US Navy Demonstrates New LARS for Large UUVs

A collaborative research and development effort led by a U.S. Navy team recently demonstrated a new launch and recovery concept for large unmanned undersea vehicles (UUVs), with staff from the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport and HII, which is headquartered in Virginia.The demonstration, conducted at Division Newport’s Narragansett Bay Test Facility in October, showed both a land-based launch and recovery approach and a new solution for launching large UUVs from U.S.

Crawlers to Inspect Blades After Vineyard Wind Failure

Vineyard Wind and GE Vernova on Friday released a plan outlining the steps to be followed after a turbine blade failure last month at the Vineyard Wind offshore project off the coast of Massachusetts, which left potentially dangerous debris on beaches on the island of Nantucket.Vineyard Wind, the first major U.S. offshore wind farm, was shut down by federal authorities after the turbine blade failure.The plan outlines the steps to be followed to recover the remainder of the blade on the turbine.

Unmanned Vessel Launched to Survey Western Galveston Bay

An unmanned vessel is now surveying more than 3,500 nautical miles of the Western Galveston Bay, near the Houston Ship Channel.DEA Marine Services, a division of David Evans and Associates, Inc. (DEA), in Vancouver, Wash., equipped its survey boat Sigsbee with a Sea Machines Robotics SM300 autonomous-command and remote-helm control system to fulfill a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contract.Sigsbee…

The Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Submarine Networks

Submarine communication cables – almost 560 of them deployed to date – crisscross our oceans, interconnecting continents and carrying over 99% of intercontinental data traffic. This article looks at how the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) will affect these cables in terms of traffic demand as well as in terms of how we design and operate the key equipment that feeds data into these cables.AI…

Exail Enhances ROVs with Electromagnetic Sensing Tech

Exail selected Elwave’s advanced electromagnetic sensing technology to equip its R7 Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for an undisclosed client. As part of this collaboration, Exail will integrate Elwave’s Tetrapulse sensors—powered by the innovative CEDAR (Controlled Electric Detection And Ranging) technology— into multiple R7 ROVs.Enhanced target detection with electromagnetic sensing: This next…

CGG to Support Discoveries Off Africa with Two New 3D Reimaging Projects

French marine seismic firm CGG, in collaboration with Côte d’Ivoire's Direction Générale des Hydrocarbures (DGH) and Petroci, has set out plans for two new multi-client 3D reimaging programs off Africa.The programs include CDI24 Phase I (3,120 km²) and Phase II (6,610 km²), both of which are supported by the industry.The Phase I will start immediately, while the Phase II is planned for the first half of 2025.These new programs will be merged with the CDI23 (6…

VideoRay Awarded $92.6 Million US Navy Contract

VideoRay was awarded a $92.6 million five-year indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract for the continuous production, sustainment, and development of the MK20 Defender Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) platform for the US Navy’s Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response (MESR).The deal provides access to VideoRay’s Mission Specialist family of underwater robotics systems to support the…

Ancient Megalodon Super-predators Could Swallow a Great White Shark Whole, New Model Reveals

In a new 3D modelling study published this week in Science Advances, we show that the giant extinct shark, Otodus megalodon, was a true globetrotting super-predator.It was capable of covering vast distances in short order, and could eat the largest of modern living super-predators, the killer whale, in five gargantuan bites. It could have swallowed a great white shark whole.The largest shark that ever livedMegalodon was the largest shark that ever lived…

IQUA Robotics: SPARUS II AUV Tackles Multimodal Mapping for Exploration and Inspection

Micro and small-sized AUVs can integrate a wide range of sensors and navigation systems, making them ideal for applications in littoral waters with to their ease of deployment and operation. However, effectively exploring, locating, and mapping survey targets often requires combining multiple sensing techniques. Additionally, close-range, high-resolution inspection—traditionally performed by a secondary…

Oi London 2020 Marks 50th Anniversary

There are less than three weeks to go until the opening of Oceanology International 2020 (17-19 March, ExCel London), an event which will mark the 50th anniversary of the world’s premier ocean science and technology exhibition and conference series. The London 2020 event is on track to become the largest Oi undertaking in the expo’s half-century history: an unprecedented 17,000+m2 of floor space has been freed up to accommodate more than 500 exhibitors from 90 countries…

