The University of Southern Mississippi Oceanographers Select SeaTrac SP-48 for Ocean Mapping, Port Resiliency and Maritime Domain Awareness
Marblehead, Massachusetts – August, 2021 - SeaTrac Systems, Inc. (SeaTrac) is pleased to announce the sale and delivery of one of its SP-48 persistent Uncrewed Surface Vehicles (USVs) to a team at The University of Southern Mississippi’s (USM) School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE). The SOSE team has collaborated with SeaTrac, developing an innovative solution for rapid sensing of in situ optical properties using a SeaTrac Sp-48 autonomous platform.
SeaTrac SP-48 will be deployed for rapid sensing of optical properties in maritime environments
“There is a critical need for rapidly mapping localized hydrodynamic and turbidity conditions in nearshore-ocean and coastal marine environments for natural resource management, environmental protection and national security,” says Dr. Xiaodong Zhang, Endowed Chair and Professor with SOSE’s Division of Marine Science at USM. “The SP-48 has the persistence and the payload power we were looking for to host a SeaBird ACS to measure hyperspectral absorption and a Sequoia LISST-VSF to track angular scattering,” Zhang explains.
“Once the capability for rapid sensing of optical properties is demonstrated in turbid or “brown” water coastal environments, several Federal agencies would like to incorporate the capability in ongoing R&D programs in maritime environments,” explains Dr. Jason McKenna, Director of Research, Development, Testing, & Evaluation (RDT&E) at USM’s Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise located at the Port of Gulfport in Gulfport, MS. “Ocean Enterprise will continue to support Testing and Evaluation of the SP-48 platform with SeaTrac, SOSE and federal agencies to satisfy emerging requirements in port resiliency and maritime domain awareness” says Dr. McKenna.
“Increasingly customers’ missions have grown in complexity requiring a range of sensors, and they’re looking for less costly, less resource-intensive and more flexible solutions to carry out a variety of tasks simultaneously in challenging marine environments,” says Jigger Herman, Co--Founder, SeaTrac Systems. “We are pleased to help the USM team push the envelope in rapid mapping of the optical field.”
The SP-48 is designed for users who require a flexible data gathering and communications platform that adapts to a wide variety of operational scenarios and payloads. The solar-powered, 4.8m SP-48 is a low-logistic, sensor-agnostic persistent USV with Automatic Identification System (AIS) collision avoidance, speed of 5kts, 500W payload power, and 70Kg payload capacity that can host a variety of sensors perfect for the collection and communication of real-time ocean data over long durations. Built to operate in all marine environments—from inland, near shore to open ocean—the SP-48 has a self-righting hull and efficient electric motor that frees it from reliance on wind or waves for propulsion. It is easily deployed from a boat ramp, pier or ship. Communications is achieved by line-of-sight Radio Frequency (RF), cellular, high-bandwidth satellite or custom networks.
About SeaTrac Systems, Inc.
SeaTrac Systems, Inc. manufactures, sells, and rents cost-effective, multi-purpose long endurance solar-powered Uncrewed Surface Vehicles for commercial, scientific and military applications. The SeaTrac USV can carry a wide variety of sensors and custom payload modules that make it perfect for research, monitoring or surveillance tasks where autonomy, cost and ease of deployment matter. For more information, visit www.seatrac.com
Media Contact:
Alessandra Bianchi
SeaTrac Systems, Inc.
+1 781-258-1440
[email protected]
IFHS Introduces HPAS, the first Accreditation Scheme with an International Footprint
The International Federation of Hydrographic Societies (IFHS) have developed the Hydrographic Professional Accreditation Scheme (HPAS) to provide international recognition to hydrographic professionals in demonstrating their competency, educational background and career development.
The HPAS initiative has reached an important milestone by completing its Pilot Phase which was initiated in March. This phase, run by a panel of international experts, aimed to benchmark the HPAS procedures and processes. Over forty hydrographic professionals volunteered to be the first professionals assessed under the HPAS framework. Of these, eighteen were selected for the Pilot Phase from across the countries and regions represented by the IFHS Member Societies: Belgium, France and the francophone countries, Germany, The Netherlands, South Africa and the United Kingdom. The HPAS Panel of Experts awarded HPAS accreditation to fifteen of these candidates.
The IFHS would like to publicly acknowledge the following, without whom HPAS would not have been made possible and whose continued support is invaluable:
- The HPAS Working Group who devised and developed the scheme and wrote the documentation and processes.
