Op/Ed: We Cannot Let the OceanGate Tragedy Put a Pause on Ocean Exploration

In the wake of the catastrophic implosion of OceanGate’s Titan submersible during a dive on the wreck of RMS Titanic, the marine technology community continues to question how to prevent such a tragedy from recurring. An obvious option is to impose international safety regulations regarding such expeditions.For manned submersibles, there is merit in considering restrictions based upon technical criteria. OceanGate refused to obtain DVL certification for Titan.

NOAA, Ocean Infinity Form Research Partnership

US-based subsea technology and data company Ocean Infinity said it will partner with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office to develop new tools for ultra-high-resolution ocean exploration and mapping.The four-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between Ocean Infinity and NOAA's Ocean Exploration and Research (OER) will aim to expand deepwater autonomous…

UK Royal Navy Developing Surveillance Vessel to Protect Critical Subsea Infrastructure

The UK Royal Navy is developing a "Multi Role Ocean Surveillance ship (MROSS)" aimed at protecting critical subsea infrastructure from threat.In a statement on Wednesday, the UK Ministry of Defence said the ship would come into service by 2024."[MROSS] will be a surface vessel, with a crew of around 15 people who will conduct research to help the Royal Navy and Ministry of Defence protect our undersea critical national infrastructure and keep our lives and livelihoods secure from threat…

FarSounder Enters Brazilian Market

FarSounder announced Ulstein Belga Marine headquartered in Centro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is its newest dealer and their first in Brazil. Ulstein Belga Marine will integrate FarSounder’s Argos series of 3D forward-looking sonars into its product offering.“Our strategy has been moving towards digitalization and sensor related solutions for communication, navigation, sea-state monitoring and optimization of performance…

Sonardyne Wins Hybrid Positioning System Orders in Offshore Energy and Science Sectors

Acoustic and inertial position reference systems from marine technology company Sonardyne have been chosen to underpin the critical station-keeping activities of multiple deepwater vessels operating in the energy and ocean research sectors.UK-based Sonardyne said Tuesday that, through a combination of upgrades to existing installations and the purchase of new systems, four deepwater drillships, a marine…

ecoSUB AUV Dives to New Depths

During a recent deep water trials campaign in Madeira, an ecoSUm25-Science autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) was launched and successfully completed a spiral behavior to provide vertical profiling of the water column down to 2,000m depth, and back again.Based on the affordable ecoSUBm series AUV platform, the ecoSUBm25-Science AUV weighs 12kg and is depth rated to 2,500m. While most deep rated AUV technology is based on large and expensive platforms…

BHGE Opens Subsea Center of Excellence

Baker Hughes, a GE company (BHGE) has opened its transformed Center of Excellence (CoE) facility in Montrose, Scotland to deliver engineering, manufacturing, test and assembly and services to advance deepwater technology for its customers.The upgraded and expanded campus, which sits on more than 35 acres, was officially opened on Tuesday during an inauguration ceremony with Scottish Minister for Energy, Paul Wheelhouse, as well as BHGE customers and employees.

NOAA Launches $60 Million Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerators Program

The Department of Commerce and NOAA are launching the Ocean-Based Climate Resilience Accelerators program, a $60 million investment in coastal resilience and American small businesses through President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The program, funded by the Inflation Reduction Act, will foster public-private partnerships to help support small businesses that are developing sustainable technologies geared toward climate resilience to attract capital…

PXGEO Acquires Modus Subsea Services

Marine geophysical services company PXGEO on Monday announced it has acquired Modus Subsea Services to boost its subsea offering.Modus Subsea Services is a U.K.-based provider of offshore life-of-field support services specializing in autonomous subsea operations using underwater intervention drones (UID) based on the Saab Sabertooth platform. The company has also developed and commercialized the industry's first-ever UID subsea residency solution.Residency…

NOAA Adjusts Hurricane Season Outlook Averages

NOAA is updating its baseline numbers used for gauging hurricane season activity using more recent storm data.Once every decade, the agency revises its set of statistics used to determine when hurricane seasons are above-, near- or below-average relative to the climate record. Beginning with this year’s hurricane season outlooks, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center (CPC) will use 1991-2020 as the new 30-year period of record.