Army Corps, Maryland DOT to Commence $4 Billion Chesapeake Bay Restoration Project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Baltimore District, and the Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) signed a Project Partnership Agreement (PPA) for the $4 billion Mid-Chesapeake Bay ecosystem restoration project at MDOT Headquarters, August 23, 2022.The PPA – signed by Col. Estee Pinchasin, Baltimore District commander, and MDOT Secretary James F. Ports, Jr. – outlines the roles, responsibilities…

NOAA Awards $18.9 Million for Harmful Algal Bloom Research, Monitoring

NOAA is announcing $18.9 million in funding for harmful algal bloom (HAB) research projects and monitoring activities throughout U.S. coastal and Great Lakes waters.HABs can produce toxins or cause other harmful effects that can damage ecosystems, disrupt our seafood supply, impact economies and threaten human health. Marine and fresh waters of the U.S. are increasingly impacted by HABs, with blooms reported in every state. They cost the U.S.

Protecting Subsea Cabling

The energy industry is changing. Renewables are on the rise and wind energy is becoming increasingly prevalent. In fact, Britain is set to increase the amount of energy produced from offshore wind farms from 7% to 30% over the next decade.However, offshore wind energy is completely reliant on subsea cabling to deliver power back to land and allow transmission between turbines. If these essential cables become damaged or start to malfunction…

RRS James Clark Ross Makes Its Last Antarctic Call

It's the end of an era for the U.K.'s RRS James Clark Ross, which made its final call to Rothera Research Station in Antarctic on February 19 after 30 years of service. British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said the polar research vessel will be sold at the end of the 2020/2021 Antarctic season and replaced by the newly built RRS Sir David Attenborough.Rothera was the RRS James Clark Ross’s final call of the ship’s five-and-a-half-month mission to deliver scientific and operational staff to Antarctica…

Uncrewed Saildrone to Explore Remote Alaskan Waters

On August 11, 2022, the Saildrone Surveyor departed Dutch Harbor in Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, embarking on a multipartner project to better understand the ocean and seafloor in one of the most remote and understudied parts of the United States. NOAA Ocean Exploration and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) are the primary sponsors of this work.The Aleutians Uncrewed Ocean Exploration expedition…

Will 2020 be the year for Subsea Mining?

Anyone who has been around the Offshore Oil and Gas or the Marine industries for long has heard of plans for mining various minerals located on or just below the seafloor. In fact, when Howard Hughes built the Glomar Explorer in 1972, the cover story for its true mission – recovering a Soviet submarine - was that the rig would be used to mine manganese nodules from the deep ocean floor. This cover…

Unmanned Maritime Systems Development Accelerates

There is little question that world militaries see the value of unmanned systems to complement their manned counterparts. The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan accelerated the development of unmanned aerial systems and unmanned ground systems to meet urgent operational needs. Now, there is increasing interest in unmanned surface systems, resulting in their placement on an accelerated development path.Like their air and ground counterparts…

Fleet of Ocean Robots, Buoys, Set for Deployment Off Plymouth

What has been described as a first-of-its-kind multi-million-pound fleet of innovative and interconnected marine technologies is soon set to be deployed off the coast of Plymouth, UK, according to Plymouth Marine Laboratory, a marine research institute.An 8.5-meter-tall Autonomous Data Buoy featuring a set of onboard sensors will soon be deployed offshore as part of Smart Sound Plymouth’s plan to create…

Nauticus Robotics Wins Contract with U.S. DIU for Autonomous Amphibious Robot

Nauticus Robotics, a developer of autonomous ocean robots and associated services, said Wednesday it had secured a second multi-million dollar contract with the U.S. Defense Innovation Unit (“DIU”) for the development of an amphibious unmanned system also utilizing the company’s autonomous command and control software platform, ToolKITT. This development follows Nauticus’ previous DIU award announcement on February 15, 2022, where ToolKITT is being utilized aboard the U.S.

Offshore Energy Outlook for 2020

The “new normal” is a phrase tossed around often in offshore energy circles today as those servicing and operating in the sector grapple with the harsh realities of the prolonged industry downturn. Operators, service companies and equipment suppliers have been forced to adjust to oil selling at prices well below the $100+ per barrel mark seen in years past. As of this writing, Brent oil was hovering around $62 per barrel…