Shipbuilder Austal USA Partners with USV Firm Saildrone

Shipbuilder Austal USA and has formed a strategic partnership with Saildrone, Inc to build cutting-edge, autonomous uncrewed surface vehicles.The partnership  ensures that production of the autonomous and uncrewed Saildrone Surveyor will accelerate to meet the growing demand of the U.S. Navy and other government customers for the cutting-edge solution for maritime domain awareness, hydrographic survey, and other missions requiring persistent wide area coverage.

Beam Launches New System to Advance 3D Mapping for Offshore Wind

Beam, a company created by the merger of Rovco and Vaarst, has unveiled SubSLAM X3, a new underwater perception system designed to enhance the monitoring and maintenance of offshore wind farms.SubSLAM X3 offers real-time, high-resolution 3D mapping and is set to improve the efficiency and accuracy of underwater operations, according to Beam.The system integrates artificial intelligence (AI), robotics…

USVs Eye Offshore Wind Opportunities

Use of USVs in offshore wind has started to become a norm; in pre-survey and post-construction, with O&M on its way. How much more could be done?The use of USVs in the offshore industry has come a long way since they first started making an appearance in the 2010s. After some tentative steps, companies like XOCEAN have come in and blazed a trail, not least in offshore wind.This has largely been for standard multibeam and sub-bottom profile surveys.

Eserv Digitizes Neptune's Offshore Platforms

Oil and gas company on Tuesday announced Neptune Energy a new partnership with 3D technology specialist, Eserv, as part of the ongoing digitalization of Neptune’s assets including its operated Cygnus gas platform in the UK southern North Sea."Using 3D and Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, a digital map of all three bridge-linked jackets was captured, enabling Neptune Energy to detect asset integrity issues early and plan fabric maintenance work on Cygnus…

Ocean Influencer: Mike Read, Teledyne Marine

Teledyne Marine is no stranger to the MTR reader, a group of leading-edge marine and subsea technology companies that are part of Teledyne Technologies Inc. and a driver of consolidation in the subsea sector for more than a decade. At the helm sits Mike Read, President, who has held a steady hand over the evolution of Teledyne Marine, through market cycles up and down.Through acquisitions and collaboration over the past 10 years…

GeoAcoustics to Launch Two New Side Scan Sonars at Ocean Business

GeoAcoustics Ltd will debut a new Side Scan Sonar range at Ocean Business 2025 next week, adding to its hydroacoustic technology portfolio.Designed to deliver superior visualization for diverse marine survey applications, the GeoScan range currently features two models, both offering simultaneous broadband dual frequency operation and advanced sonar processing features.The GeoScan 2361 operates at 300 kHz and 600 kHz to maximize range performance…

Regulatory Crewing Challenges for Offshore Wind Vessels

Every day we see more and more news about how the planning for new offshore wind projects continues to expand with the increasing investment from both domestic and foreign interests in these projects. This is resulting in both developers and contractors making logistics plans to secure vessels and crew for the purposes of meeting the demands necessary to crew and operate vessels in support of future wind farm operations.

Kongsberg to Equip Three Polish Navy Warships with Hugin AUVs

Norway's Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract award with Polish shipbuilder Remontowa Shipbuilding SA (RSB) to supply three shipsets of Kongsberg Hugin Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) systems and related HiPAP positioning and communication systems for three newbuild warships for the Polish Navy.The total contract value exceeds €10 million, with the Kongsberg equipment planned for the next three ships in the Kormoran II Mine-Countermeasures (MCM) vessel program (#4…

Subsea Infrastructure Power Looks at Renewables

Using renewable energy to power critical subsea infrastructure needs power management. It’s a capability Verlume will soon be proving off the Orkney Islands – and Hawaii.Integrating offshore renewables into offshore operations has become a major goal for oil and gas companies. A remote power supply could improve project economics for long step-outs, where they replace long power cables. Powering facilities…

Reid Takes the Helm at Kraken

Canadian marine technology company Kraken Robotics announced that Karl Kenny, Founder, President and CEO, will be appointed Executive Chairman of Kraken and transition the President and Chief Executive Officer role to Greg Reid. Reid joined Kraken more than seven years ago as Chief Financial Officer and since 2019 has been Chief Operating Officer. This transition will become effective January 1, 2023.

