Voices: Sean Halpin

From a sunken ship on Penobscot Bay to working with the world’s top oil and gas companies, Sean Halpin has always had a love of the ocean. Learn about his start and his perspectives on the role autonomous systems play for the future of offshore operations. From a sunken boat to becoming a geoscientist? I have always loved the ocean. My parents have pictures of me as a kid on a beach in Florida with a wild look in my eyes as I stared at the crashing waves.

Partners Advance Arctic Oil Spill Response Technology

Continually working to help improve oil spill response technologies, the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) presented details on its latest efforts at the Arctic Oil Spill Response Research and Technology Workshop on April 26. There, Bureau staff presented results of several BSEE-funded projects including the development of a submersible skimmer prototype for oil recovery in and around broken ice.

BP Doubles Down on Deepwater

About 300 BP workers commute 150 miles here by helicopter, from the Louisiana coast to a deep-sea drilling platform that can produce more oil in a day than a West Texas rig can pump in a year. On the deck of Thunder Horse, they work two-week shifts, drink seawater from a desalination plant, and eat ribs and chicken ferried in by boat. On the ocean floor, robots provide remote eyes and arms as drills extract up to 265,000 barrels per day.

Greensea Hires Abbott as Robotics Engineer

Greensea, creator of the universal marine industry operating platform OPENSEA, has hired Geoffrey Abbott as its new robotics engineer, responsible for advancing Greensea’s user interface and vehicle control systems for original equipment manufacturer products. As a robotics engineer at Greensea, Abbott will help further the company’s ability to easily integrate, configure and deploy its technology across vehicles and sensors in the marine industry.

NASA, Norway to Develop Arctic Laser-Ranging Station

NASA and the Norwegian Mapping Authority are partnering to develop a state-of-the-art satellite laser ranging station 650 miles from the North Pole that will produce high-precision locations of orbiting satellites, help track changes in the ice sheets and improve the efficiency of marine transportation and agriculture. The Arctic station will be the latest addition to a global network of space geodetic stations…

UKHO Supports HMS Queen Elizabeth in Portsmouth

The United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has supported the safe arrival of HMS Queen Elizabeth into Portsmouth by providing specialist marine geospatial and hydrographic expertise and data capabilities. Following initial dredging operations to make Portsmouth’s navigation channel and entrance deeper, hydrographic data was collected by the survey launch HMS Gleaner using modern multibeam echosounder technology to confirm the available water depth.

AXYS Metocean Buoy Supports Offshore Wind

AXYS Technologies Inc (AXYS) has announced that a WatchKeeper meteorological and oceanographic data buoy has been recently deployed approximately 60km offshore along the Northern coast of Poland in the Baltic Sea. This buoy, procured by polish developer Baltic Trade and Invest (BTI), will be used as part of their upcoming Environmental Impact and Assessment campaign in the Baltic Sea. This campaign…

Mapping Drone Powered By HYPACK

Southeastern geospatial solutions company SurvTech Solutions, Inc. has selected the NEXUS 800 powered by HYPACK as its aerial mapping solution. When asked why the HYPACK Solution was chosen, SurvTech Solutions president David O’Brien said the answer is simple: “Our goal was to acquire upland data simultaneous with subaqueous data and make a seamless point cloud of upland and submerged data. The integration of the Puck with our heading RTK GPS…

Bert Instruments Adds Nexus USBL to Its Equipment Pool

Since 1993 Florida based Bert Instruments’ team of consultants has been providing marine geophysical and environmental studies in the U.S., Caribbean and Latin America for petroleum companies, the U.S. Department of Defense, major Universities and private companies. The company’s expertise covers both hydrographic and oceanographic surveys and is headed up by electronic engineer Humberto Guarin PhD…

US Blue Tech Companies to Watch in 2017

Chosen for their innovative ocean technologies and export potential, 17 small U.S. companies from nine states have been selected to participate in the 2017 cohort of the first U.S. Maritime Technology Export Initiative. The selected companies each develop, manufacture or sell a variety of maritime or ocean technologies or services in aerial drones, maritime robotics, ocean observation, renewable energy…

