The Ministry of Defence of Poland procures more GAVIA AUVs from Teledyne Marine
A global leader in the provision of marine unmanned systems, Teledyne Marine – Vehicles announces that the Ministry of Defence of Poland has procured, through Remontowa Shipbuilding three additional GAVIA Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) for its next batch of Kormoran II Class new MCMVs. The anticipated delivery of three systems will be added to the current GAVIA AUV fleet, which has been successfully operated by the Polish Navy for Naval Mine CounterMeasures (NMCM) since 2015.
To complement the GAVIA AUVs previously procured, the acquisition will include all required topside equipment, as well as the AUV operation and maintenance trainings.
In 2014, Teledyne Gavia completed a competitive tender process for the delivery of the first MCM AUVs for the Polish Navy, winning the contract on the basis of best value with conformance to the required functional and technical requirements. Based on the Polish Navy’s experience, the GAVIA AUV has been selected once again, as the Navy is expanding its fleet of MCMVs.
The GAVIA vehicles will mirror the AUVs previously delivered. The new AUVs will be equipped with the latest EdgeTech 2205 side scan sonars (EdgeTech, West Wareham, MA, USA) and BlueView MB2250 Microbathymetry Module (Teledyne Reson, Denmark), providing simultaneous dual frequency 600 /1600 kHz side scan sonar with gapfill . Inertial navigation will be provided by the PHINS C5 (iXblue, France) inertial navigation system (INS), aided by a 600kHz Pathfinder DVL (Teledyne RDI, CA, USA). Additionally, to enhance interoperability with other systems the AUVs will be equipped with C-Node modems (Kongsberg Maritime, Norway) for USBL tracking from the Kormoran II class MCMVs.
With the imaging and navigation sensors listed above, the AUV will be able to gather high resolution, accurately navigated, sonar images while remaining submerged for several hours of continuous operation at survey speeds up to five knots. Each GAVIA AUV will be delivered with several field-replaceable battery modules (Teledyne Energy Systems, USA). The combination of sensors ensures that the GAVIA AUV is ideal for mine countermeasures (MCM), as well as search and salvage operations, in continental-shelf waters and beyond. Future addition of a Reson T20 Multibeam Echosounder will provide expanded capability for pipeline tracking and inspection of critical infrastructure.GAVIA AUVs in Poland continue to be supported locally through Enamor Ltd (Gdynia, Poland), Teledyne Gavia’s official representative in Poland. Enamor is a research and production company focused on new technology and active in many projects in Poland in the fields of navigation, communication, hydrography and automation.
Maciej Rek, CEO, stated, "Over the years, Teledyne Gavia and Enamor have formed a strong relationship based on the success of the Gavia AUV in Poland, as well as the local support that has been provided by Enamor.”
Valentin Hanns, Director of Sales – EMEA at Teledyne Marine, said, "We are very excited to see the continued success of the Polish Navy with the use of the GAVIA AUV. The GAVIA AUV operational flexibility, the ease of through-life support, and modular upgrade paths have really contributed to the suitability of this AUV for addressing a variety of critical defense challenges."
The GAVIA AUV has a low-logistics, fully modular design. The design facilitates rapid transport and maintenance, while it is also designed to increase operational availability and reliability. Each GAVIA AUV can also be equipped with a variety of additional sensor modules at the time of initial purchase or at a later date. This versatility creates an asset which can be configured for MCM, search & salvage or hydrography missions, without needing to be dedicated to just one task. In the future, the AUVs delivered in Poland can be equipped with modules for multi-beam bathymetry, sub-bottom profiling, or even submarine emulator sonar training targets, without returning any of the equipment back to the manufacturer.
Expansion in Poland is a significant milestone for the GAVIA AUV user community, as it demonstrated the confidence of GAVIA AUVs for MCM by the Armed Forces of Poland. Previous knowledge gained from operating the GAVIA AUVs in Poland has helped develop the concept of use of AUVs in the Polish maritime theatre. Significant benefits have been demonstrated with the use of a low-logistics AUV asset that continues to carry out both MCM and hydrography missions.
