Liquid Fuels to Remain Energy of Choice to 2040 Forecasts Study

The world will require all forms of energy over the next quarter century to meet a greater than one-third increase in demand that will be driven by population growth, improved living standards and expanded urbanization, according to ExxonMobil ’s newly-released ‘Outlook for Energy: A View to 2040’. The outlook projects that oil and natural gas will continue to meet about 60 percent of energy needs by 2040.

De Beers Orders Specialized Ship from Kleven

Kleven signed a contract with diamond company De Beers Marine Namibia, part of De Beers Group, on the building of a highly specialized vessel for deep water mineral exploration. The first of its kind vessel will be of MT 6022 design from Marin Teknikk. This design is proven in the offshore construction segment, but the new build for De Beers will include a wide range of tailor made equipment and features.

Dual Coil Shooting Full-Azimuth Multiclient Acquisition in GoM

TGS and Schlumberger today announce commencement of the Dual Coil Shooting* multi-vessel full-azimuth acquisition Revolution XII and XIII surveys in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The surveys will cover approximately 7,150 km2 (306 blocks) in the Green Canyon, Atwater Valley and Ewing Bank protraction areas of the Central Gulf of Mexico. The Revolution XIl and XIII surveys will be acquired using the Schlumberger…

IMCA Revises Multibeam Echosounds Guidelines

‘Guidelines for the Use of Multibeam Echosounders for Offshore Surveys’ (IMCA S 003 Rev 2) has been extensively revised by members of the International Marine Contractors Association’s (IMCA) Offshore Survey Division Management Committee, to bring it up-to-date with current technology and practice, and is now available for downloading free of charge for members and non-members alike from the IMCA website.

SBM Offshore Looks Back Comfortably on 2013

“From a difficult start, 2013 has been a year of achievements. As we close, we are updating the market on further steps that mark SBM Offshore’s progress and our determination to manage our business rigorously and efficiently. We are pleased to announce that the Deep Panuke facility has received Production Acceptance Notice and is formally on hire. This has been a tough project, but its delivery reflects the advances we have made.

Ushering in the Age of the Autonomous Workboat

While the topic of unmanned vessels has sparked vigorous debate and grown vociferous skeptics in all four corners of the world, Michael Gordon Johnson and his team at Sea Machines are intent on bringing an Autonomous Workboat to full-scale real-world trials by the end of the year. Michael Gordon Johnson is and entrepreneur, founding two companies and serving in various roles – offshore, heavy lift…

MTR100: Rowe Technologies

Rowe Technologies Inc. (RTI), a customer-centric oceanographic company designs and manufactures innovative and robust Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers [ADCPs] and Doppler Velocity Logs [DVLs]. These are used for measuring currents, directional waves, and underwater navigation from shallow coastal environments to full ocean depths. RTI provides the only dual frequency ADCP/DVL, the highest resolution velocity measurements (0.01 cm/s)…

Kortenoeven Wins UKHO Award

Captain Peter Kortenoeven, Hydrographer of the Royal Netherlands Navy, has been presented with the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office’s (UKHO’s) Alexander Dalrymple Award at a ceremony in London. The award is dedicated to Alexander Dalrymple who was the first Hydrographer of the Navy when the office was founded in 1795. The award was instituted in 2006 to coincide with the annual World Hydrography Day and is made to an individual who…

NOAA Commissions Survey Ship

NOAA commissions high-tech coastal mapping 'Ferdinand R. Hassler' in Norfolk, Va. The new ship’s primary mission will be to detect and monitor changes to the sea floor. Data collected by the ship will be used to update nautical charts, detect potential hazards to navigation, and enhance our understanding of the ever-changing marine environment. “With the growth in the size of commercial vessels and the importance of waterborne commerce to our economic security…

Unmanned Vehicles In, On and Above the Water

As part of the annual BlueTech Week in San Diego, attendees were given an opportunity to see several unmanned vehicle technologies in action. The main event was put on by a team consisting of Marine Advanced Research, Inc.; Planck Aerosystems, Inc.; and Teledyne Marine, Inc. (all with bases in California). Together, the team demonstrated multi-interoperability among five different unmanned systems on the water, in the air and subsea.