- The HPAS Assessment Panel; a college of international recognised professionals drawn from all IFHS member societies, who assess the applications of the HPAS candidates. These volunteers have given up their time to review all the applications submitted and, where necessary, interview candidates to ensure they meet the assessment criteria.
- The HPAS Steering Committee; representatives from all the IFHS member societies. The HPAS Steering Committee is responsible for the oversight and stewardship of HPAS under the aegis of the IFHS Executive Committee.
The first formal round of HPAS applications opens on 6th September 2021 until 17th October 2021. For further information about HPAS framework and application process, visit the HPAS webpage on https://hydrography.earth/hpas/ or email us at [email protected].
3D at Depth Welcomes Euan Tait as Vice President for North and Central America
Amid rapid growth and expansion, 3D at Depth hires an energy executive as Vice President of North and Central America.
3D at Depth Inc., the world's expert in commercial Subsea LiDAR (SL) laser technology and leading provider of fully integrated underwater survey services, is pleased to announce that Euan Tait joins the company as Vice President of North & Central America.
In his role, Tait is responsible for leading the North American team and positioning 3D at Depth as the offshore integrity and inspection provider, accelerating 3D at Depth's revenue through expanding 3D at Depth's geographic presence in new regions, development of new services, as well as contributing to the company's business growth strategies.
"We're excited to have Euan on board, especially now as we have witnessed an increase of interest in 3D at Depth's spread across multiple energy sectors. We see that our patented Subsea LiDAR (SL) technology coupled with our recently acquired, fully integrated Saab Sabertooth hybrid supervised autonomous vehicle and AUV packaged into one vehicle is the solution our clients need for their assets in the Energy and Renewables (Offshore Wind Farm) sector," said Neil Manning, 3D at Depth's Chief Operating Officer.
Tait brings over 20 years of leadership experience in the energy market. Initially, he began his career in Energy Merger & Acquisition investment banking & corporate finance roles. This was followed by several senior management & executive board-level roles with corporate development and growth in the Energy sector. Before joining 3D at Depth, Tait held an integral role within the management team at ROVOP who developed and grew ROVOP over the last six (6) years.
Tait was a key driver in global geographic expansion, firmly establishing a presence in the United States (US), Middle East, Asia Pacific, and mainland Europe. During his time at ROVOP, the company significantly increased global revenues, with the America's region becoming an established core to the business with several global client contracts being sourced, secured, and managed from the US.
"I am both delighted and excited to be joining 3D at Depth at a pivotal point in the company's growth," said Euan Tait. "3D's market-leading technology and resultant highly cost-efficient service offering to the energy sector, make it incredibly well-positioned, to support and deliver for clients across several different energy sectors. I am looking forward to being part of the team as we look to further accelerate our growth."
About 3D at Depth
3D at Depth, Inc. provides advanced subsea LiDAR (SL) laser systems, survey support services, and 3D point cloud collection, visualization, and analysis solutions to help clients optimize marine, underwater and offshore survey campaigns. Precise, repeatable, millimetric 3D point clouds acquired through patented SL laser technology allow clients to "measure in 3D and manage in 4D" to increase operational efficiencies and reduce downtime. The Company's locations in Australia, Europe, and the United States support customer survey operations around the world. For more information and a broader listing of services, visit us at www.3datdepth.com and LinkedIn, or follow us on Twitter @3DatDepth.
Underwater cable for floating energy Archipelago
NOVACAVI has specially developed a hybrid underwater cable with optical fiber for the first sea-scale prototype of floating energy archipelago, an innovative idea for a sustainable use of marine renewable energy of CNR-INM (Institute for Marine Engineering).
With a reinforced configuration, this cable has been designed for the first laboratory at sea in Italy at the port of Naples (co-managed by CNR-Diitet and Unicampania university). It will integrate the part of transmission of electricity from land to platforms at sea, the part of transmission of electricity generated at sea to land and the part of digital signal transmission while at the same time it will guarantee excellent resilience to the forces to which it subjected.
NOVACAVI is proud to contribute to the realization of this Electrical System Research project funded by MiSE and coordinated by the Department of Engineering Diitet of the CNR, a strategic research project for the industrial system of the offshore renewable energy sector.
Specialist in custom cable design & manufacturing for advanced technology since 1975, NOVACAVI develops any cable solutions with engineering expertise, comprehensive knowledge of materials and a high degree of manufacturing.
For more details, please contact [email protected] or visit www.novacavi.it/news/
Valeport joins Ocean Infinity’s Armada
Valeport sensor technology has been selected by Ocean Infinity to provide sound velocity and bathymetric data for their pioneering Armada Fleet, the world’s most environmentally sustainable fleet of ocean-going, robotic vessels.
