Miros secures a solid increase of new ‘as a service’ contracts for WaveSystem
Miros, the Ocean Insights experts, continues to successfully grow its sea state as a service offering after securing numerous contracts with new clients during the first half of this year.
The new as a service (aaS) contracts span the global offshore vessel market, with particular emphasis on the key markets of UKCS, Norway and Brazil.
The projects will see the Miros WaveSystem deployed across vessels, providing real-time sea state data, helping to monitor vessel stability during heading sensitive operations for increased operational safety and facilitating operability improvements. WaveSystem will support offshore work, including cable and pipe lay, offshore installations, new floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) projects and drillship activities during well decommissioning.
The IoT-enabled WaveSystem combines the directional sea state measurements from Miros Wavex® and motion-compensated wave measurements as well as draught data from Miros RangeFinder. WaveSystem consistently provides precise ocean insights exactly when and where operators require them, ensuring all stakeholders involved benefit from heightened operational awareness.
The real-time data that has been gathered and tailored to the requirements of the operator by WaveSystem allows for enhanced decision-making through an understanding of the environment and weather windows. The flexible and scalable approach makes this aaS solution incredibly user-friendly, easy to handle and integrate with other systems.
With an aaS subscription, equipment remains Miros-owned, meaning that the client does not need to take on the risk of owning, operating, and maintaining the kit throughout the duration of the project. Hence the focus stays solely on the operational benefits rather than the hardware.
Andrew Wallace, Miros’ VP Offshore Solutions, said: “We are very proud of all the new contract wins in the first half of the year. It’s great to see our ever-evolving technology gaining momentum across such a wide range of offshore vessel operations and this clearly demonstrates the requirement for reliable and robust ocean insights”.
“With the precision, reliability, and robustness of Miros' sea condition measurements, complemented by our convenient as a service subscription model, clients experience remarkable enhancements in their operations. This, in turn, results in reduced energy consumption and improved efficiencies, contributing to the achievement of broader industry objectives. This aspect holds immense significance for stakeholders in both the maritime and energy sectors. We eagerly anticipate witnessing the profound impact of our high-quality solutions and supporting applications as they pave the way toward a sustainable market.”
These new WaveSystem projects are followed by the extension of several existing aaS contracts with vessel operators offshore Norway, UK and the Gulf of Mexico for Miros Cloud, Data Connector, RangeFinder and Wavex® to reliably support and optimize maritime operations with relevant ocean insights.
Advanced Navigation opens up ocean intelligence with Australia’s largest subsea robotics centre
Advanced Navigation, the world’s most determined innovator in artificial intelligence (AI) for robotic and navigation technologies, is announcing the largest subsea robotics facility in Australia, located in Balcatta, Western Australia (WA). The high tech manufacturing and R&D facility will accelerate the production of the company's revolutionary underwater technologies, including its autonomous underwater robot, Hydrus.
“Now more than ever, there is a need to open up the earth's oceans, to make data and knowledge more accessible to global communities, research institutions and governments. Western Australia has always been an exploration hub for ocean discoveries.
The new subsea centre will help Advanced Navigation meet the growing demand for high-grade underwater data, bringing new and existing solutions to market far more quickly and efficiently. With the goal to grow our subsea team threefold, we are confident this investment will deepen and advance our understanding of the oceans." said Xavier Orr, CEO and co-founder, Advanced Navigation.
Ocean Intelligence with Advanced Manufacturing
The subsea centre is located on a massive 5.5 acre site. The facility is split between development and manufacturing for high volume production and continued research and expansion of subsea navigation and robotics technologies. This includes the growth of its underwater AI division.
Advanced Navigation is a proud stalwart for independent, in-house design and vertical integration that has ushered in many innovations, including extreme miniaturisation of pressure-tolerant electronics, sophisticated sonar technologies and AI-based autonomous systems. The new centre also includes full testing facilities with several marine simulation environments to ensure reliable performance and the highest quality production.
Reshaping the Blue Economy with Brilliant Minds
Advanced Navigation's break-through underwater navigation and robotic technologies are utilised across the blue economy, supporting research, aquaculture, offshore renewable energy, transportation, surveillance, biotechnology and high-tech services.
The company's recent autonomous underwater robot Hydrus continues to revolutionise undersea research, survey and exploration by making data capture far simpler and vastly more accessible. The Hydrus design synthesises numerous cutting-edge navigational, sonar, propulsion and data capture technologies with highly developed and sophisticated artificial neural network (ANN) intelligence.
