NOC Celebrates 25th Anniversary of First AUV Mission

This year, the National Oceanography Center (NOC) is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its first Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) mission. Over the last quarter of a century, the NOC’s underwater robots have been at the center of countless missions across the world in the most extreme marine environments to support scientific ocean research. As the world gathers in Glasgow at the COP26 summit…

Atlantic Canada’s First Instream Tidal Energy Set for Delivery in Early 2022

Sustainable Marine is set to demonstrate that Nova Scotia can produce vast amounts of clean and predictable energy from its world-famous tidal streams, after completing construction of its substation at Grand Passage.“We are on target to connect the platform to the substation in the first quarter of next year,” said company CEO Jason Hayman while attending the annual Marine Renewables Canada conference in Halifax this week.

Seatools Unveils New Deepwater Excavator

Subsea technology company Seatools has introduced the Carrera E 3D motion-controlled precision flow excavation spread. The 630+ kW, all-electric deepwater excavator features Seatools’ advanced ROV DP technology and sets the stage for better accuracy, production and workability in the mass flow excavation (MFE).Seatools developed the Carrera E mass flow excavation spread leveraging its capabilities in heave compensation and ROV control technologies.

Saildrone Closes $100 Million Series C Funding Round

Saildrone in mid-October announced the close of its $100 million Series C round, bringing its total funding to $190 million.Led by BOND, the round includes new investors XN, Standard Investments, Emerson Collective and Crowley Maritime Corporation, as well as participation from previous investors, Capricorn’s Technology Impact Fund, Lux Capital, Social Capital and Tribe Capital. Saildrone said it will…

Tuco Marine Launches Aquaculture Service Boat

Denmark based boat builder Tuco Marine has launched a newly developed boat for high-pressure cleaning for fish farm operations in Norway. According to Tuco Marine, the 15-meter workboat – an expansion of its ProZero vessel series – has been designed by the builder’s engineers in collaboration with aquaculture experts to match the exact demands of the industry. In order to preserve a healthy fish population and a steady production rate…

The ROV that Explored USS Indianapolis

The wreckage of the USS Indianapolis was found by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen and his team on August 19, 2017. A state-of-the-art remotely operated vehicle (ROV) was deployed to confirm and document the shipwreck in its resting place some 5,500 meters below the surface in the Philippine Sea. For the design, manufacture and commissioning of the specialty ROV, Allen and his company Vulcan Inc.

Subsea Training Center Revamps ROV, Bell Courses

New modules added with support from industry. Students undertaking ROV Pilot Technician and Closed Bell training at the Fort William-based subsea facility, The Underwater Center, are to benefit from newly revamped courses providing even more contextual modules. The Center has been working with industry to identify areas of its ROV and Closed Bell training suites which can be enhanced and courses for the remainder of 2015 will reflect this with major developments across the board.

Acoustic Technology Aids Search for Downed Helicopter

A mission to search for the wreckage of an Irish Coast Guard helicopter which crashed into the Atlantic earlier this year killing all four crew members, was supported with underwater locating equipment from Sonardyne International Ltd. Within hours of rescuers arriving at the scene of the accident off the west coast of Ireland, Sonardyne Scout USBL (Ultra-Short BaseLine) and ROV-Homer acoustic tracking and relocation systems…

MTR 100: RECAB

“RECAB is a provider of rugged computers; we are a hardware company,” said Bjørn Espen Aase, Managing Director, RECAB Norway. We met with RECAB at the recent Norshipping in Oslo to catch up with this fast-growing computer integrator, a company which sees its business spread across many industries that demand high-performance rugged computing. “We are a typical subcontractor for the big players like Kongsberg and Rolls-Royce, for example.

MTR100: Kongsberg Maritime

Kongsberg Maritime’s sonar, multibeam echo sounders, cameras, positioning and underwater communication systems, and AUVs are used in survey and inspection operations worldwide. Working closely with customers to develop technology that pushes the limits in subsea applications, Kongsberg Maritime is also dedicated to developing innovative environmental monitoring solutions. The company mission is maximizing performance by providing The Full Picture.