The Armada Fleet, capable of remotely operated uncrewed operations, is widely recognised as breaking new ground in the remote and autonomous seabed data industry. Integrating a suite of Valeport’s highly accurate sensors and profilers to a selection of the fleet’s uncrewed vessels, will provide important data to support operations for Ocean Infinity.
Valeport’s miniSVS will be mounted on the vessels beside the multi-beam echosounder in the sensor gondola, to provide surface Sound Velocity correction. Through the water column, the Midas SVX2, powered by the vessel, will deliver the Sound Velocity data of an SVP with the Salinity and Density data from a CTD. The Midas SVX2 has also been combined with the VA500 altimeter to provide range data for the vessels. Selected to interface with the Edge Tech side scan sonar and Saab Seaeye Leopard ROVs, the Valeport uvSVX will be integrated onto the vessels to deliver Sound Velocity, Temperature and Salinity combined with range data from the VA500 altimeter and precision depth from the miniIPS2.
The compact and robust instruments will be fitted across a selection of six vessels in the fleet including the 21m and 36m vessels, to assist their offshore data acquisition and ROV work in both shallow and deepwater operations.
Ocean Infinity selected Valeport for the Armada Fleet on the back of their previous experience using the leading hydrographic and oceanographic instrument manufacturer’s sensors and profilers. Valeport has already delivered the first instalment of instruments to Ocean Infinity’s facility in Southampton UK and further deliveries will be made throughout 2021 and 2022.
The robotic vessels in Ocean Infinity’s Armada Fleet use low emission technology, with an Armada robotic vessel emitting 90% less CO2 than a conventional survey vessel.
“The Armada Fleet is an exciting demonstration of uncrewed, and sustainable, seafaring technology and we are very proud that Valeport technology is involved in this innovative project.
“These exceptionally efficient vessels undoubtedly will play an important role in the future of data acquisition and maritime activity, and the stable, high accuracy data performance from our instruments can play its part in helping to underpin this”, commented Kevin Edwards, Head of Sales at Valeport.
“Working with Ocean Infinity engineers is an interesting project and we are pleased to offer them the solution required”, concluded Kevin.
The Armada Fleet will serve a wide range of industries by being fully equipped to perform a multiplicity of offshore data acquisition and intervention operations down to a depth of 6,000 meters. Expected to be deployable from 2022, Ocean Infinity will control and operate the Armada Fleet from its onshore facilities in Southampton, UK and Austin, Texas, .
Valeport has supplied the subsea sector for more than 50 years and continues to innovate in the design and manufacture of precision instrumentation for the hydrographic and oceanographic communities.
For more information contact: www.valeport.co.uk and www.oceaninfinity.com
Global Underwater Hub appoints industry heavy-hitter as first chair
The £13million UK and Scottish Government-backed, Global Underwater Hub (GUH) has appointed its first chair.
Andrew Hodgson will take up the role as Subsea UK transitions into a new strategically-focused organisation that that will transform the UK’s £8bn underwater industry into one of the largest and fastest-growing industries in the country, generating £45bn in revenues by 2035. This will accelerate the drive to net-zero and create high value sustainable jobs and exports.
The GUH will harness opportunities in a rapidly-growing global market, create a step-change in the growth and internationalisation of UK underwater expertise, technologies, services and skills and drive innovation to accelerate the energy transition.
Mr Hodgson will lead the board of the new organisation as it works across all sectors of the industry, providing underwater companies with the market information, connections, access and specialist expertise they need to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the energy transition and the blue economy.
A member of Subsea UK’s board from 2010 to 2017, Mr Hodgson also headed up Subsea North East (England).
He is a recognised strategic business leader, with a reputation for delivery in periods of significant organisational change and brings a wealth of corporate, private and public sector experience to the GUH which will be crucial in this formative period.
His career has spanned international technology, engineering and manufacturing, built on a sound financial background. His significant board experience includes nine years as chair and vice-chair of the North East (of England) Local Enterprise Partnership. He has won a number of business accolades, including the Queen’s Award for Industry three times, and was awarded an OBE in 2015 for Services to Manufacturing and the North East of England Economy.
The GUH will build on SSUK’s 18 successful years of championing the subsea industry and its globally recognised role as the industry’s leading voice.
With extra resources, through an injection of £13 million from UK and Scottish Governments, Subsea UK is transitioning into the GUH with the launch and official opening planned for later this year.
