MMT Awarded Three-year Contract, with two one-year options, for Nord Stream AG
MMT Sweden today announced the award of a major3 three-year contract, with two one-year options, for Nord Stream AG. The yearly inspections, to be executed through our cooperation with Reach Subsea, include visual and acoustic survey services critical for the pipeline integrity assessments, covering inspection of the European sections of both lines of the Nord Stream Pipeline System running from Russia to Germany.
This award follows on from the original contract awarded in 2017. One of the key advantages from this continued collaboration is the development resulting from the experiences gained during the last four years. This allows for significantly reduced costs and increased efficiency by high-speed survey operations and automated data processing workflows.
Project Management, engineering, remote and post-processing will be performed from MMT Sweden’s office in Gothenburg, Sweden. Offshore operations will occur in Q1-Q2 2021.
Per-Olof Sverlinger, CEO of MMT Sweden said: "After four years of successful inspections of the Nord Stream Pipelines, we are very proud to again be the chosen contractor and continue to bring our technology to the Baltic Sea, increasing the efficiency and cost reductions for our clients. In cooperation with our partner Reach Subsea, we will continue to support Nord Stream in their safe and environmentally friendly energy transport to Europe.”
1 MMT defines a sizeable contract as being between EUR 2 million and EUR 5 million.
2 MMT defines a substantial contract as being between EUR 5 million and EUR 10 million.
3 MMT defines a major contract as being above EUR 10 million.
For more information visit: www.mmt.se
Canada's Ocean Supercluster awards collaboration between RBR, DFO, and Dalhousie
RBR Ltd., an Ottawa based ocean technology company focused on the development of world-class oceanographic instrumentation, is pleased to announce significant funding from Canada’s Ocean Supercluster’s Accelerated Ocean Solutions Program (AOSP) for a new project that will develop integrated ocean sensors for autonomous ocean platforms in collaboration with Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and Dalhousie University’s Department of Oceanography (DAL).
The Advancing Smart Integrated Ocean Sensors for Autonomous Platforms Project focuses on developing new sensor technologies aimed initially at the Biogeochemical (BGC) Argo program with the objectives of improving sensor stability and reducing power requirements and cost per profile. In this AOSP project, RBR will undertake the technology development and productization of the new BGC sensors while collaborators at DFO and DAL will provide scientific and technical resources for the testing, operation, and subsequent data analysis of BGC sensors in the lab and through ocean deployments.
“The OSC funding enables a leap forwards in our capabilities and reduces the timeline to bring these exciting new sensors to market” stated Greg Johnson, President of RBR Ltd.
“The addition of biogeochemical sensors to Argo floats is an unprecedented opportunity to address pressing questions about changing ocean ecosystems and global climate that are otherwise intractable. This will be a game changer for ocean biogeochemical observation and prediction” stated Katja Fennel, Professor, Department of Oceanography, Dalhousie University.
“Fisheries and Ocean Canada is a strong supporter of the Argo Program, and has committed to advancing the effort to integrate biogeochemical sensors into the global fleet. The development of new BGC sensors by RBR will provide benefits to all countries that contribute to Argo,” stated Blair Greenan, Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
The outcome of the RBR led Supercluster project will significantly improve the scope of autonomous ocean platforms and their effectiveness in collecting valuable ocean data used by ocean researchers as well as policymakers worldwide.
See the full Project award announcement from Canada’s Ocean Supercluster here: http://bit.ly/2LYyZz0
Aquatec marks three decades innovating for ocean sustainability with marine charity donation
Basingstoke-based subsea instrumentation designer and manufacturer Aquatec Group announces a donation to celebrate the beginning of its 31st year focusing on sustainable development activities. The donation, made to the Marine Conservation Society, is part of Aquatec’s commitment to supporting the ocean environment and looking after marine wildlife. This funding will allow the non-profit organisation to continue their work preserving the seas by creating well-managed marine protected areas, liaising with fishermen and industry to find more sustainable ways of fishing, and working together with retailers and consumers to buy and choose more sustainable food.
The contribution was part of a novel campaign the company launched to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Aquatec added a fixed amount to the donation fund for every view on its online corporate timeline. By promoting its three-decades of subsea innovations, the firm also encouraged the entire subsea community to think about the impact humans have on the oceans and contribute to the environment. Every view counted, and the timeline got thousands.
