GeoAcoustics leaves Kongsberg
GeoAcoustics Ltd has returned to independent ownership following divestment from the Norwegian multinational Kongsberg Maritime AS. Kongsberg originally acquired the Company in 2008 and it has been a part of the Sensors & Robotics business area.
Based in Great Yarmouth in the United Kingdom, GeoAcoustics have been manufacturing marine survey equipment for more than 42 years, and it is a world-leading manufacturer of sonar survey systems for engineering, geophysics and Naval survey applications. Principle product lines are swath bathymetry systems for shallow waters, side scan sonars and sub-bottom profilers.
GeoAcoustics’ General Manager Dr Richard Dowdeswell commented “This is an exciting chapter in the history of GeoAcoustics and we are looking forward to expanding our global reach through the introduction of new channel partners as well as bringing new products to market”
Arne Rinnan, Executive Vice President Sensors & Robotics added “We are satisfied with achieving an amicable solution for GeoAcoustics and the team”
As part of the divestment process the parties have entered into a collaboration agreement covering product sales, assembly and manufacturing.
For more information visit: www.geoacoustics.com
New Underwater Robotics Award Announced at SUT's AGM
The new Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award was one of the announcements made at The Society for Underwater Technology’s (SUT’s) Annual General Meeting by the new President of Council, Judith Patten MBE.
“SUT’s International Panel on Underwater Robotics is honoured to announce the creation of the Gwyn Griffiths Underwater Robotics Award (GGURA). The award recognises people in the early to mid-stages of their career (and under 40 years old) who have made outstanding contributions to their field in underwater robotics. The award may be for industry/commercial, research and/or creative activity in underwater robotics,” she explained.
The winner will receive £500, a certificate and an engraved award.
Neil Bose, Chair of the Panel on Underwater Robotics stated:
"Members of the Panel on Underwater Robotics were excited by Professor Gwyn Griffiths’ generosity in supporting this award and were especially enthusiastic that it should be an early to mid-career award to encourage the up-and-coming generation of underwater robotics workers in their careers."
Gwyn Griffiths MBE, a Past President of the SUT added:
"As a vibrant, forward-looking learned Society the SUT is at the forefront of encouraging and facilitating international cooperation in Underwater Robotics. From my own career I know that peer-recognition of achievements through an international Award can make a substantial and lasting difference. These have been times for reflection, and by enabling this new Underwater Robotics Award I am delighted to support the innovators of today and tomorrow."
Nominations or applications for a GGURA must consist of the following documents.
- A letter of nomination or application that describes how the candidate meets the criteria. Further information is at sut.org/gwyn-griffiths-underwater-robotics-award-ggura/
- The letter should be no more than 2-pages in length. Supporter(s) of the nomination/ application may add their signature to this letter or supply an email that indicates their support for the candidate
- A 100-word citation or appraisal of the candidate’s research describing their contributions in a way easily understandable to those outside the discipline
- A curriculum vitae
- All applications/nominations to be received by 14 February 2021
Other awards and announcements made at the AGM
Dr John Partridge of Sonardyne was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the SUT in recognition of his engineering vision and his commitment to supporting the future of the underwater science and technology community. {Note to Editors: the full citation is attached to this release].
Simon Cheeseman, Sector Lead, Wave & Tidal Energy, at the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) Catapult was this year’s winner of the Lennard Senior Prize, awarded by SUT’s Marine Renewable Energies Committee (MREC) with its Chairman, Professor John Sharp making the presentation.
Six Members were elected Fellows of the SUT:
- Gareth Wood – Services to OSIG (Offshore Site Investigation & Geotechnics special interest group)
- Tim Carrington – Services to OSIG
- Andrew Benson – Services to OSIG
- Miguel Pacheco Andrade – Services to OSIG
- Andrew Hunt – Service to sustainable offshore energy & safety in diving
- Vahid Walker – Service to North East Branch & support of early career members.