Having successfully diversified SMD, one of the world’s leading suppliers of ROVs for the subsea sector, from an almost 80% oil and gas focus to more than 80% revenues in other sectors whilst significantly growing the business, during his nine-year tenure as chief executive, Mr Hodgson said he understands the challenges of both organisations and sectors in transition.
“The underwater industry in the UK is strategically important, as evidenced by government support for the Global Underwater Hub. With a rapidly growing global market and a world-leading position, the industry has the potential to grow exponentially, helping achieve net-zero and creating new, high-value jobs and exports.
“We want to see the UK continuing to lead the way around the world and capturing a larger share of the opportunities in the blue economy by addressing the challenges for our future generations, whether that be reversing climate change, husbanding our mineral resources or monitoring and safeguarding our ocean environments.
“The biggest challenge we face, but also the greatest opportunity, will come from cross-sector collaboration. The GUH will be uniquely positioned to connect the different institutions and companies with the market opportunity to deliver the underwater solutions of the future.
“It will be incumbent upon us to make sure that sectors such as defence, offshore renewables, and oil and gas all work together, collectively furthering their knowledge and improving their global offering.
“We have major strengths in each of those spaces with world leading technology and expertise. The world is demanding change and, in helping bring that about, we can gain economic advantage not just for the industry but for the country as a whole. It’s an incredibly exciting time to be part of that and I am thrilled to be steering this new organisation in meeting its ambitious objectives and delivering transformational change.”
For further information please contact Zoe Ogilvie on [email protected]
Unique Group adds iXblue Gaps M7 USBL to its US pool of rental equipment
"USBL positioning systems have been highly sought after by clients due to the increase in geophysical projects in the US. Such projects push the vertical-horizontal tracking range and accuracies to extremities, with an understanding of these requirements Unique Group has invested in the iXblue Gaps M7 USBL and added it to our rental pool so that clients can choose the best solution for their projects. Gaps M7 is an integrated solution that makes USBL (Ultra Short Base Line) underwater positioning extremely simple to operate from any vessel of opportunity, using a portable and truly pre-calibrated USBL head coupled with internal INS (Inertial Navigation System) and GNSS.”
"We would like to thank Unique Group for their renewed trust and continued support in our subsea navigation and positioning technology. We are also pleased to see that our Gaps M7 USBL systems continue to provide highly accurate subsea positioning for their clients across the Americas.”States Euan Mackay, Business Development Manager at iXblue, Inc.
CSIGNUM APPOINTS CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER - Startup Promotes Oil and Gas Veteran Molly Reyes to Position
CSignum Ltd., the global leader in wireless subsea communications, asset digitization, and actionable insights for ocean industries, today announced Molly Reyes, CSignum’s former Director of Strategy and Business Development, assumes responsibility for external engagement in the new position of Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, she will be responsible for the commercial strategy and development of the year-old company’s business through marketing, sales, business development and customer service activities to drive business growth and market share. Ms. Reyes has over twenty years of experience across the energy value chain combining commercial strategy with technical research to create innovative solutions for energy providers, ocean observers, financial institutions, and technology leaders. She will continue to report to CSignum CEO Chris Brooks and work out of Houston, Texas.
Ms. Reyes is an offshore expert with over 20 years of experience across the energy industry value chain and has held a variety of commercial and technical roles focused on subsea infrastructure, asset economics, regulatory policy and corporate strategy, offering a unique interdisciplinary view of technology adoption. On August 5th, she was honored by the Society of Petroleum Engineers-Gulf Coast Section in their annual SPE-GCS Awards and Scholarships Banquet for her work providing E&P and A&D careerists with industry knowledge sharing and professional development opportunities.
“Molly has a strong commercial background serving ocean industries and inspires others by example,” said Chris Brooks, CEO of CSignum. “With a technical background in electronics, subsea, oil and gas and offshore renewables, she has established global networks across markets, successfully launched new products and built profitable income streams. Molly has the ability to identify new product opportunities and will work with customers to help position CSignum as their development partner of choice.”
Ms. Reyes joined WFS Technologies in 2019 as Sales Director, North America before it was acquired by CSignum the following year. Prior to CSignum, she promoted emerging technology research offerings to domestic and international energy and petroleum operators as a consultant at Darcy Partners and was Business Development Director at financial management consultancy, Conway MacKenzie. Ms. Reyes worked at Wood Mackenzie, a leading energy research and consultancy firm for ten years, working in consulting, offshore research and new product development roles focused on data analysis, economic models and global market trends. She began her career with six years at Shell Chemical Company, providing her foundation of the entire energy value chain.