Oi '22 Gains Traction for Live Exhibition in March

The organizers of Oceanology International (Oi), RX Global, have confirmed that the Oi 2022 event (ExCel London, March 15-17 2022) is perfectly positioned to capitalize on the opening up of business-to-business events in spring 2022. With bookings on par with the last pre-pandemic Oi in 2018, the eagerly anticipated event is set to put the uncertain times of the last two years behind us.“Bringing the…

MIT Studies Underwater Navigation Powered by Sound

New approach could spark an era of battery-free ocean exploration, with applications ranging from marine conservation to aquaculture.GPS isn’t waterproof. The navigation system depends on radio waves, which break down rapidly in liquids, including seawater. To track undersea objects like drones or whales, researchers rely on acoustic signaling. But devices that generate and send sound usually require batteries — bulky, short-lived batteries that need regular changing.

Mega Machine Deep Driller: JOIDES Resolution

The JOIDES Resolution embarks on Expedition 395 to understand the impacts of mantle plumes on deep ocean currentsThe world’s oceans, still largely unexplored, remain a treasure trove for scientists and researchers alike. Physical, chemical and biological features of the ocean interact with each other and in turn, influence oceanic, meteorological, atmospheric and even geological events. Drilling below…

Bayesian Yacht Disaster: How Specialist Search and Rescue Teams Work Underwater

Search and rescue for missing persons is always challenging for the specialist recovery teams involved, regardless of the environment they’re working in.But the teams looking for the missing aboard the Bayesian yacht which sank off the coast of Sicily leaving several people dead, have faced particularly challenging conditions. Even though the boat lies in relatively shallow water of 50 meters, underwater…

NOAA Taps Planet to Track Oil Spills, Marine Debris, And Marine Life

Satellite imagery company Planet is providing data to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) who are leveraging the company's PlanetScope and SkySat products to gain oceanic insights by evaluating oil spills, tracking marine debris, detecting vessels, and identifying large marine mammals like whales.In 2004, Hurricane Ivan caused severe damage in the Gulf of Mexico, including the collapse and sinking of an oil platform.

KIMM, Natural Resources Canada Sign MoU on Clean Technology Cooperation

The Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials (KIMM), under the National Research Council of Science & Technology (NST), signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Natural Resources Canada (NRC) to establish a new platform for international collaboration in sustainable resource technologies and support the strategic expansion of KIMM’s global R&D network.The MoU outlines collaboration in the following areas:Joint research on ammonia recovery and removal technologies…

Brix Marine Delivers Research Vessel for Pacific Whale Foundation in Hawaii

Port Angeles, Wash.-based Brix Marine has delivered the Pacific Whale Foundation's new research vessel Kaiao, custom-built to support marine research, conservation and education.Founded in 1980 and based in Maui, Hawaii, the PWF is a nongovernmental organization that has been at the forefront of whale research and public education, striving to safeguard the marine environment and prevent the destruction…

NOAA to Award $28 Million to Tackle Marine Debris

The Department of Commerce and NOAA announced the availability of up to $28 million across two funding opportunities to address marine debris throughout the coastal U.S., Great Lakes, territories and Freely Associated States. These two Fiscal Year 2024 funding opportunities are part of NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts initiative under President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and allow NOAA to support impactful…

HII Delivers REMUS 620 UUVs to NOAA

Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) announced that its Mission Technologies division has built and delivered two REMUS 620 uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs) to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for enhanced high-resolution ocean floor mapping. The REMUS 620, introduced in November 2022, represents a major advancement in medium-class UUV technology, according to HII. It is designed to offer a comprehensive range of both above- and below-water capabilities…

Eco Wave Power Installs Floaters for LA’s Pilot Wave Energy Plant

Onshore wave energy technology firm Eco Wave Power has completed the installation of floaters for its first U.S. wave energy project at the Port of Los Angeles.With this critical milestone achieved, the company is moving full speed ahead toward the official unveiling on September 9, 2025, as planned.The Los Angeles project is a demonstration pilot, designed to validate Eco Wave Power's patented wave…