Installation Underway for World's Longest Heated Subsea Pipeline

Installation is underway in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea for the world’s longest heated subsea production pipeline, oil and gas company Neptune Energy has informed.The project will see the installation of the 36-kilometer electrically trace-heated (ETH) pipe-in-pipe solution transport oil from the Neptune Energy-operated Fenja field to the Njord A platform, operated by Equinor.The first phase of the installation saw a 9km section safely installed and successfully tested…

Meterologists, Oceanographers Help Pave a Safe Path for USN Hospital Ships

USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) arrived safely in Los Angeles last week and USNS Comfort (T-AH-20) arrived safely in New York on Monday. While the Navy’s hospital ships prepare to receive patients, Naval Oceanography’s team of meteorologists and oceanographers ensured these ships were safe from hazardous weather as they traveled to their destinations.On March 20, Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center…

AIS Data: History & Future

The Automatic Identification System (AIS) was developed with the sole goal of improving maritime safety by allowing ships in proximity to one another to automatically exchange information regarding their name, course, speed, type, cargo, etc. The exchange of this information would allow conning officers on each ship to make better decisions regarding the possibility of close encounters and the need to change course and/or speed.

European Commission Okays French Backing of Tidal Energy Test Site

The European Commission has found a French project promoting electricity generation from tidal energy to be in line with EU State aid rules. The measure will contribute to the EU's energy and climate goals without unduly distorting market competition, the Commission said.The Normandie Hydro plant is a demonstration plant for producing electricity from tidal energy. It will be developed by OpenHydro and operated by EDF EN and will be located at Raz Blanchard…

CGG Readies Offshore Mozambique Seismic Survey

French seismic player CGG has completed the final 3D PSDM seismic dataset from its recent 15,400-sq km (5,946-sq mi) multi-client survey of the outer Zambezi Delta in the Mozambique basin.The ultramodern data was acquired over blocks Z5-C and Z5-D and surrounding open acreage as part of a multi-client program agreed between CGG and Mozambique’s Instituto Nacional de Petroleo (INP).The final PSDM data identifies key stratigraphic intervals for a better understanding of the petroleum system and…

Sunken Submarine USS Stickleback Found

A World War II era submarine sunk during a Cold War training exercise off the shores of Hawaii more than six decades ago has been discovered by a team of ocean explorers utilizing pioneering robotics and methods at the forefront of today's underwater technology.USS Stickleback (SS 415), lost in nearly 11,000 feet of water 62 years ago, was discovered by veteran ocean explorer and Tiburon Subsea CEO…

Hugin AUV Scores 2020 AUVSI ECELLENCE Awards

Kongsberg Maritime's  HUGIN AUV scored a top-three prize in the 2020 AUVSI XCELLENCE awards.The AUVSI (Association for Unmanned Vehicles Systems International) XCELLENCE awards recognize “…innovators committed to advancing autonomy, leading and promoting safe adoption of unmanned systems, and developing programs [using] these technologies to save lives and improve the human condition.” KM’s HUGIN AUV scored third in the Hardware – Platform group award in the Technology & Innovation category.

NOAA Teams Up with Industry to Explore Ocean Depths

NOAA intends to collaborate with a private company led by Victor Vescovo, the first person to reach the deepest point in all five of the world's named oceans, in an effort to explore, characterize, and map unknown areas of the deep ocean.Caladan Oceanic's Deep Submersible Support Vessel Pressure Drop launching the full ocean depth submersible called Limiting Factor, from Triton Submarines.Vescovo’s company…

Partnering on the Digital Ship: Inside Denmark’s ShippingLab

When will the first fully digitized, autonomous and environmentally friendly ship be ready to sail? The answer is uncertain but the Danish Maritime Authority’s ShippingLab project aims to have most of the technical and managerial challenges solved in as little as two years from now. Tom Mulligan reports.Denmark’s ShippingLab project is a three-year initiative that commenced its work in March 2019 with the aim of developing the first fully commercially operational…

Copenhagen Subsea Debuts the Gorilla ROV

Copenhagen Subsea launched a new powerful Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), specifically developed for the offshore industry. The ROV is based on Copenhagen Subsea’s rim-driven thruster technology and is designed to be robust and reliable in challenging environments – qualities which inspired us to name it the Gorilla.In fact, reliability has been first and foremost throughout the design and development of the Gorilla.