MTR100: EvoLogics GmbH

Ackerstr. CEO/President:     Dr. Dr. No. EvoLogics GmbH is a German high-tech enterprise, founded in 2000 by a group of leading international scientists and R&D experts. The company’s mission is to develop innovative technologies for maritime and offshore industries through interdisciplinary cooperation between engineering and life sciences. The company designs and manufactures underwater information and communication systems based on bionic concepts…

JDR Wraps Up Type Test Qualification of Next-Gen Offshore Wind Cables

JDR Cable Systems (JDR), part of the TFKable Group, has completed two new type test qualifications at 132kV for static and dynamic array cables, supporting the next generation of fixed and floating offshore wind projects.The successful testing marks a critical step in delivering U.K.-manufactured high-voltage cables, ready to support larger turbines and deliver power over longer distances, enabling…

National Ocean Policy, Coastal & Marine Spatial Planning Raising Red Flags

This summer, the Administration released the innocuously named “Guide to Regional Marine Planning,” and across town, the House of Representatives passed the latest in a string of resolutions restricting the Administration from spending money on the implementation of the National Ocean Policy. The battle continues over an issue which could well redefine the future of offshore energy development, fisheries management…

Subsea Vehicles: A Journey to the Under – and Outer – Worlds

It’s often remarked upon that we know more about the surface of the moon than we do the depths of our ocean. Scientists are now shooting for both – and beyond. Work by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), developed for exploring Mars, is now being leveraged by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to help tap Earth’s deepest water secrets. In turn, WHOI’s work will help NASA explore oceans…

The “Disruption” in AUV Trends

Missions—it’s all a question of missions. The mission decides the payload, battery capacity, size and processing power of an autonomous underwater vehicle, or AUV. King among these is payload, from which market disruption is just waiting to happen. Changing payloads of artificial intelligence, management software, and researcher resourcefulness now combine with entrepreneurial technologists to inject uncertainty into AUV market forecasts.On a stormy night in an arctic sea…

Scientists See Rising Threat of Coral Bleaching

As unusually warm ocean temperatures cover the north Pacific, equatorial Pacific and western Atlantic oceans, NOAA scientists expect greater bleaching of corals on Northern Hemisphere reefs through October, potentially leading to the death of corals over a wide area and affecting the long-term supply of fish and shellfish. While corals can recover from mild bleaching, severe or long-term bleaching kills corals. Even if corals recover, they are more susceptible to disease.

FAU to Develop Use of USVs for Bridge Inspections

The task of inspecting and maintaining Florida’s network of approximately 11,450 bridges is arduous, especially since so many of the state’s bridges span rivers, canals and saltwater areas. Researchers in the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University have received a one year, $187,000 grant from the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) to research and develop the use of unmanned marine vehicles for on-water bridge inspections.

Osiris Projects Launches New Survey Vessel

Specialist seabed mapping company Osiris Projects has this week launched the fifth vessel in their fleet, the 14m GRP catamaran MV Proteus. Designed to provide an excellent working platform for coastal survey operations, MV Proteus can work up to 60 miles from a safe haven under MCA Category 2 and has a maximum speed of 24 knots. The vessel benefits from a shallow draft of just 1m making her ideal for inshore operations…

Acoustic Pingers Aid Robosub Contestants

The Robosub competition began 18 years ago to advance the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV). Cosponsored by the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) and the U.S. Office of Naval Research (ONR), the competition’s goal is to challenge a new generation of engineers to accomplish realistic missions in an underwater environment and get young people excited about careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

UTEC Survey Adds Two Additional Gavia Offshore Surveyors

Teledyne Gavia reported the sale of two additional 1,000m depth rated Gavia Offshore Surveyor Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to UTEC Survey Inc., (Houston, Texas). UTEC purchased its first Gavia AUV in August 2011 then took delivery of a second vehicle in April 2012. After honing their AUV operations over the past two survey seasons, the company decided to increase the fleet with the purchase of two further vehicles…