The firm is also taking other initiatives to achieve its sustainability objectives. These include an increased focus and plans to develop further its marine bioacoustics brand. Also, Aquatec is now actively participating in the NAUTILOS Project, funded under the Horizon 2020 Future of Seas and Oceans Flagship Initiative and coordinated by the National Research Council of Italy (CNR). The project brings together an influential group of 21 entities from 11 European countries with multidisciplinary expertise ranging from ocean instrumentation development and integration, ocean sensing and sampling instrumentation, data processing, operational oceanography and biology, water and climate change science, technological marine applications, and research infrastructures.
30TH ANNIVERSARY VIDEO
For more information visit: www.aquatecgroup.com
Successful sea trials for ECA GROUP’s UMISAS sonar
ECA GROUP’s UMISAS sonar completed a series of sea trials in the 2nd half of 2020 in preparation of their integration in AUVs and Towed Sonars for the Mine Countermeasures replacement programme for the Belgian and Royal Netherlands navies.
As part of the programme to replace the naval Mine Countermeasures capability of the Belgian and Royal Netherlands navies, which includes the supply of twelve minehunters equipped with unmanned systems (Toolbox), ECA GROUP announces the completion of sea trials of its UMISAS sonar for both the AUVs and Towed Sonars of the rMCM programme. The next step is the on-going production of the UMISAS sonars for their integration in the A18-M and T18-M adapted to the rMCM programme.
This integration will take place between October 2021 and March 2022.
ECA GROUP decided to develop its own range of Synthetic Aperture Sonars in 2014 and launched an internal programme. SAS sonars proposed by partners did not fulfil ECA GROUP’s internal requirements:
- Their weight, size or power consumption would have led to a too big and too heavy AUV whereas ECA GROUP’s MCM AUV was targeting the size of an A18-M medium-size AUV;
- Impossibility to precisely synchronize the SAS and the inertial navigation of the AUV in order to fully exploit the benefits of a new technique protected by an ECA GROUP patent for both SAS imagery and AUV navigation.
The A18-M AUV and T18-M Towed Sonar have the best performance when fitted with UMISAS sonars. Thus, these drones are exclusively commercialized with UMISAS sonars.
UMISAS: A NEW GENERATION OF SYNTHETIC APERTURE SONARS
ECA GROUP’s research and development in the field of sonars started back in 2014 together with its development of new generation Autonomous Underwater Vehicles in the A18 range. Driven by operational needs of Navies requesting high performance and more compact unmanned solutions for mine detection missions, ECA GROUP brings on the market their own sonar technology to be fitted on its naval drones and fully integrated into its unmanned systems.
The UMISAS sonars are interferometric synthetic aperture sonars (InSAS) used for mine detection missions as part of Mine Countermeasures operations at sea. The UMISAS sonars aim to obtain a spatial resolution of about 3 cm x 3 cm to optimally classify small and irregularly shaped objects on the seabed.
The positioning of the platform required to form the synthetic antennas is an integral part of the UMISAS processing chain. UMISAS directly uses the data from the A18-M or T18-M navigation grade inertial unit to perform SAS processing, thus eliminating the use of low cost navigation sensors used by some commercial SAS systems on the market which perform only the short term navigation required to produce focused SAS imagery, but do not allow for geo-referencing of the SAS images or improved positioning of the AUV by exploiting the SAS and, above all, are much less reliable.
UMISAS SONAR JOINS THE ECA GROUP DRONE FAMILY
The UMISTM Toolbox developed by ECA GROUP is a comprehensive solution for stand-off and autonomous mine clearance missions at sea to be operated from the ship or from the shore. It contains: a USV INSPECTOR125 surface drone , AUV A18-M underwater drones and T18-M towed sonars for mine detection, SEASCAN and K-STER C MIDS (Mine Identification and Disposal System) for mine identification and neutralization as well as UMISOFT, a comprehensive software suite for mission planning, drone control and data management.
UMISTM drones perform accurate navigation and positioning, obstacle detection and avoidance with a high level of performance, and one of the key elements, which will guarantee the expected high level of performance of the system, is the quality of imagery provided by these drones, which the ECA GROUP’s UMISAS Synthetic Aperture Sonar can offer.