All Hands on Deck: ROVs and AUVs Aid Search for Franklin

Marine and subsea unmanned vehicle technology is playing an increasingly greater role in underwater archaeology, including the search for the historic shipwreck Franklin. For centuries, the ever-changing sea ice of the Northwest Passage made the route through the Arctic Ocean unpredictable and, on occasions, virtually impassable. Yet, since the 1500s the promise of connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans…

STR Appoints Elliott as General Manager

Subsea Technology & Rentals Ltd (STR); global specialists in the design, production and rental of advanced subsea technology for the offshore industry has announced the appointment of Paul Elliott as General Manager for the Asia Pacific Region.   Elliott will be responsible for working with STR’s existing customers and agents within the Asia Pacific region to support business and develop new opportunities and relationships.

SeeByte Software Supports USV

SeeByte, creator of smart software technology for unmanned systems, and ATLAS ELEKTRONIK UK (AEUK), a specialist in delivery of innovative maritime systems, have together successfully integrated SeeByte’s Neptune software onto AEUK’s ARCIMS unmanned surface vessel (USV) mission system. ARCIMS is an USV specifically designed for multi-role applications including MCM, ASW, Hydrography and security. ARCIMS…

Rovco Dives into International Waters

U.K.-based startup Rovco has taken its firsts steps into international waters with the completion of two subsea survey contracts in Southeast Asia and the Middle East. The contract awards saw Rovco perform advanced subsea survey work in Fiji and Oman, utilizing its SubAtlantic Mojave, Seaeye Falcon and VideoRay Pro 4 ROVs. Launched in September, the company has also been awarded its first ROV consultancy project with one of a U.K.

World's First Low Velocity Tidal Energy Project

Xodus Group has delivered the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and licence application for Minesto’s Holyhead Deep project west of Anglesey for which consent has been confirmed by Natural Resources Wales. The consent is for a 0.5 MW Deep Green device which will demonstrate and prove the technology ahead of plans for installing a 10 MW array at the site. The installation site is located in the southern corner of Holyhead Deep…

Hull Cleaning Robot Deployed in Rotterdam

Recently the hull of the vessel Vlieborg from Wagenborg has been cleaned in the Port of Rotterdam by Fleet Cleaner and OH Ship Cleaning. The vessel was heavily fouled with slime and algae, which were all removed from the hull and captured by the installation. The collected wastewater was carefully filtered in order to comply with environmental regulations. Since the Vlieborg was not loaded during the cleaning, a large portion of the fouled hull had to be cleaned above water.

Philippines Completes Scientific Survey in Disputed Sea

The Philippines has completed an 18-day scientific survey in the South China Sea to assess the condition of coral reefs and draw a nautical map of disputed area, a top security official said on Thursday. Two survey ships, including an advanced research vessel acquired from the United States, conducted surveys around Scarborough Shoal and on three islands, including Thitu, in the Spratly group, National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon said.

Big Data, 3D Printing and Robots

Commandant of the Marine Corps (CMC) Gen. Robert B. Neller recently visited the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to get a close-up look at some of the latest technologies being developed for the U.S. Marine Corps—from autonomous systems to virtual reality training devices. During his visit, Neller met with Chief of Naval Research Rear Adm. Mat Winter, as well as department heads and program officers, and expressed his appreciation for the science and technology being designed for the future force.

Saab Seaeye: Meeting the Challenges of Renewables

The renewable industry presents special challenges for underwater robotic vehicle operations with its shallow waters, high currents, intricate structures and, in some locations, unexploded ordnance. Saab Seaeye has found good success in the sector with a range of vehicles specially suited for the challenging tasks involved in building and maintaining the structures and interconnections. With a range of robotic systems that are ideally suited for the sector.

iXblue Offers a Full Range of INS for All AUV Types

With Phins C3, C5 and C7 range, iXblue now provides fully scalable systems that cover all inertial navigation needs for any size of AUV. Based on iXblue’s silent true solid state Fiber-Optic Gyroscope technology, the Phins Compact Family guarantees high accuracy, unrivalled reliability and proved robustness. The iXblue’s Phins Compact Family has been designed to offer the AUV industry players the ability to choose an inertial navigation system adapted to their vehicle…