The registration of the first three SUT Chartered Marine Technologists - Tom Bennetts CMarTech and John Houlder CMarTEch both of Sonardyne, and André Rose CMarTech of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) - was also celebrated.
Finding the Empire Windrush and its iconic anchor
Attendees enjoyed an interesting insight into the life, work and future plans of shipwreck hunter, David Mearns introduced by Immediate Past President, Professor Ralph Rayner. Providing funding is secured David will (giving of his time on a pro bono basis) lead the search for the Empire Windrush, which lies up to 3,000m down at the bottom of the Mediterranean, some 23 nautical miles off the coast of Algeria. The aim is to recover the Empire Windrush’s iconic anchor and bring it back to the UK as an alternative monument to acknowledge the contribution of the Windrush Generation and migration in Britain
Portions of the meeting, including David Mearns’ presentation, will appear on the SUT’s website shortly at www.sut.org
UCL Announces This Year’s Winner of The NORBIT Prize
The NORBIT team is honored to support students who will be the future innovators of the Marine Technology industry.
This year, NORBIT UK chose to sponsor an academic prize for a high achieving student at UCL (www.ucl.ac.uk). The academic staff of the Geospatial Science and Hydrographic Surveying course agreed that the NORBIT prize should be awarded to the top student during teachings to have graduated in 2020.
We are excited to congratulate James Gibbons!
James has a background in Earth Science and an active interest in structural, physical and chemical properties of the subsurface. The Geospatial Science and Hydrographic Surveying course expanded his knowledge of these disciplines whilst also allowing him to “gain significant insight into the uncertainties associated with the digital expression of 3D positional data on and below the Earth's Surface and their significance in Marine Engineering”.
Beyond the technical knowledge James acquired during his time as an MSc student in the CEGE department, he also found the experience of attending UCL enjoyable. He praises the lecturers “several of whom are world leaders in their field”, writing that they “clearly enjoy teaching, getting to know their students and are genuinely enthusiastic for you to succeed”. In addition to the accomplished lecturers, James mentions the “involvement of the Port of London Authority with the Hydrographic elements of the course is also invaluable as it offers genuine insight into a professional hydrographic organisation and a chance to gain practical survey experience”.
As James moves on to his post-graduate life, he hopes to “be able to find a career path whereby I can incorporate and build upon my hydrographic, geophysical and geotechnical knowledge to contribute holistically to Marine infrastructure and renewable energy projects.”
We look forward to seeing what James will go on to achieve!
For further information about UCL please visit: www.ucl.ac.uk
For further information about the Geospatial Sciences (Hydrographic Survey) MSc course at UCL please visit: www.ucl.ac.uk/prospective-students/graduate/taught-degrees/geospatial-scienceshydrographic-surveying-msc
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratories Examine Greenland’s Melting Coastal Glaciers Using Teledyne Marine APEX Profiling Floats
Teledyne Marine announced the recent sale and deployment of three APEX profiling floats to NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. The three floats were equipped with RBR CTD sensors, Short-Burst-Data for communication over the Iridium Satellite Network, and special parachutes for air deployment.
The rise in global sea levels will be a major environmental challenge for the 21st Century. For this reason, it is of increasing importance that we improve our methods and understanding for predicting this process. A recent major initiative to do this has been led by JPL Scientist, Dr. Josh Willis and his team, who are studying the role that the ocean plays in melting Greenland's coastal glaciers. The NASA based initiative, known as 'Oceans Melting Greenland' (OMG), will observe changing water conditions on the continental shelf surrounding Greenland over a six year period. This will also include detailed measurements from the narrow fjords that dot the Greenland coast since these fjords are a critical component in modelling the interaction between the ocean water and the glacial ice.
A potential new tool in this study has been provided by Teledyne Marine in the form of the 'Autonomous Profiling Explorer' (APEX) float. These floats provide a platform for a variety of sensors, drifting with the ocean current while descending and ascending between the surface and some predefined depth, and all the time taking sensor measurements which are then telemetered back to a data-server via satellite. APEX floats can also be deployed by aircraft using parachutes, which makes them ideal for exploring areas that can be difficult to access such as the coast of Greenland.