With support from prominent research institutions including the University of Western Australia (UWA), Curtin University and philanthropic organisation Minderoo, Advanced Navigation continues to establish sustainable technologies to foster the growth of the blue economy, nationally and internationally.
“It’s exciting to see Advanced Navigation continue to grow its team of engineers in Western Australia. At UWA we are researching how natural and artificial reef structures can protect coastlines by dissipating wave energy - Hydrus is a key tool in mapping and surveying these underwater structures. The technology makes more efficient use of our funds and ultimately scales up our ability to collect high-resolution data,” said Justin Geldard, Coastal and Ocean Researcher, University of Western Australia Ocean Institute.
Future of the Autonomy Revolution
The subsea centre is just one of several investments made by Advanced Navigation as it continues to expand its global reach and capabilities. The company has established headquarters in Sydney with research centres throughout Australia, including Brisbane for aerial drone technology, Canberra for photonic and laser technology and Newcastle for quantum sensing.
In addition to novel autonomous subsea robotics, Advanced Navigation delivers AI-enhanced navigation technologies for land, sea, air and space applications. The company is committed to developing innovative products and systems that will be catalysts of the autonomy revolution.
Rovco wins survey contract with Flotation Energy for Cenos floating offshore wind farm
Rovco, a global provider of technology-enabled project solutions to the offshore renewable energy sector, has been contracted by Flotation Energy to carry out a geo-environmental survey at its planned Cenos floating offshore windfarm, 200 kilometres off the north-east coast of Scotland.
Located in the Central North Sea, the 1.4GW Cenos floating wind development will cover approximately 333km2. Rovco, having recently launched a dedicated marine site characterisation business line, will deploy its multi-purpose, custom-reconfigured DP2 survey vessel, the Glomar Supporter, to carry out the work.
It is expected that the project will comprise subsea studies of the floating wind turbine generators, mooring line anchor locations, inter-array cables, fixed foundation substation areas, and the portion of export cables that fall within these locations.
Rovco’s scope of work involves the acquisition of geophysical and benthic information to provide detailed data to inform environmental impact assessment (EIA) consents and the engineering processes from engineering to early front-end engineering and design (FEED) study.
The geophysical element of the workscope requires the acquisition of multi-beam echo sounder, side scan sonar, magnetometer, sub-bottom profiler, and multi-channel seismic data along with associated analysis, processing, interpretation, and reporting.
Flotation Energy’s partner on Cenos is Norwegian-offshore wind company, Vårgrønn; a joint venture between energy company Plenitude (Eni) and investor HitecVision. The joint venture secured a lease earlier this year as part of Crown Estate Scotland’s INTOG (Innovation and Targeted Oil & Gas) round.
Craig Davis, Director of Site Characterisation for Rovco, said: “We’re extremely pleased to be working with Edinburgh-based Flotation Energy on this project. The company has been a significant contributor towards the building of a strong offshore wind industry in the UK and beyond.
“Our dedicated site characterisation division was launched specifically to provide the full range of survey solutions to offshore wind projects such as Cenos, in order to take it from pre-construction to first energy as swiftly, efficiently, and cost effectively as possible. Having access to the full range of tools, equipment, and technology on the Glomar Supporter, along with our highly experienced and specialist team, will be instrumental in helping Flotation Energy meet its timescale for this project utilising a local supply chain partner.”
Dan Wright, Supply Chain Manager at Flotation Energy, commented: “Having secured Rovco’s extensive offshore renewables experience to support the subsea studies will add immense value to our Cenos project and also reaffirms our commitment to building a robust local supply chain for our offshore wind projects. By focusing our efforts on creating flexible and collaborative partnerships with Scottish-based companies such as Rovco, we can provide opportunities to establish a floating wind supply chain ready to deliver for Scotwind licensing projects and beyond.”
“The successful delivery of our survey campaign with Rovco enables us to maintain our fast-track delivery schedule for Cenos, a project that will decarbonise North Sea oil and gas assets and remove over 2 million tonnes of CO2 a year, helping to support Scotland towards its 2045 Net Zero targets.”
Launched at the turn of the year, Rovco’s marine site characterisation business unit was established to help address a critical industry shortage of companies with the all-round capabilities and expertise to support a rapidly emerging market during the earliest phases of offshore wind farm development.
