Sea Exploration News

Canadian safety officials on Friday opened an investigation into the undersea implosion of a tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard while diving to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, raising questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.A debris field from the submersible Titan was found at the bottom of the North Atlantic on Thursday by a robotic diving vehicle deployed from a Canadian search vessel, ending an intense five-day international rescue effort.Fragments of Titan…

The maritime and scientific community have set themselves the ambitious target to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. Volvo Penta and Danfoss Editron will play a role by powering a novel fleet of unmanned surface robots for subsea exploration.The companies have been commissioned for the unique venture by Grovfjord Mek. Verksted (GMV) shipyard, to power the world’s first fleet of autonomous robot exploration vessels for commercial use. The seafloor analysis and oceanography company Ocean Infinity has invested in the ‘Armada’ fleet of super-advanced unmanned vessels.

The third annual meeting between the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Secretariat and the contractors with deep-sea exploration contracts in the international deep-seabed (the Area) concluded in Changsa, China on Sunday.Delegates gathered at the three-day meeting hosted by China Minmetals from October 11-13 to discuss areas of common interest, and the next steps in moving from exploration to the sustainable development of deep-sea mineral resources.In his remarks at the opening ceremony, ISA Secretary-General Michael W. Lodge highlighted the need to advance the development of regulations for deep-sea mineral exploitation (the Mining code).

The global unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) market was around USD 2.92 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach approximately USD 7.64 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of slightly above 14.91% between 2018 and 2025.The global unmanned underwater vehicles market is growing, owing to its rising applications in the defense and military sector, scientific research applications, and commercial purposes, said a report from Zion Market Research.Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), also referred to as underwater drones, are vehicles that can operate underwater without any kind of human interference.The rising demand for these vehicles in navel applications for safety and security purposes is another major factor driving the unmanned underwater vehicles market growth.

Norway's Statoil will continue to drill for oil in the Arctic Barents Sea next year even though its 2017 campaign was mostly disappointing, the company's head of exploration told Reuters on Tuesday. Statoil plans to drill between 25 and 30 wells in Norwegian waters in 2018, of which five or six are expected in the Barents and the rest will be split between the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea, which are both located further south. "We have tested a lot of potential there (in 2017)…

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC) is developing a manned submersible vehicle, which would be able to dive into Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth estimated to be around 10,900m below the surface, Xinhua news agency reported. CSIC is almost done building a new cost-efficient manned submersible that could reach the majority of seabeds in the world. The development of deep-sea manned submersibles for rough seas would be one of CSIC's priorities in 2017. The vessel, now under final assembly and testing phase, will be equipped with five observation windows and three seats. If successful, the Chinese submersible would be the third to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, also in the Mariana Trench.

ICS, East India Branch conducted conference on Legal matters pertaining to Maritime Sector prior to joining hands with M/s Hinode Events a Knowledge Partner to serialise this an Annual Conference on Legal Maritime Legal matters. The Branch takes pride to state that "The Ministry of Shipping" &  "The Directorate General of Shipping" have taken the view of the Branch in several legislative matters. Capt.K.G.Ramakrishnan,FICS, Past  Chairman acted as the Convenor for this Conference. Capt. K.P.Rajagopal,FICS(Chairman) welcomed  the  audience, introduced the speakers and Chaired the inaugural session. The Key note speech was delivered by the veteran Barrister at Law Capt.A.K.Bansal, who gave the history of Maritime Law dating back to the ancient times and the journey until the current times.

China on Friday adopted a new law on deep sea exploration, state media said, the country's latest move to cement its status as a seagoing power. President Xi Jinping is reforming the military and investing in submarines and aircraft carriers, as China's navy becomes more assertive in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas. The new law will "protect the rightful interests of Chinese citizens and organisations in their search for resources and in deep sea surveys," the official Xinhua news agency said after China's top legislature passed the measure. "Exploration and development should be peaceful and cooperative, in addition to protecting the maritime environment and safeguarding the common interests of mankind," it added.

Norwegian firm Statoil ASA is ending its rig contract for the Maersk Gallant six months early. The jack up rig has been on contract with Statoil for two years, since 21 August 2014, and since 9 October it has been sub-chartered to ConocoPhillips. "Between 14 February and 21 August 2016 the Maersk Gallant is on a new contract with Total E&P Norge AS, who will pay cancellation fee according to the former contract," says a press statement from Statoil. In January, Total received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) of Norway, to drill the North Sea exploration well 1/5-5 in PL 618 using Maersk Gallant. The jack-up Gallant was last listed as operating in the North Sea. No information was given on the day rate or other terms for the lease.