Irish Naval Service Acquires Navigator Diver Held Sonar

The Irish Naval Service has acquired a Navigator Diver Held Sonar and Navigation System manufactured by Shark Marine Technologies Inc. of Ontario, Canada. The Irish Naval Service is the State’s Principal Seagoing Agency. The Naval Service exercises and upholds the States sovereignty and obligations over Ireland’s maritime jurisdiction which is an area 12 times larger than the island of Ireland. The Naval Service Diving Section (NSDS) is the primary State diving team…

Kraken Sets out to Advance Offshore Digitalization

Oil and gas companies are no stranger to big data, technology and digital innovation, but Canada based marine technology company Kraken Robotics Inc. believes the industry has yet to take full advantage of the opportunities that derive from using big data and robotic technology in a meaningful way. A single drilling rig can generate terabytes of data every day, yet only a small fraction of it is used for decision-making, it said.

FarSounder Secures Navy Contract

FarSounder Introduces 3D Navigation Systems through the U.S. FarSounder, Inc. has been awarded a contract to provide FarSounder-1000 systems for two U.S. Navy transferred OSPREY Class Mine Hunter Coastal (MHC) Vessels. The systems were sold by FarSounder's dealer Voyager Maritime Alliance Group of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. via their customer, VSE Corporation. VSE's delivery order is under a Foreign Military…

MTR100: Hydroid

Hydroid, Inc. – a part of Kongsberg Maritime’s autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) group since its acquisition by Norwegian technology conglomerate Kongsberg Gruppen in 2008 – is a manufacturer of AUVs, including its signature REMUS vehicles. Hydroid founder Christopher von Alt’s knowledge of the intricate technology has been integral to the products’ development and widespread adoption. After years of fabricating and developing the REMUS vehicle at WHOI…

Sea Owl ROV Revamped

The Sea Owl concept introduced by Saab in the 1980s, has been completely reengineered with new chassis, advanced technology content and increased work capability. Now named Sea Owl XTi, the new design offers  360° orientation, allowing the ROV to work in any orientation, even upside- down. The result is a vehicle made for hard-to-reach places and hostile environments that combines the characteristics of a highly maneuverable observation vehicle with the versatility of a larger ROV.

Kraken Debuts AquaPix MINSAS

Kraken Sonar Systems Inc. announced the development of AquaPix MINSAS, a next generation Miniature Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar designed for operation to depths of 3,000m. The system integrates the latest electronics, transducer arrays and signal processing software and is optimized for the demanding size, weight, power and cost constraints of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV), Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USV) and high speed towfish platforms.

Seatronics Invests in iXblue RAMSES System

Seatronics announced its investment in iXblue’s RAMSES system, an acoustic synthetic baseline positioning system with self-contained computing. The software allows for simple real-time sparse array navigation, for high precision navigation with smooth and drift free positioning. Seatronics said it continues to develop its business through the provision and development of technology, providing clients with increased efficiencies through forward thinking solutions.

Thales, ASV Develop Unmanned Minewarfare Vehicle

Thales UK has signed a contract with Autonomous Surface Vehicles Ltd (ASV Ltd) to develop a re-configurable Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) to meet the challenges of future off-board Mine Countermeasures (MCM) operations. The low signature USV, which is 11.5m in length and 3.6m in beam, will have a maximum speed of around 25 knots. The vehicle is now under construction and will be undergoing acceptance trials later this year.

NOAA Engineers a Better Current Sensor for Mariners

Navigating into seaports is now safer and more efficient for mariners thanks to improved NOAA technology that ships rely on to give them information about currents. The Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) developed a more reliable, cost-saving version of a current sensor system that can now be placed at more remote locations along navigation channels. The updated Acoustic…

UK Partners Launch Autonomous Navigation Project

As unmanned surface vessels continue to gain ground globally, a new project in the U.K. sets out to address challenges relating to the coexistence of autonomous systems and traditional manned vessels in shared water space. The £1.2 million ($1.6 million) research project, dubbed SWANS (Shared Waterspace Autonomous Navigation by Satellite), is funded by the U.K.’s innovation agency Innovate UK. Project lead BMT will work with partners ASV Global and Deimos Space UK to enable beyond line of sight…