Fugro launches state-of-the art geotechnical vessel for safe and sustainable offshore operations
Fugro Quest, a state-of-the-art vessel equipped with advanced deep-water technology, is the newest addition to Fugro’s geotechnical vessel fleet. Fugro uses this type of vessel to determine the exact composition of the soil; the resulting data are essential to establish the optimal location and design of offshore developments, such as wind farms.
The vessel provides increased personnel and operational safety, whilst its energy efficient design results, on average, in significantly lower fuel consumption than for other geotechnical vessels. Moreover, its ability to take hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biofuel and remote operations and data processing capabilities support sustainable operations.
Today, Barbara Geelen, Fugro’s Chief Financial Officer, will perform the naming ceremony ahead of the vessel’s maiden voyage. The vessel will commence operations in December for Vattenfall's offshore wind farm near Norfolk in the United Kingdom.
Fugro Quest’s capabilities include the acquisition of high-quality geotechnical data from 2,000 metres below sea level. The vessel is equipped with cutting-edge systems and advanced deep-water technology such as WISON® Mk V Ecodrive, SEACALF® Mk V Deep Drive® as well as dedicated coring systems and onboard soil-testing laboratory facilities. Its remote positioning and fast data-processing capabilities enable clients to access acquired project data in near real time from the cloud.
Dennis Koenen, Fugro’s Service Line Director for Geotechnics in Europe and Africa said: “Today’s launch is fully aligned with our path to net zero operations by 2035. Fugro Quest consumes less fuel than other large geotechnical vessels. It is hybrid ready, comes with automatic handling of tubulars and geotechnical tools and has the latest IT capabilities onboard to safely carry out operations across the globe. Bookings until July 2023 are already in place, and we’re excited to show how our new vessel can enhance the execution of our projects.”
Ashtead Technology acquires Hiretech
International subsea equipment rental and solutions specialist Ashtead Technology has further expanded its mechanical solutions service offering with the acquisition of Hiretech.
Established in 2011, Hiretech is a management owned, Aberdeenshire-based equipment rental, service and maintenance company serving the international offshore renewables, decommissioning, and conventional energy markets. Through its multi-purpose fleet of marine and subsea equipment rental assets and skilled personnel, the business boasts an excellent offshore renewables and decommissioning-focused support services offering, which the Group will seek to leverage to meet growing global customer demand.
Hiretech is Ashtead Technology’s seventh acquisition in the last five years evidencing a continuation of the organic and inorganic growth strategy set out during its IPO in November 2021 and follows the Group’s acquisition of WeSubsea in September 2022.
Allan Pirie, Ashtead Technology’s CEO, said: “We are delighted to announce the completion of this transaction and welcome new colleagues to the Ashtead Technology team.
“Hiretech has an excellent reputation and strong heritage of delivering high-performance equipment and services to the offshore energy sector and has been a key supplier to Ashtead Technology in recent years. This acquisition provides strong synergies through vertical integration of the supply chain, and meaningfully expands our business by adding complementary capabilities to strengthen our mechanical solutions service line and deliver an enhanced offering to our customers.”
Andy Buchan, Hiretech’s CEO, said: “This is an exciting time for the business. As well as creating a tremendous opportunity for our people, becoming part of the Ashtead Technology Group will enable us to expand our existing capabilities and international footprint. Our customers will now have access to a wider portfolio of products and services, resulting in a far more comprehensive solutions capability.”
Terradepth announces commercial launch of Absolute Ocean marine data management platform
Terradepth has announced the official launch of Absolute Ocean (AO), a secure easy-to-use cloud-based geospatial solution providing high-level visualization, analysis, collaboration, and management of all marine data. In addition to offering Absolute Ocean as a software-as-a-service solution, Terradepth leverages the platform to deliver its own marine survey products – including Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) data – as well as those of third-party ocean data vendors.