In September of 2020, three APEX floats were deployed using a Basler DC-3 TurboProp aircraft over the continental shelf along the west coast of Greenland as part of the OMG project. These floats had the specific task of measuring water temperature and salinity at different depths on the continental shelf along the coast over a period of a year or more. Dr. Willis and the team at JPL NASA exploited the fact that APEX floats can be configured to sit on the seabed between descending and ascending, which can be used to limit the distances that the floats drift during each cycle. The floats were also configured to avoid attempting to surface when they detected the possibility of ice.
All three floats have stayed within about 15 miles of where they were deployed, meaning that the strategy of parking them on the sea floor has largely worked so far. One float, deployed in Melville Bay was initially unable to surface and transmit data in the ice covered environment, but was finally able to connect to the Iridium satellite system and transmit all data that that had been collected and stored up to that point.
Now that the floats are operational they could potentially continue transmitting data over a winter season or more. For example, in order to extend their lifetime, the profiling cycle times between surfacings has already been increased using commands sent via satellite. Also, with winter approaching in the northern hemisphere, the APEX float ice avoidance feature will become even more important. However, the data collected by these floats should provide important future input for studying the role that the ocean plays in melting coastal glaciers and raising overall sea levels.
The APEX (Autonomous Profiling Explorer) profiling float is an autonomous drifting profiler that acquires water column profile data, such as water conductivity, temperature and pressure, while ascending from a depth of up to 2000 meters. The APEX profiling float also includes the hardware and firmware to support a high level of operator flexibility and multiple functions.
For more information visit www.teledynemarine.com
Aquatec celebrates its 30th anniversary helping the preservation of marine environment
The firm will donate to an ocean-protection non-profit organisation every time its online timeline gets viewed.
Basingstoke-based subsea instrumentation designer and manufacturer Aquatec Group, announces the start of its 31st year in business with a novel online click-and-raise landing page on its website. For every click on its corporate timeline, the company adds an amount up to a fixed sum that will be donated from its own funds to the Marine Conservation Society.
With this action, the firm, established in 1990, commemorates its three decades in the industry creating instruments and services aimed at safeguarding marine mammals, as well as measuring, logging, communicating and interpreting underwater data.
The Marine Conservation Society is well known through their work in protecting the seas around the United Kingdom via the creation of well-managed marine protected areas. It works with fishermen and industry to find more sustainable ways of fishing and with retailers and consumers to buy and choose more sustainable food. In the past, Aquatec has been involved as volunteers in carrying out one of their hundreds of beach cleans.
Andy Smerdon, Aquatec’s MD and founder has said: “This very significant milestone allows us to reflect on our technological efforts to help preserve the Earth’s coastal and ocean environments, protect marine life, and ensure that man-made subsea structures are safe and ecologically sound. As we launch into our fourth decade, we invite members of the subsea community to celebrate 30 years of Aquatec and in return we will do our share in aiding the UK’s leading marine environment organisation.”
For more information visit www.aquatecgroup.com
Blue Ocean Marine Services - A New Joint Venture Between Vertech Group & Blue Ocean Monitoring
Specialist maintenance, inspection and access company Vertech Group have entered into a Joint Venture with autonomous technology specialists Blue Ocean Monitoring Pty Ltd to establish Blue Ocean Marine Services (BOMS) focused on the delivery of commercial survey and inspection services.
With the combined experience of both companies, Blue Ocean Marine Services stand as experts in the use of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) and a broad range of other technologies to provide site appraisal, regulatory compliance, subsea inspection, and emergency response services.