“I look forward to representing the interests of our customers to ensure our subsea wireless solutions meet their needs,” said Molly Reyes, CCO at CSignum. “Armed with dynamic readings from CSignum communication, monitoring and navigational solutions, our customers can make smart, data-driven decisions for any situation they may encounter and digitally transform how they deploy, operate and proactively manage their subsea assets to accelerate sustainable ocean development and reduce carbon footprint.”
Ms. Reyes holds a Master of International Business degree from the University of St. Thomas in Houston and sits on two volunteer boards that serve underprivileged students.
Ocean Infinity acquires Geowynd
Ocean Infinity, the marine robotics company, is excited to announce that it has acquired marine geotechnics experts, Geowynd.
Based in the UK and serving clients all over Europe, Geowynd’s team of geotechnical engineers provides consultancy services to aid the safe and optimal development of offshore renewable energy projects.
Geowynd’s market leading geotechnical analysis services include developing smart site investigations, advanced laboratory testing strategies and optimised de-risked foundation design and installation solutions.
The acquisition comes as Ocean Infinity continues to develop its ‘Armada’ robotic vessels to serve the offshore renewables industry with the provision of geophysical, geotechnical and operation and maintenance services. Whilst Geowynd will continue to operate under its own brand and service its well-established client base, the acquisition will present opportunities to combine Ocean Infinity’s robotic vessels, data, artificial intelligence, and low emission operations with Geowynd’s geotechnical expertise to provide sustainable, data-driven services to the renewables sector.
Oliver Plunkett, Ocean Infinity’s CEO, said:
“There is no question that renewable energy is the key to a sustainable future. Striving towards a cleaner and greener future is hugely important to Ocean Infinity, it drives everything we do. The role that Geowynd is playing in making renewable energy a reality makes them a natural fit for our business. There will of course be opportunities to combine our complementary expertise and capabilities, particularly as we move closer to mobilising Armada, to build upon Geowynd’s existing work in sustainably supporting the energy industry in its necessary transition to renewables. On behalf of everyone at Ocean Infinity I extend a very warm welcome to the team.”
Andrew Galbraith, Geowynd Director, said:
“We are thrilled to join forces with Ocean Infinity to combine our advanced geoconsulting business with new innovations in marine robotics and geotechnics. Together, we will drive the offshore renewables industry forward as we connect offshore site characterisation and laboratory testing to cutting-edge foundation design methods. We are very excited to join our new colleagues, who share the same goal as the Geowynd team, to deliver innovative, state-of-the-art solutions that we are truly proud of and that help realise our ambition of a green and prosperous future.”
FET to deliver ROV life extension project to support international telecoms
Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. (FET) today announced that it has been awarded a contract to provide a life extension (Lext) upgrade on one of its Perry ST200 Trenchers. The next upgrade will be completed for a Western Hemisphere telecommunications equipment company The enhanced asset will support the installation and maintenance of subsea cables that are a vital component of an international communications network.
This project marks FET’s second life extension upgrade for an ST200 trencher and follows on from the successful sea trial of the first upgrade last year.
FET’s Lext service provides remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operators with a cost-effective solution to ageing subsea vehicles and technology obsolescence by increasing the asset’s life in some case more than a decade.
As part of the work scope, FET will completely remove all obsolete components and associated parts within the control system and replace them with the latest evolution in control system hardware and software. The upgrade benefits from over 60 years of ROV development at FET, and will provide increased reliability and improved support, while also minimizing downtime.
FET has produced more than 800 Perry and Sub-Atlantic ROV systems over the past six decades. All vehicle manufacturing is certified and compliant to ISO 9001 and 18001 to provide safety and reliability assurance.
The latest Lext upgrade is based on the newest developments in work-class ROV and trencher technology. These vehicles feature significantly enhanced performance across the full range of demanding intervention, survey and trenching tasks without compromising the outstanding reliability which the original Triton vehicles are known for.
Kevin Taylor, FET’s Vice President - Subsea Vehicles, said:
“We recognised the opportunity to provide a more cost-efficient solution to ageing vehicles while still delivering the high quality, robust assets that FET is renowned for. This award underlines our ongoing commitment to delivering new and innovative technological solutions to the subsea industry across the blue economy.
“This is the second life extension upgrade for this client in the last 12 months and it’s fantastic to see customers continue to recognise the reliable performance our trenchers deliver and the operational sustainability the Lext service provides.”
The upgrade will be carried out at FET’s facility in Bryan, Texas, using components manufactured at FET’s UK facility in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire. It is expected to be delivered in the third quarter of this year.