Terradepth, a provider of seafloor hydrographic and geophysical survey solutions, developed Absolute Ocean to deliver greater operational efficiencies in marine data delivery and collaboration. Absolute Ocean has been available in beta since early 2022 with several early adopters exercising its functionality. Currently, the solution is being used for projects ranging from environmental monitoring and construction engineering to offshore energy production and telecommunications infrastructure inspection.
“Absolute Ocean breaks open the data silos that have traditionally impeded access to, and collaboration on, vital ocean information,” said Joe Wolfel, CEO of Terradepth. “This fully integrated platform allows marine organizations to manage and archive all of their data sets in one place for enterprise-wide access and global collaboration.”
Absolute Ocean is intuitive, enabling multiple stakeholders, most of whom did not previously have easy access to this data, the ability to easily manage, view, analyze and deliver ocean geospatial information. Absolute Ocean addresses the need for a unified 3D geospatial data platform for secure enterprise-wide data sharing and visualization, as well as regulatory compliance.
“Terradepth’s Absolute Ocean revolutionizes ocean data management,” said Damon Wolfe, President of ECHO81, a premier supplier of underwater survey technology and Terradepth reseller based in Hartwell, Ga. “This easy-to-use interactive interface offers a long-needed solution to managing complex maritime data sets.”
Users can easily and securely upload geospatial data in any format into the secure cloud database directly from Absolute Ocean’s web browser interface. They can then query and visualize the data and perform geospatial analysis. Users can also generate and send hyperlinks that allow other stakeholders to see the exact view and projection on screen for easy collaboration.
A powerful geospatial engine enables users to view marine data and the base map data sets in 2D and 3D, from a variety of perspectives, scales, and viewing angles. Linear distances, profile measurements, and areas of subsurface features can be measured. Data sets can be viewed by themselves, overlaid on each other or with third party base maps, such as NOAA’s Electronic Nautical Charts (ENCs), for analysis.
For hydrographic surveying companies, the platform offers a way to differentiate themselves from competitors through more effective data delivery to their customers.
“The ability to quickly and easily analyze geospatial information helps our surveyors, data processors and project managers make more well-informed data-driven decisions, saving time and resources,” said William Jenkins, S.T. Hudson Engineers’ Vice President.
As one early adopter learned, it can also give customers near real-time access to valuable data.
“We are thrilled with how AO helps us achieve our customer’s goal of mapping the Great Lakes more quickly and efficiently and provide visualized data close to real-time,” says Derek Niles, President and Founder of Orange Force.
Terradepth has populated Absolute Ocean with thousands of publicly available data sets, including side-scan sonar, synthetic aperture sonar, magnetometer grids, multibeam bathymetry, LiDAR, and satellite imagery. Access to pre-loaded data and advanced functionality will be available through a graduated subscription pricing structure.
In addition, the platform serves as a storefront where customers can purchase commercial products from third parties, such as satellite-derived bathymetry from TCarta of Denver.
“The marine industry has been waiting for a solution like this,” said Kyle Goodrich, TCarta President & Founder. "AO gives us a secure and efficient way to instantly deliver updates, visualized files, and raw data to our clients, allowing them to view data and collaborate much more quickly than traditional practices.”
To request a demonstration of Absolute Ocean or learn more about Terradepth, go to terradepth.com.
Falcon underwater robot helps protect Maldives coral reefs
A Saab Seaeye Falcon underwater robot has helped complete the first-ever systematic scientific survey of the waters of the Maldives - the lowest-lying nation on earth.
The Maldives is just 1.5 metres above sea level on islands of coral reef atolls. Globally, coral reefs account for 32% of known biodiversity. They are seen as the ‘rainforests of the ocean’, yet at least 97% could be lost with a 1.5-degree temperature rise.
The Nekton Foundation in partnership with the Maldives Marine Research Institute undertook the mission to understand the Maldives’ ecosystem to help create extensive new protected marine areas and strengthen the resilience of coral reefs to protect the islands from increasingly intense storms and erosion caused by climate destabilisation.
As an official partner to the mission, Saab Seaeye donated use of the Falcon to work alongside human-occupied submersibles, autonomous systems and research technologies.