Vertech Group’s Managing Director, Tom Brennan, said he was looking forward to working closely with the Blue Ocean Marine Services team in the years ahead. “A fundamental part of the group’s success has been investing in and bringing new innovations and technology to the market,” remarked Mr Brennan. “The Blue Ocean Marine Services JV typifies this approach, enables the group to take strides in the next generation of autonomous technology, while also complementing our other subsea specialist businesses in Sonomatic and Geo Oceans.”
Blue Ocean Marine Services, General Manager, Keith Wallace commented that he was greatly looking forward to collaborating with the other subsea divisions within the Vertech Group. “The Vertech Group have a great pedigree when it comes to subsea services, and their culture for innovation makes it the perfect organisation to help us to continuously develop our technology and service offering.”
For further information, please visit www.blue-ocean.com.au or contact us at [email protected]
Ocean Infinity selects Sonardyne for pioneering Armada fleet
Sonardyne technology has been selected to support the world’s largest and most environmentally sustainable fleet of ocean-going, multi-role robotic vessels, which is being launched by marine robotics company Ocean Infinity.
Sonardyne systems will provide part of Ocean Infinity’s new Armada fleet with key sensor technologies for underwater platform navigation, tracking, control and communications, as well as ensuring uninterrupted surface navigation, even when global navigation satellite system (GNSS) services are degraded or denied.
The Armada fleet will mark a major technological advance, providing sustainable services to all corners of industry from offshore energy, to logistics and transport. The innovative, low-emission robotic fleet that can be launched from any shoreline on the globe was unveiled in February this year (2020), and will initially see 17 bespoke designed state-of-the-art uncrewed vessels added to Ocean Infinity’s existing robotics fleet.
The vessels, initially measuring 21 metres and 36 metres long, will be able to perform offshore data acquisition and intervention in both shallow and deep water operating regions. The vessels will use a range of underwater platforms, including remotely deploying autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
Sonardyne’s acoustic communication and inertial navigation technologies were chosen to support Armada because of their performance and flexibility across a wide range of water depths and environments, supporting operations across all sectors in even the remotest locations.
The package includes surface and subsea navigation sensors to remotely support deployment, operations and recovery of underwater robotic systems from an uncrewed vessel, from anywhere in the world. That includes being able to accurately track and control multiple robotics systems simultaneously and provide water current profile information, as well as support vessel dynamic positioning during critical phases of an operation.
Uniquely, the systems also provide navigation redundancy in the event of GNSS outages, which could occur while operating in multipath or shadowed environments, such as fjords or near large structures or where signals are deliberately interfered with.
Delivery of Sonardyne equipment for the first wave of Armada fleet vessels will be made by the end of this year. Further deliveries will be made through 2021.
Alan MacDonald, Sales Manager, Sonardyne, says, “Over recent years, we’ve been focussed in Sonardyne on developing the flexible technologies that are required to support the revolution that is taking place in both surface and subsea marine robotics. Consequently, we’re very pleased to be part of Armada’s pioneering vision to deploy robotics at scale. These systems will help a wide variety of industries to reduce how many people they need to send to sea as well as dramatically reduce CO2 emissions, by deploying these smaller, more efficient vessels out.”
Dan Hook, Managing Director, Ocean Infinity, says, “Our expert team of robotics specialists selected Sonardyne as the clear choice for our robotics ships, to provide underwater navigation, tracking, control and communications and that additional layer of positioning security in areas where GNSS signals might be obscured. We look forward to a long-term working relationship with Sonardyne, as we grow our fleet.”
Initially, all of the first tranche of Ocean Infinity’s Armada vessels will be fitted with Sonardyne’s Ranger 2 Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) system augmented by the company’s Marine Robotics Pack. This combination provides remote all-in-one tracking, communications and control capability for underwater deployed robotics so that even more operations can now be done from shore.
These robotic vessels will also be fitted with Sonardyne’s industry leading SPRINT-Nav hybrid navigation instrument, to provide continuous, uninterrupted navigational aiding to underpin safe remote operations, even if GNSS service is impaired due to their remote location or nearby infrastructure. In addition the system produces profiled water column data, which is particularly important during the deployment and recovery of subsea robots.
