Subsea Technology News

On Nov. 18, hours after two communication cables were severed in the Baltic Sea, 30 NATO vessels and 4,000 military staff took to the same body of water for one of northern Europe's largest naval exercises.The 12-day 'Freezing Winds' drill was part of a push to step up the transatlantic defence alliance's protection of infrastructure in waters that carry 15% of global shipping traffic and are seen as increasingly vulnerable to attack.The Baltic Sea is bordered by eight NATO countries and Russia.

R.W. Fernstrum & Company, founded by Robert W. Fernstrum 75 years ago, is a quintessential U.S. manufacturing story. The company was born in the aftermath of WWII, founded on an invention developed during the war by Robert Fernstrum to help solve an engine overheating problem that was plaguing U.S. Navy landing craft. Family owned and operated from day one, today the company includes a fourth generation of family that aims to continue the legacy of its founder, a legacy built on effective…

Fincantieri and C.A.B.I. Cattaneo (CABI), a company in the design, development and supply of underwater vehicles for the Special Forces of the Navy, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the evaluation of commercial and industrial cooperation in the field of underwater vehicles and related integration with larger units.The agreement was signed in the presence of Admiral Enrico Credendino, Chief of Staff of the Navy, by Pierroberto Folgiero and Alberto Villa, respectively Chief Executive Officer of Fincantieri and CABI.The MoU will make it possible to integrate underwater vehicles on Fincantieri's surface and underwater units.

Researchers from NOAA, the state of Michigan, and Ocean Exploration Trust discovered an intact shipwreck resting hundreds of feet below the surface of Lake Huron. Located within NOAA's Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, the shipwreck has been identified as the sailing ship Ironton. Well preserved by the cold freshwater of the Great Lakes for over a century, the 191-ft. Ironton rests upright with its three masts still standing."Using this cutting-edge technology, we have not only located a pristine shipwreck lost for over a century…

Ifremer, Jean-Louis Etienne and the entire Polar POD team announced its construction by the Piriou shipyards in association with 3C Metal, under the direction of the project owner, Ifremer. The scientific program of this international oceanographic "station" is being overseen by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS), in partnership with the French National Centre for Space Studies (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales…

Prysmian Group entered into a Limited Notice to Proceed (LNTP) for the supply of power cables in the context of a landmark  HVDC submarine cable project in the Middle East, worth around $252m. The LNTP was awarded to Prysmian by Samsung C&T as part of its EPC consortium with Jan De Nul Group. The new link, part of the strategic HVDC transmission system for the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Abu Dhabi National Energy Company PJSC (TAQA) Lightning Project, will allow bulk-power energy transmission between the converter station in Al Mirfa…

The Department of Defense’s (DoD) Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) is seeking to fund environmental research and development in the Munitions Response program area. SERDP invests across the broad spectrum of basic and applied research, as well as advanced technology development. The development and application of innovative environmental technologies will reduce the costs, environmental risks, and time required to resolve environmental problems while…

Marine minerals are coming under sharp focus offshore Norway. Analysts suggest it could be a $20 billion annual revenue industry by 2050, which is why many are taking an interest and developing the technology to make it happen. Marine mineral mining has been something of a slow burner in the wider marine world. It has some clear challenges, not least location and depth of these potential resources, but also concerns around its environmental impact.Yet it now appears to be coming into a distinctly sharp focus…

Scientists circumnavigate and map the seafloor of the entire mesophotic (deep water) zone in Ashmore Reef Marine Park.Scientists discovered a sea snake thought to be locally extinct and saw several species such as the great spotted cowrie (Perissersoa guttata) for the first time in the Ashmore Reef Marine Park, off Australia, during Schmidt Ocean Institute's 18-day expedition that concluded this week.A team of scientists, led by Dr. Karen Miller of the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS)…

Major changes are occurring in the ocean. Climate change and subsequent melting sea ice are not necessarily good changes. Why are acoustic Doppler current profilers an invaluable tool to get a complete picture of the Arctic’s changing wave conditions in the context of climate change?In the Arctic, the end-of-summer sea ice extent in 2020 was the second-lowest in the last 42 years.“The ice used to melt out in June or July. Now it melts out in May. It used to come back in September or October.

Insights on technology advances with Rear Admiral John Okon, Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command.Rear Admiral Okon never started out to have a career in Oceanography, rather in Broadcast Meteorology. “At NY Maritime College, I studied both Meteorology and Oceanography and became equally passionate about Oceanography. Thanks to the U.S. Navy, we have a career field in both.”By its very nature, the U.S. Navy operates in one of the most discussed and disected environments on earth, the oceans.“The ocean is critical to National and Global Security.