The Falcon and other submersibles and divers collectively documented the extensive biodiversity of the ecosystem from shallow waters to 1000 metres.
Analysis of video transects from the Falcon has revealed 107 fish species and 130 organisms that live on the seabed, such as coral, sponges and algae. Analysis is ongoing with more species expected to be identified.
The Falcon also recorded charismatic megafauna such as turtles and sharks. These specific observations will be used to support projects engaged in long-term population assessments.
The research recorded extensive coral bleaching at many locations. In other locations, however, exceptionally healthy coral reefs were found. This offers hope that healthy coral reefs can thrive, particularly in areas where cold water upwellings prevent bleaching. These areas may be critical to support coral propagation projects.
Marine life in high definition
To enable scientists to document the biodiversity of the ocean around the Maldives, Nekton scientists devised, tested, improved and deployed a novel methodology for using the Falcon for video transects in shallow waters on the complex topography of coral reefs and operating in areas of strong currents.
Two sets of cameras were positioned on the vehicle, one set forward facing and the other set downward facing. They were spaced 80cm apart and at inward angle of 8 degrees ready to be calibrated for stereoscopic video recording.
The same system was used by snorkelers and other submersibles to complete video transects in an identical manner and at different depths.
Challenge of shallow waters
“Surging currents in the shallows and sheer subsea cliffs made this one of the most challenging operations on the mission,” says Mission Director, Oliver Steeds.
“Only the Falcon could handle the swell surges and powerful currents, including up-currents and down-currents,” he explains.
Renowned for its ability to hold steady in strong currents while filming and manoeuvring, the Falcon is the world’s top robot in its class with a reliability record covering over a million hours underwater.
Nekton is a not-for-profit UK-based research foundation working with the University of Oxford and a wide range of partners engaged in the scientific exploration and protection of the ocean.
Job Advert: EGS International Ltd hiring Head of Geosciences
Location: Bordon, Hampshire
Position: Full time, Permanent
Salary: Competitive salary, contributory pension, life assurance, private medical insurance, 25 days holiday plus bank holidays.
EGS are looking for a dynamic motivated individual to manage the day to day running of the Geosciences Department. You will head up a dedicated team working on complex projects across a broad spectrum of market sectors.
The Role:
• Provide support on Geoscience Department related components for tendering and survey planning.
• Support Project Managers with all ‘geo’ aspects of a project, from data acquisition, processing & interpretation, through to reporting.
• Manage your department’s support of site activities, focusing on successful delivery of the site works and as such, this position, while primarily office-based, will require some on-site working.
• Manage your department’s personnel planning for both on-site and office-based teams.
• Manage the processing, interpretation, and reporting of the geophysical datasets.
• Provide timely feedback to Project Managers / Reporting Manager and on the status of Geo data acquisition and then the processing / production of relevant deliverables.
• Contribute to Client meetings and updates.
• Liaise with other departments to develop technical solutions and new processes.
Our Requirements:
• University degree in Geosciences/Geophysics/Geology
• Relevant management experience.
• Marine survey experience, with a thorough understanding of geophysical techniques and demonstrable experience in acquiring, processing, and interpreting geophysical survey data.
• In depth knowledge of, and experience in using some (but preferably all) of the following software packages: IHS Kingdom, CODA GeoSurvey, EdgeTech Discover, CTI SonarWiz, Geosoft Oasis Montaj, RadEx Pro (or equivalent) and GIS packages (Arc GIS, QGIS, Global Mapper).
• Experience of working in both shallow inshore and deeper offshore environment preferable.
• Site work periods may be as short as a few days but could extend up to 6 weeks.
Send your CV to [email protected]
Saab Seaeye Falcon used in Angolan ‘Rig to Reef’ project
The transformation of an oil platform into an artificial reef is underway in Angola.
It is the first platform in Africa to be decommissioned in a project led by environmental quality services company, EQS, with a Saab Seaeye Falcon underwater robot deployed for the task.