Wideband Sub Mini 6+ tracking transponders and SPRINT-Navs will also be fitted to the ROVs being deployed and operated by the Armada fleet.
Ocean Infinity expects the first Armada vessel to be delivered in 2021 and, along with the remainder of the fleet, will be controlled and operated by experienced mariners via satellite communication from onshore control facilities in Austin, Texas, and Southampton, England.
For more information visit www.sonardyne.com or www.oceaninfinity.com
Benthic Solutions welcomes Matt Cox to the team as Technical Manager
Matt has joined Benthic Solutions as Technical Manager, after four years working at N-Sea Group as the Product Delivery and Innovation Manager. Matt brings a wealth of experience, with onshore and offshore activities being an everyday part of his life for the past 20 years. Matt previously worked for Fugro, STR, N-Sea and UXOControl and is looking forward to further strengthening the already experienced team at Benthic Solutions Ltd, based in Hoveton Norfolk.
For more information visit: www.benthicsolutions.com
Boxfish Research ROV marks record breaking dive
Boxfish Research said it has delivered a record-breaking depth range during its latest deep sea mission in New Zealand.
According to the company, this represents the first underwater deployment of a small, battery-operated ROV to reach 710 metres, exceeding the industry standard.
Boxfish said its R&D team tested various configurations before the mission took place to ensure that the ROV could reach the seafloor below 700 metres within 15 minutes.
During the survey, the surface external video recorder collected 4K uncompressed video of the ocean floor. This allowed quick review of the footage, higher quality video recording and also recording of long missions, Boxfish explains.
“We pride ourselves in creating an ROV that is easy to operate, setup, and deploy to depths that only work-class ROVs can reach,” says Ben King, co-founder, Boxfish Research. “Deployments such as this one require a fast and easy to use underwater drive, making the Boxfish ROV the perfect solution for this mission.”
The Boxfish ROV is designed to withstand harsh underwater environments, boasting 14 hours of battery life and up to 17,000 lumen lights for unparalleled vision in dark environments. The team proved that a survey of more than 3 kilometres in significant cross currents was possible at this depth on a single battery charge.
The Boxfish team also deployed the Boxfish 360 to the same depths. The Boxfish 360 is a professional underwater camera with depth rating up to 1,000 metres and recording time up to 4 hours.
“The latest record breaking depth range conducted by Boxfish now sets the standard for all future deep sea deployments, spanning across various industries worldwide,” the company said.
For more information visit: www.offshore-energy.biz
iSURVEY Completes Landmark North Sea Project
The UK entity of iSURVEY, a leading provider of survey and positioning services to the global oil and gas, offshore renewables and telecommunications markets, has announced completion of its largest project to date.
The seven-figure project not only breaks the Aberdeen-based team’s single contract value record but has also seen a 10-strong group of offshore survey experts complete an incredible 6,300km of survey since mobilisation in late July.
T
he contract - which consisted of two workscopes - was awarded by Norwegian ocean bottom seismic experts, Magseis Fairfield ASA. The two circa.500 square km surveys have contributed to Magseis Fairfield’s ocean bottom node (OBN) exploration project within the Cornerstone area, which has been described as one of the most challenging locations in the North Sea.
iSURVEY Managing Director, Andrew McMurtie commented: “November marks the end of a long and successful seabed survey programme for the iSURVEY team. Mobilising on the Northern Survey OSV Cecilia just a week after contract award, I am hugely impressed with the results we have achieved and proud that our client has been so pleased with our performance.
“Equipped with multi-beam echosounder (MBES), side-scan sonar (SSS) and magnetometers, our spread of equipment and personnel dealt with the full gamut of North Sea weather, whilst safely achieving all workscope objectives and completing this milestone project on schedule.”
A spokesperson for Magseis Fairfield added: “iSURVEY understood our unique survey requirements and produced a high-quality product.”
For more information please visit: www.isurvey-group.com