At its heart is the multi-purpose DP2 survey vessel, Glomar Supporter. On long-term charter from Glomar, the vessel underwent an extensive rebuild and refurbishment in 2021 and has been reconfigured to permanently carry an entire suite of state-of-the-art survey sensors and equipment, aimed at providing the highest quality data capture, reporting and technology-enabled solutions for a streamlined and efficient site characterisation offering. This package offers complete flexibility while on site, to adapt and respond to different challenges in a single offshore trip.
Hydroacoustic technology manufacturer celebrates 45th anniversary with litter pick and staff day
GeoAcoustics Ltd, an award winning global marine technology company founded and based in Great Yarmouth, marked 45 years in business. The milestone was celebrated as part of its annual Company Day, a tradition started in 2021 that combines teambuilding and fun for GeoAcoustics’s staff and their families.
Yesterday’s activities included a defibrillator refresher training session and some light-hearted but challenging teambuilding exercises, as well as for the first time, a staff litter pick.
Great Yarmouth council provided the equipment needed to mobilise the entire GeoAcoustics team on its mission to clean up the area surrounding the company’s HQ at the Gapton Hall Industrial Estate, including the streets and alongside the meadow adjacent to the building.
“The team did a fantastic job during the litter pick with a noticeable difference to the look and feel of the area by the time we were finished, so I’d like to thank them all for putting in such a great effort,” said General Manager, Linda Dowdeswell.
Family members joined the Company Day later in the afternoon for a barbecue and a circus skills workshop, which returned after proving successful with all ages at last year’s company day. This was followed by a lively, entertaining and very well received show put on by the circus performers.
2023 is a milestone year for GeoAcoustics Ltd. In addition to celebrating its 45th anniversary this week, GeoAcoustics reported that it had been honoured as one of 148 organisations in the UK to receive the first ever King’s Award for Enterprise in April.
Linda Dowdeswell attended a special event at Buckingham Palace for the award winners in June, where she was lucky enough to meet His Majesty The King and mingle with members of the Royal Family in attendance as well as many of the other award winners from around the UK.
“We were delighted to receive the award for our international trade performance,” said Linda. “It was a special event, and I was honoured to attend Buckingham Palace on behalf of the amazing team that makes GeoAcoustics as a company worthy of such a prestigious award.”
GeoAcoustics Ltd was founded as ORE Ltd by Dave Stone and Dick Stafford in 1978 as a leasing company for offshore research equipment. Today it is recognised as one of the leading manufacturers of innovative products that use the principles of sound in water to provide data about the seafloor and below it, for both commercial and scientific organisations.
TDI-Brooks increases vessel capacity and welcomes R/V NAUTILUS
TDI-Brooks increases its vessel capacity by adding a 75-meter DP2 vessel, R/V NAUTILUS (formerly Nautical Geo), to its fleet. The market for subsea services remains strong, coupled with increased demand from clients and the need for increased capabilities. The vessel can potentially offer a variety of offshore assistance with subsea services, construction aid, exploration, production, ROV and diving support, and scientific marine research and survey mapping, along with military support.
This vessel is currently about 60% through its retrofit period in Las Palmas. It will finish its shipyard period in late September and then transit to Trinidad for several geotechnical coring projects. One of these programs will involve spud can analyses utilizing the recently delivered Manta-200, deployed through the NAUTILUS mid-ship moonpool. TDI-Brooks continues to focus on the growing offshore wind market along with other scientific survey programs.
The NAUTILUS is a versatile vessel with (1) North American MCK-1240 upper forecastle deck STBD side SWL 7.1 ton crane, large accommodation (46 berths) and deck capacity. The vessel will be outfitted with TDI-Brooks’ complete geotechnical tool kit including a suite of innovative geotechnical tools for soil sampling and measurement. These include 0.5 and 1 meter box corers (BC), 6 and 9 meter piston corers (PC), 20 meter jumbo piston corers (JPC), cyclic t-bar instrument (TBAR), piezocone penetrometers including a 40 meter CPT-Stinger and 10 meter Gravity CPT tool (gCPT), newly acquired Geomil Manta-200 CPT, Neptune 3K & 5K vibracorers and TDI-Brooks’ designed pneumatic vibracorer. The Nautilus will have a Teledyne RESON full ocean depth multibeam echosounder (MBES) for surveys to ~2,500m water depth for performing hydrographic marine, surface geochemical “seep-hunting” (SGE) and seabed heatflow surveys (HF).