Chief Technical Officer at EQS, Carlos Rodrigues says, “By operating the Seaeye Falcon and all its related capabilities, EQS is supporting its aim to fulfil specific works in a safe and cost-effective manner delivering accurate and relevant information.”
The Falcon is assisting in the survey and mapping of all underwater components, including checking the wellhead, pipelines and the surrounding maritime environment.
Baseline environmental conditions are determined by taking water and sediment samples at several stations and at different depths, focussing on biological matter, namely zooplankton, phytoplankton, and benthos.
Significant marine growth already exists throughout the structure with abundant marine life already in the area for populating the rig when toppled on its side to become an artificial reef.
Once decommissioning is complete, a series of surveys will be scheduled to monitor the evolution of marine growth on the newly created reef.
EQS selected the Seaeye Falcon for its ability to handle an array of cameras, sensors, tooling and complex data gathering systems that include a digital multi-frequency profiling sonar.
Having reached the end of its service life the rig’s transformation into a reef is being undertaken under the auspices of The Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas of Angola.
EQS helps offshore energy clients navigate the complex environmental regulatory landscape including compliance, HSE subjects, and business liabilities.
The mission involves a multi-disciplinary team from different companies and sectors of activity, including marine biology, hydrographic surveys, quality inspectors and personnel specialised in survey equipment such as the Falcon.
Future work involves clearing an area of fish nets, restoring platform signalling and marking, positioning of signal buoys and confirmation of pipeline locations along with the surveys to monitor marine growth.
Rovco and Horizon Ocean Management enter strategic partnership for Japanese offshore wind market
Horizon Ocean Management (HOM) – a subsidiary joint venture between Mitsui and Hokutaku (the leading turbine maintenance company in Japan) – and Rovco, a global provider of subsea robotic and hydrographic survey solutions to the offshore wind industry, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for through-life subsea asset integrity and balance of plant survey solutions for the Japanese offshore wind market.
The agreement will see both parties work together to analyse the Japanese offshore wind market and develop a better understanding of in-country demand, as well as developing asset integrity programmes of work to support the maintenance of critical infrastructure.
HOM was formed in 2021 by Japanese conglomerate Mitsui and Hokutaku, the country’s leading wind turbine maintenance company. It has already established a unique position within the supply chain of the offshore wind industry in Japan.
Rovco and HOM will enter into a joint business development agreement, with a view to strengthening commercial ties and jointly promoting new projects. They aim to build a world-class service model for subsea integrity and survey scopes across offshore wind developments in Japan.
Drawing on Rovco's reputation as a leading provider of technology-focused survey solutions to the global offshore wind sector, the collaboration provides a powerful proposition, offering through-life subsea asset integrity, 3D difference modelling assessments and critical subsea component data analysis for predictive and preventative maintenance to offshore wind projects across Japan, in the operational phase. The partnership also assists in the creation of early operation and maintenance planning regimes for clients, building upon substantial industry know-how.
Leveraging Rovco’s extensive experience gained across the UK and European sectors, the agreement will enable Japan to adopt and benefit from the lessons learned by more developed markets at an early stage. Combined with HOM’s profound understanding of the local market and regulatory requirements, the collaboration will pave the way for expansion across Japan’s coastlines.
The companies have launched a joint proposal to clients for a number of future operations and maintenance projects. The Japanese government last year unveiled ambitious plans for offshore wind expansion, including targets of 10 GW of offshore wind by 2030 and installations of a combined 30 GW to 45 GW by 2040, along with a cost reduction target by industry of 8 to 9 yen/kWh between 2030 and 2035.
Simon Miller, Chief Revenue Officer at Rovco, said: “This partnership marks a significant milestone for Rovco. The Japanese offshore wind sector is rapidly upscaling, and this is an exciting opportunity for us to work alongside Horizon Ocean Management, sharing vital insight into subsea asset integrity best practices, whilst introducing both established and emerging technologies that help capture, interpret and present key infrastructure performance against design criteria and ensuring operational uptime with overall economic benefit to our customers.”