UMISAS PROVIDES SUPERIOR COVERAGE RATE– DETECTING & CLASSIFYING STEALTHY MINES
UMISAS, an Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Sonar (InSAS), is an innovative underwater imaging technology that considerably improves seabed surveys by providing ultra-high resolution imagery at superior coverage rates, i.e. 4 times greater in terms of coverage and between 5 and 10 times greater in terms of resolution compared to conventional side scan sonars. Combining several dozens of acoustic pings to form an image with a much higher resolution, UMISAS processes raw data into 3 cm X 3 cm resolution images, constant with range, together with high area coverage rates (i.e. 1 square nm per hour for the UMISAS 240 fitted on the T18-M).
”This combination of resolution, area coverage and accurate positioning is what makes UMISAS unique. It allows for a high detection and classification probability, even of stealthy mines, which are a challenge for other sonars.”
Marc Pinto, Naval Robotics Scientific Advisor at ECA GROUP
DRONES + SONAR = DUAL EXPERTISE FOR BETTER MISSION PERFORMANCE
ECA GROUP is one of the few manufacturers capable of developing the drones as well as the InSAS sensor, optimising both in an integrated system approach ensuring a seamless integration and successful mine detection and classification operations. This integration expertise is a real asset to the global performance of the system:
- Close collaboration between trajectory control, navigation and positioning, sonar signal processing systems, allowing system tradeoffs to be made at the right place;
- Greatly facilitated electrical and mechanical integration of the InSAS sensor into the drone as both were designed together;
- Optimized Size-Weight-Power and Cost.
AI DRIVEN REAL-TIME PROCESSING INCREASES AUTONOMY
In addition, ECA GROUP engineers have focused on real-time InSAS processing on Graphical Processing Units leveraging significant progress in COTS computer hardware driven by AI applications:
- Thus, the real-time InSAS processor is very compact and has a low and optimized power consumption, inferior to 30W, which increases mission duration.
UMISAS’ systems operate on 2 frequency bands: High Frequency & Very High Frequency:
- Permitting a superior signal to noise ratio and thus a high contrast imagery at long range, even in harsh environments, including multi-pathing in shallow waters and high absorption in warm waters.
PROVIDING HI RES BATHYMETRY IMAGES
Finally, UMISAS has a pair of vertically superposed arrays for reception on each side of the platform for interferometric processing, allowing for high resolution of the bathymetry which is co-registered with the imagery for improved environmental assessment.
For more information visit: www.ecagroup.com
Aleron Limited announce the appointment of Gary McConnell as new Managing Director
Aleron Limited, specialists in complete ROV solutions, tooling and products, are delighted to announce the promotion of Gary McConnell to Managing Director. Formerly Commercial Manager, McConnell steered the business through a challenging year and will continue to lead Aleron through a significant period of growth, implementing new internationalisation strategies and developing the Aleron client offerings.
Aleron recently completed a high-level organisation restructure, consolidating the businesses of Aleron Subsea & ROVQUIP to the single entity of Aleron Limited. McConnell managed this transition to streamline the Aleron product and service offerings, bringing increased efficiencies to their global clients. The growth period for Aleron has also seen a 20% increase in their Aberdeen workforce, alongside the relocation to an enhanced new facility in November 2020.
Former Managing Director Mike Bisset, has returned to the role of Technical Director, focused on growing demand for Aleron Products, Services and Special Projects. Bisset said “We are delighted to see Gary take the Aleron reins. Since joining the business in 2015, Gary has proven his dedication to the company and has successfully built strong relationships with our clients. With his in-depth knowledge of the subsea industry and commercial drive, we look forward to seeing him grow the business to new strengths”.
Gary McConnell added “I am passionate about Aleron’s progression and success. Aleron has built a strong brand and customer base during a challenging period. We have diversified our product range, market segments and created new partnerships and alliances in overseas locations. Additionally, in the last year Aleron have added several senior industry specialists, widen
ing our knowledge, increasing experience and strengthening the team. Aleron has shown great resilience during the COVID downturn and begin 2021 in a strong financial position. I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to champion the growth plans at such an exciting time for the company.”