The NAUTILUS will be operated within a robust Safety Management System whereas all of TDI’s vessels are regularly vetted by client marine assurance groups and are a part of the OCIMF Offshore Vessel Inspection Database (OVID). TDI’s mission is to “safely deliver high-quality oceanographic services, including acquisition, sampling, analysis and scientific interpretation, to the marine environmental, geochemical, geotechnical and survey marketplace.”
Data quality back on track and helping to deliver UK sea level rise figures
Despite ever-increasing global recognition on the importance of sea level data to inform decision makers on climate and environmental policies, there was insufficient data to update the UK sealevel index in both 2020 and 2021 (Kendon et al. (2022).
However, data quality and reliability are now back on track and the tide gauge network is at a high enough standard to calculate this vital statistic. Importantly, the Environment Agency (EA) have been able to submit mean sea level values, for the purposes of tracking sea level rise, in 2022.
What has changed?
In late 2021 OceanWise were awarded the Environment Agency’s contract to maintain and update the United Kingdom’s National Tide Gauge Network (NTGN) which underpins coastal flood forecasting around the UK and comprises a network of 42 tide gauges sited at key locations.
On taking on the contract OceanWise became responsible for ensuring the real-time stream of high-quality data from the network, whilst sympathetically maintaining the legacy sensors to maintain the long-term data record. OceanWise achieve this by providing maintenance, systematic improvements and quickly responding to any ad hoc faults that might arise.
As OceanWise's CFO, Dr Mike Osborne explains, “We are delighted to have been given the responsibility of maintaining the NTGN on behalf of the nation. We have particularly enjoyed working with the EA and NOC to upgrade the network, using our expertise and experience in sensor, and data acquisition and management technologies, whilst at the same maintaining and enhancing the legacy ‘bubbler’ based systems to improve the reliability and quality of the data overall“.
Job Advert: Scottish Association for Marine Science hiring for Seaweed Consultant / Project Manager
Location: SAMS, Oban
Contract Type: Permanent
Working Pattern: Full Time (37 hours per week)
Salary Range: £29,619 - £39,745 per annum
Closing date: 18th September 2023
Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) is looking for a Project Manager to join its innovative Enterprise team. The post will encompass an interesting and varied workload including the management and delivery of seaweed projects and services, CPD training courses in the SAMS Seaweed Academy, oversee its commercial seaweed nursery activity and provide consultancy to commercial clients, national and local government and NGOs. Applicants will ideally have a scientific background in macroalgae.
You will report into and work alongside an experienced and dedicated project management and business development team. Training and guidance will be provided, where required.
In return, SAMS offer an attractive salary package as well as the opportunity for further professional development through mentoring, training and peer support.
The Ideal Candidate
SAMS are looking for a motivated and confident individual with excellent communication and organisational skills who enjoys a varied workload, a challenge and who will also be an excellent additional to its training academy.
You will be educated to postgraduate (MSc and above) level in seaweed/marine/environmental sciences with some relevant work experience as a project manager/consultant where you will have utilised your experience to carry out marine environmental consultancy duties, some training delivery and project management. A good knowledge of seaweed algal cultivation is vital.
Employee Benefits
SAMS employees are the heart of the business. Recruiting and retaining the right people is the key to SAMS' success. Rewarding employees is therefore an important component of the employment package and with a wide range of benefits on offer to staff. These can enhance your personal and professional development, your health and well-being and your finances.
Additionally, SAMS encourages and recognises excellence among staff through various recognition and reward arrangements. It constantly develops and expands the benefits and offers for SAMS colleagues.
SAMS offers a generous salary and pension as well as employee benefits package. It also has supportive policies to assist absence, family and other leave types.
Interested?
SAMS would love to hear from you. If you have queries on the job and would like to talk these through before applying, please email these through, in the first instance, to Mike Spain [email protected]
For further information, please go to www.sams.ac.uk/vacancies
Applications must include CV and Cover Letter and should be sent electronically to [email protected] quoting ‘Job Ref. D27/23.MH’ in the subject heading.
Closing date for application is 18th September 2023. Interviews will be held by early October 2023.
Job Advert: Plymouth Marine Laboratory hiring for 3 positions
Scientists and technologists from Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML) have for decades played an integral role in the development and implementation of innovative technologies, delivering at the forefront of scientific exploration.
In recognition of this leading expertise PML in collaboration with its Marine Research Plymouth partners has launched the National Centre for Coastal Autonomy (NCCA). The NCCA was officially launched by HRH Princess Anne in October 2022.