Nobuyuki Takagi, Managing Director of HOM, commented: “The European offshore wind supply chain has a wealth of marine and subsea experience via its long history in sectors such as Oil & Gas, in order to realise our national offshore wind deployment vision, HOM believe that learning from and working with the leading companies in these more advanced markets will develop and improve Japanese competence earlier, ultimately helping to establish middle to long-term local capability. We identified Rovco as one of the most innovative subsea inspection companies and are delighted to be collaborating with them here in Japan.”
Earlier this year, Rovco and its sister company Vaarst completed a successful series B raise to fund global expansion plans, co-led by Legal & General Capital alongside Equinor Ventures. This saw an initial £15.2m raise complete in April, with subsequent further investor contributions taking the total raise to £20.5m.
Job Advert: SAMS Group hiring Marine Environmental Consultant / Project Manager
Marine Environmental Consultant / Project Manager
- Contract Type: Full Time (37hrs per week), Permanent
- Salary Range: £30,497- £38,587 per annum (Grade 5/6 )
- Location: SAMS Enterprise Ltd, Malin House, Oban
SAMS Group, based in Oban, is seeking to appoint a Consultant/Project Manager to join their Enterprise unit.
You will work closely with an established delivery team and research colleagues to connect SAMS research knowledge and expertise in the marine environment to commercial and regulatory sectors. SAMS are looking for a consultant with a background in marine science who is able to deliver across a number of areas within the SAMS Enterprise consultancy, but experience in marine social licencing or blue carbon would be of particular interest.
Typical responsibilities of the role include:
- Project delivery
- Opportunity generation
- Tender preparation
- Consultancy
- Quality Assurance
Ideally, you will be educated to postgraduate level in marine/environmental sciences as well as have relevant work experience as a project manager/consultant where you will utilise your experience to carry out marine environmental consultancy duties. The role will also require project management and delivery, customer account management, quality assurance, opportunity generation and, when requested, tender preparation. You will report to the Senior Project Manager and work alongside a dedicated project management team and business development colleagues. Training and guidance will be provided, where required.
As a highly motivated self-starter with excellent communication and organisational skills, you will enjoy the challenge of working at the interface of scientific research, industrial challenges and evidence-based policymaking.
For further information, please visit www.sams.ac.uk/vacancies
To apply, please send your CV and cover letter to [email protected] quoting Job Ref. ‘SE3/22.MH’ in the subject heading
Closing date for all applications is 19th December 2022 and Interviews will be held by mid-January 2023.
ECA Group and iXblue join forces and become Exail
Following the acquisition of iXblue by Group Gorgé at the end of September, ECA Group and iXblue announced that both companies will be operating under a new joint brand: Exail.
With this alliance, Exail becomes a global high-tech industrial champion specializing in cutting-edge robotics, maritime, navigation, aerospace and photonics technologies. Combining complementary technological expertise and geographical footprint with a strong legacy of innovation, Exail provides its global base of customers with cutting-edge in-house manufactured technologies ranging from components and sensors to products and complex systems.
Finalising this alliance between ECA Group and iXblue around a shared brand is strategic for Fabien Napolitano, CEO of iXblue:
"Joining forces under a joint brand allows us to become a major global player capable of addressing new and larger markets, but also to federate our 1500 employees around the same banner. Together, we will keep pushing back the frontiers of science to take our technological excellence to new heights. The new synergies created with Exail open up unlimited prospects for the development of new products and systems that will continue to push back technological limits and expand our customers capabilities.”
For Dominique Giannoni, CEO of ECA Group, this new joint brand will help respond to the major challenges of our time:
“Our world is facing many challenges, whether they are security, environmental or societal. At Exail, we are convinced that the development of disruptive technologies will enable us to rise to these new challenges. By mastering cutting-edge technologies, we are at the heart of our clients' most complex missions. Whatever the environment, our robust components, products and systems will provide them with the utmost performance, reliability and safety, while our global team will support them as they face the most complex challenges, from the deep sea to outer space. Together, we will continue to create innovative solutions that help explore new territories, and we look forward to continuing to serve our customers and partners with our new enlarged offer.”