For further information on Aleron Limited’s products and services, visit www.aleron-group.com or email [email protected]
Southampton University opt for PicoTech Multibeam Sonar USV with BeamworX
Geodesea Ltd is proud to announce the delivery of a Picotech Ltd PicoCAT USV with PicoPod Multibeam sonar payload (Pico MB-130, integrated Applanix POSMV SurfMaster, PC & AutoPilot) to the Environmental Sensing @ Southampton facility at the University of Southampton.
PicoPOD is a turnkey multibeam package to power-up your existing USV for autonomous multibeam surveys. PicoPOD has a simple mechanical interface and free open-source autopilot. Supported by industry standard acquisition and processing software, BeamworX®, EIVA NaviSuite®, Xylem HYPACK®, Teledyne PDS® and QPS QINSy®.
BeamworX software (NavAQ/AutoPatch/AutoClean) is bundled into a single suite; each program can work completely stand-alone due to the flexible imports and exports. But together they form a powerful toolkit for for acquiring, calibrating and (re)processing Multibeam Echosounder Data. The University of Southampton is the latest UK university to adopt BeamworX as part of its software portfolio for undertaking research and educating the next generation of multibeam users!
Dr Julian Leyland, Associate Professor in the School of Geography and Environmental Science, and director of ES@S (www.esas.soton.ac.uk) said “The PicoCAT and PicoPod setup offer us a unique capability for autonomous survey in riverine and coastal settings. Integration of one of our VLP-16 puck Lidar units on the vessel will further enhance our capabilities and allow coincident above and below water monitoring. The equipment will underpin our world-leading research and teaching which seeks to better understand environmental change in these complex systems. Geodesea and Picotech combined to offer us a bespoke unit and superb support, from ordering to delivery and testing.”
For more information visit: www.geodesea.com
Blue Ocean Marine Services receives additional Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV)
Blue Ocean Marine Services (BOMS) have recently purchased an additional L3Harris Technologies Iver3 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to support their expanding survey operations in Australian and Asian markets.
Keith Wallace, General Manager of BOMS, stated: “Based on performance and recent project successes, we have procured and now received our second Iver3 AUV to compliment the expanding range of innovative technologies we operate and the services we can provide. The addition of a second system significantly lowers project risk providing full equipment redundancy whilst increasing our efficiency in the field. This innovative unmanned technology directly challenges traditional survey and inspection techniques, delivering highly accurate data with significant reductions in project cost, time and risk. The Iver3 AUV is robustly engineered, capable of operations to 200m depth, and is one of the smallest and lightest on the market allowing for deployments from smaller vessels or directly from the shore.”
BOMS Operations Manager, Andrew Mercer added ”Our systems are equipped with dual-frequency (600/1600kHz) side-scan sonar combined with an interferometric phase differencing bathymetry system (600kHz), integrated digital cameras, multi-parameter water quality sondes and extended payload sections permitting the addition of a wide range of additional sensors. The AUVs are particularly suited for pipeline and field infrastructure inspections, but have recently proven their capability for a number of applications including cable route surveys, produced formation water discharge studies, water quality monitoring and benthic habitat assessment. The size and practicality of the systems allows for rapid mobilisation and demobilisation which has opened opportunities in emergency response, and locally here in Western Australia in post-cyclonic infrastructure assessment.”
BOMS is a Joint Venture between Blue Ocean Monitoring and The Vertech Group. With a strong management team and a clear vision, the company is truly committed to drive positive change across the offshore industry by working in collaboration with clients and partners to increase efficiencies and lower costs. With a combination of unconventional thinking and decades of experience, they provide highly effective offshore survey solutions using leading-edge autonomous (unmanned) survey platforms and sensors.
For further information please get in touch here: [email protected] or visit www.blue-ocean.com.au
@BlueOceanMar1
Sonardyne’s SPRINT-Nav reaches new heights of capability
Marine technology specialist Sonardyne has released a new high altitude variant of its market leading hybrid navigator SPRINT-Nav to allow uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) and underwater vehicles to extend their operational envelope.
SPRINT-Nav tightly integrates a Sonardyne SPRINT INS, Syrinx DVL and a highly accurate pressure sensor into a single high-performance solution providing navigation and optional acoustic Doppler current profile (ADCP) functionality. Sonardyne’s new variant takes this capability to an even higher level; increasing the altitude at which vehicle platforms can work when they don’t have an external position reference, without compromising accuracy.
