUSV) prototype, with options to procure up to eight additional MUSVs. The award follows a full and open competitive procurement process.Funding is in place on this contract for the initial prototype. With all options exercised, the contract is valued at $294,508,976…

Wärtsilä Wins Subsea 7 DSV Design Deal

Wärtsilä signed a contract for the design of a new diving support vessel (DSV) to be built for Subsea 7. The new VS 4725 DSV design was created by Wärtsilä Ship Design specifically for this vessel, which will be built at the Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI) shipyard in Korea. The contract was signed with HHI in December, and the vessel is scheduled for delivery in 2015. The vessel is intended for North Sea diving operations on a year round basis.

McDermott Order Deepwater S-Lay Vessel

McDermott International inks contract with Keppel Offshore & Marine for construction of a dynamically-positioned combination S-Lay vessel with a 2,000-ton crane. The vessel, tentatively named Derrick Lay Vessel 2000 (“DLV2000”), will be constructed at Keppel Singmarine in Singapore and is expected to take approx 2.5 years to build. “DLV2000 is expected to address a market demand we consider to be extremely robust for deepwater pipelines as well as our traditional markets,” said Stephen M.

Advanced Offshore Flow Measurement Solutions

McCrometer offers advanced flow meter technology measurement solutions for the industry’s challenging, highly space- and weight-constrained offshore oil and gas production environments. Subsea modules, Offshore Platforms and FPSO Vessels necessitate flow meters that can maintain accuracy under rugged, crowded, high pressure conditions. Already cramped installations are further complicated by the extensive…