With the advent of autonomy on and under the water, part of the value proposition is the ability to stay at sea, on station, to exponentially increase efficiencies. Have the ability to repower at sea is central to this effort, as an increasing number of companies work to solve the inherent technical and logistic problems.Columbia Power Technologies (C-Power) is commencing a six-month sea trial to test and validate its SeaRAY autonomous offshore power system (AOPS), in partnership with a pair of powerhouses: the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the U.S. NavyInitially conceived during a U.S.

Ocean mapping at scale is the target of a new unmanned systems player started by two ex-US Navy SEALS. They have big ambitions, from new building unmanned vehicles to creating the intelligence that will drive them to changing how accessible ocean data is. Elaine Maslin learned more. The pace of change in the ocean mapping space has been fast in recent years. New entrants have come into the scene offering “force multiplier” mapping using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and unmanned surface vessels (USVs).

Even as shipowners enjoy record low bunker fuel pricing, the search for hull cleaning and fuel-saving optimization continues. Jotun, which recently launched 'hull skater' hull grooming, found a willing partner in Wallenius Wilhelmsen -- an operator of a fleet of 126 RoRo vessels, 11 marine terminals and 71 processing centers globally -- to put the hull skater to the test.For the past decade, Wallenius Wilhelmsen has produced an annual Sustainability Report, describing initiatives undertaken to reduce the company’s emissions and safeguard life below the water line, among other target areas.

ANU listing granted after favorable USBL accuracy testsEvoLogics underwater acoustic modems were recently listed as Authorized for Navy Use (ANU), following a lengthy period of testing and technical evaluation by Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and The Emergency Ship Salvage Material (ESSM) System. The ANU Program provides a list of selected diving equipment, tools and accessories which have undergone design safety reviews, testing and evaluation to ensure diver safety and…

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,” said Jan Lomholdt, Managing Director of Ulstein Belga Marine.The Argos system’s technology provides vessels with real-time 3D imagery of the waters ahead…

Kongsberg Maritime AS, Sensor & Robotics has signed a contract with Saab that will see Kongserg delivering its Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and diver detection sonars for the Pohjanmaa-class corvettes currently being developed by the Finnish Navy under its Squadron 2020 project.Under the terms of the contract, which equates to approximately NOK 100 million, Kongsberg will equip the vessels with its SS2030 and SD9500 sonars, both of which boast acoustic properties which make them ideally suited for deployment in shallow-water environments.The SS2030…

From their base deep within a former World War II U-boat pen, Norwegian outfit, OceanTech, is developing a set of robot tools that cling to offshore structures in order to effect inspection, maintenance and repair, or IMR. Old submarine anchorages are now subsea testing and training sites, but the North Sea is still the target. Hundreds of aging platforms and subsea structures require IMR that’s too costly, complex or hazardous for divers or remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs.As he walks us through Dora II…

Recent acceptance to operate in Rotterdam and proof of sustainability claims after more than 500 hull cleaning operations help propel ECOsubsea, the robotic hull cleaning system.The Dutch national regulatory body Rijkswaterstaat gave the Norwegian company the green light to start offering hull cleaning services to vessels at all Dutch Ports including Europe’s biggest port, the Port of Rotterdam, a move that is helping the firm solidify its position in Europe following similar permissions in Antwerp…

NAVTOR and ScanReach signed an agreement that that is intended to supply shipowners with a connected, comprehensive and real-time view of vessel and fleet operations.The collaboration will connect an onboard wireless IoT platform to a secure channel for sharing data between ship and shore, with the goal to deliver a seamless stream of information running from onboard sensors to land-based facilities, and back, enabling optimal decision-making, 24/7.“Both ScanReach and NAVTOR share the vision of utilizing technology to enable smarter shipping…

ROVOP, the global subsea robotics specialist, is the latest company to join the ORCA (Offshore Robotics for Certification of Assets) Hub offshore robotics, artificial intelligence and autonomous systems development program. The ORCA Hub is a consortium of five universities – Heriot-Watt University, University of Edinburgh, University of Liverpool, University of Oxford and Imperial College London – that are working together to develop highly specialized robotics and AI technologies for the inspection, repair, maintenance and certification of offshore energy platforms and assets.The partnership will see ROVOP support the research the ORCA Hub is carrying out in the subsea domain.

For Marine Technology Reporter's (MTR) 14th Annual "MTR100" - a look at 100 innovators and technologies in the subsea space - MTR editor-at-large Elaine Maslin reports on five companies and technologies that are worth the watch for the remainder of 2019 and beyond. For the full edition, see https://magazines.marinelink.com/nwm/MarineTechnology/201907/Blue Logic: Entering a new eraCompletely new modes of operation are entering the underwater domain for oil and gas operations and…

Chelsea Technologies, a leader in the design and manufacture of sensors for the maritime sector and a Sonardyne company, has announced the appointment of Elizabeth Paull as its new managing director. Paull, who joins the company from leading subsea technology developer Sonardyne International, has been appointed to further develop Chelsea Technologies as a market leader in environmental sensing technology across a variety of industry sectors, and particularly in maritime where…