Operating at 400 kHz, the high altitude variant achieves reliable bottom lock at up to 230 m altitude above the seabed, providing USVs with a highly accurate and robust navigation source, which is critical for, as an example, station keeping applications in coastal surveys where GNSS could be denied or subject to interreference. Installation of the new SPRINT-Nav variant on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) allows inspections and surveys to be performed at even higher altitudes than previously possible. In addition, the instrument’s optional ADCP functionality has been extended to 120 m, adding oceanographic data gathering and increased operational capability.
For more information visit: www.sonardyne.com
Kongsberg Maritime to launch next generation HUGIN Endurance AUV
Kongsberg Maritime is proud to announce the next generation of its advanced HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). Named HUGIN Endurance, the new AUV boosts operational duration to approximately 15 days, enabling extended survey and inspection missions far from shore.
This longevity allows HUGIN Endurance to undertake extensive missions without the support of a mothership. Shore-to-Shore operations offer the opportunity to reduce carbon footprint for commercial activities and yet retain unrivalled data resolution and accuracy. With this in mind, KONGSBERG has added its Maritime Broadband Radio (MBR) communications system to HUGIN Endurance’s payload, allowing it to surface and share large quantities of data swiftly with any suitably equipped installation, such as another vessel, shore station or a wind turbine fitted with an MBR antenna.
For defence applications, HUGIN Endurance makes persistence a reality. Whether it is long range military survey; wide area mine detection, classification and identification; or even patrolling a choke point listening for submarines, this new extended range capability offers new solutions to existing and future challenges.
HUGIN AUVs already set the standard for autonomous underwater operations thanks to their rugged reliability and accurate, cutting-edge sensor payloads. The HUGIN Endurance is no exception; it can be equipped with a wide array of sensors including the high-resolution KONGSBERG HiSAS synthetic aperture sonar, a wide swath multibeam echo sounder, sub-bottom profiler and magnetometer, together with other sensors to detect parameters such as methane, current and turbidity.
This proven portfolio of hydroacoustic sensors, communications and other technologies – teamed with unparalleled operational range – ensures that HUGIN Endurance is well equipped for advanced situational awareness scanning, and mapping/inspection activities for far-field applications such as offshore wind farms. It also delivers significant sustainability benefits, not only when contrasted with conducting operations from surface vessels but also compared with other AUV operations, as the reduction in the need for surface support further diminishes the environmental footprint.
“We are proud to launch HUGIN Endurance, which represents a step change in AUV operations,” says Richard Mills, Vice President of Marine Robotics Sales, Kongsberg Maritime. “Teaming long endurance with large area coverage capabilities allows a single AUV to map areas up to 1,100 square kilometres in a single mission – a target impossible until now. With its unprecedented long-range capability and advanced communications, HUGIN Endurance sets a new standard for autonomous subsea mapping and inspection, yielding unmatched operational flexibility, efficiency and sustainability.”
For more information visit: www.saltwater-stone.com
EvoLogics releases SiNAPS 2, the upgraded acoustic positioning software
EvoLogics team is excited to announce the release of SiNAPS 2, the newly upgraded underwater acoustic positioning software.
Rebuilt from scratch, it comes with a more powerful and efficient data engine with improved positioning accuracy. The updated user interface and intuitive workflows allow for easier onboarding and system integration.
SiNAPS 2 is both powerful and flexible - it supports USBL, LBL, and advanced hybrid positioning methods. The software is intuitive and fast to configure even for complex scenarios and comes with built-in system calibration tools. With SiNAPS, it is possible to manage multiple databases and maintain separate data sets. Automation options and advanced data fusion strategies are available for demanding application tasks.
Real-time multiple target tracking is combined with data input from multiple sensors. SiNAPS is capable of real-time output of positioning and sensor data for custom forwarding and processing.
Its web-based user interface allows using SiNAPS on any device in the local computer network; the extensive display tools include the new option to visualize acoustic communication, as well as adding online and offline background maps.
SiNAPS 2 is fully compatible with the whole range of EvoLogics underwater acoustic modems and USBL devices that support simultaneous tracking and bidirectional communication. The software is available from EvoLogics starting February 1, 2021.
For more information visit: EvoLogics.de