The NCCA will deliver world-leading capability in scientific coastal autonomy combining state-of-the-art surface autonomous vessels, sub-surface coastal platforms and sophisticated scientific buoys integrated on a unique high-speed marine communications network to deliver an autonomous coastal observing system capable of driving enhanced understanding of the marine environment.
PML launched Smart Sound Plymouth in 2015. Smart Sound Plymouth is firmly established as the UK’s marine robotics platform for proving, validating, and demonstrating advanced marine autonomy, technology, and digitalization. Smart Sound Plymouth is the UK’s premier proving area for designing, testing, and developing cutting edge products and services for the marine sector. This multi-million-pound development provides access to first class off and onshore facilities plus award winning marine science and technology expertise.
Successful candidates will have a fantastic opportunity to work on some of the most advanced autonomous platforms currently available and through the NCCA and Smart Sound Plymouth working with industry leaders across the UK and internationally to develop the next generation of technologies.
A number of opportunities exist to join this team:
Operations at Sea Manager - https://www.pml.ac.uk/Working-with-us/operations-at-sea-manager
Marine Robotics Technologist - https://www.pml.ac.uk/Working-with-us/Marine-Robotics-Technologist
Marine Robotics Junior Technologist - https://www.pml.ac.uk/Working-with-us/Marine-Robotics-Junior-Technologist
Closing Date: 13th September 2023
Job Advert: DC Electronics hiring for Mechatronics Engineer
• Location: On-site at DC Electronics (Maldon, Essex)
• Contract Type: Permanent
• Working Pattern: Full Time (41hrs per week)
• Salary: £35,000 to £45,000 per annum
DC Electronics is looking for an enthusiastic individual to help with the expansion of its electric power steering range, as it continues to develop new products for the marine, motorsport, off highway, and autonomous vehicle sectors.
The ideal candidate will have an extensive mechatronics background, including experience with vehicle or vessel electrical systems. A good working knowledge of CAN bus systems would be advantageous, as would experience in harness building, prototyping, and soldering.
You will be joining a close-knit team where a proactive ‘can-do’ attitude is a prerequisite - you will need to be flexible and organised with excellent problem-solving skills.
Applications must include CV and Cover Letter, to be sent to [email protected]
Candidates must be eligible to work in the UK. No agencies will be considered.
Fugro’s metocean survey for Salamander offshore wind farm project supports the UK’s net-zero future
Salamander, a joint venture between Ørsted, Simply Blue Group and Subsea 7, has appointed Fugro to conduct a comprehensive metocean survey for the proposed Salamander offshore wind farm project. Located 35 km off the coast of Peterhead, Scotland, the 100 MW project will use innovative floating offshore wind technologies to help Scotland and the UK progress towards a net-zero future.
Scheduled to begin in September, the survey will run for approximately twelve months and gather essential meteorological, oceanographic, and environmental data. These insights will inform the project's design, operations, and maintenance strategy, as well as support the planning application process.
To facilitate the survey, two floating SEAWATCH® Wind Lidar Buoys and a Wavescan® buoy will be deployed. These technologies will measure wave height, wind and current speed and other region-specific metrics, enabling a comprehensive assessment of the site's characteristics and seasonal conditions.
The metocean survey forms part of a series of surveys to be conducted by Salamander before starting the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA). The project team aims to submit the necessary consent applications by early 2024.
Huw Bell, Project Director for Salamander said: “As a pioneering floating offshore wind project, there are technical factors which must be key considerations as we begin to develop the Salamander site.
“It’s crucial that we understand the influence of the environmental conditions our turbines will be required to operate under. The metocean survey conducted by Fugro will not only be an asset in terms of deciding our windfarm design, but also any future operations and maintenance schedule.”
Jørn Erik Norangshol, Fugro’s Regional Service Line Director for Metocean, Monitoring and Forecasting for Europe and Africa added: “We are proud to be selected as the metocean survey supplier for the Salamander project. Our advanced solutions will provide insights and data crucial for the successful development of this project, including optimised design, enhanced safety measures, and ultimately contributing to the realisation of a sustainable and efficient offshore wind farm."
The Salamander floating offshore wind farm will generate enough green energy to power up to 100,000 Scottish homes. It will also provide insights and best practices for future commercial-scale developments in Scottish waters, ahead of the larger-scale ScotWind buildout.