As Imperial Oil, as senior partner in the northern venture with ExxonMobil and BP, told Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) that the exploration program has been deferred, the plan to revive arctic gas and oil drilling in deep Canadian waters of the Beaufort Sea ground to a halt. The slow pace of regulatory review has left too little time to finish the approval process and does the work before the group's drilling leases expire, Imperial said in a filing at the board. The partners – Calgary-based Imperial, Exxon Mobil and BP – have asked Canadian officials for seven-year extensions of Beaufort Sea exploration licenses that are currently scheduled to expire in 2020, reported Reuters.

The BOEM's (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) decision to conditionally allow Shell to proceed with the carefully planned and coordinated drilling effort in Alaska is good news. The potential for energy development in the Chukchi Sea would allow Alaskans to benefit from well-paying jobs and resources to safeguard the environment, protect native traditional activities, and improve communities. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline may also benefit from the flow of resulting production. For the rest of the U.S. and the world, successful oil and natural gas development in the area will help to meet the ever increasing demand for reliable, reasonably priced energy.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has deemed submitted Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc.’s revised multi-year Exploration Plan (EP) and invites the public to review and comment on it. The revised EP describes Shell’s proposal to conduct exploration drilling in the shallow waters of the Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf, off the northwest coast of Alaska. It is available for review at: www.boem.gov/shell-chukchi/. An EP describes all exploration activities planned by the operator for a specific lease or leases, including the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each planned well, and actions to be taken to meet important safety and environmental standards and to protect access to subsistence resources.

The first deep-sea exploration of the Perth Canyon, Australia's largest undersea valley, will launch today, Phys.org is reporting. The 12-day expedition is backed by Google billionaire Eric Schmidt and will study the conditions and marine life inside the canyon, which researchers hope will provide new information about the effects of climate change. A team of researchers from the University of Western Australia led by Professor Malcolm McCulloch will collaborate with researchers from the Western Australia Museum…

On March 1 (Sun) the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum will launch its newly renovated "Ocean" zone, an area dedicated to introducing advanced technologies relating to the earth's oceans. In its new configuration the zone will display items in a way that enables visitors to experience what it's like to undertake deep-sea exploration using, for example, a simulator of a next-generation submersible research vessel. The centerpiece of the zone will be a disassembled full-scale mockup of the Shinkai 6500 manned submersible research vessel. The theme of the new "Ocean" zone will be "Let's Go to the Deep-sea World!" The main display, a full-size re-creation of the Shinkai 6500 displayed like a cutaway, will incorporate reproductions of both the outside and inside of the vessel.

South China Sea spats are a territorial fight and not about the oil, points out a report appeared in Bloomberg. "When it comes to territorial tensions in the South China Sea, it’s more about what goes through it than what lies beneath it," says the report. The collapse in oil prices prompted oil majors from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Norway’s Statoil ASA to shelve the projects of deep-sea exploration. But in the South China Sea political and security considerations will keep territorial tensions simmering, fueling military spending by countries that border the area. The South China Sea contains some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and is a vital artery for China’s energy supplies from the Middle East.

Statoil has completed the extensive 2013-2014 exploration programme in the Barents Sea. This represents an all-time high exploration activity and 10% of all exploration wells drilled in the Barents Sea since its opening in 1980. “This is a unique exploration programme. A commitment of this size and complexity requires geological, technological and organisational muscle, and the data collected are important for the future understanding of the oil and gas potential in the Barents Sea,” says Irene Rummelhoff, senior vice president for exploration on the Norwegian continental shelf.

After more than 169 years, Canadian researchers discovered one of the two ships from the doomed Arctic expedition of Sir John Franklin, cracking one of the largest mysteries in sea exploration. The wreck was found some 11 meters below the surface using a ROV recently acquired by Parks Canada. It is unknown whether the ship is HMS Erebus or HMS Terror, though researches expect to determine its identity within several days. "Franklin's ships are an important part of Canadian history given that his expedition…

Marine Fuels supplier arranged Bunker delivery to US navy ship USS Taylor in Batumi port, Georgia. "Generally, physical bunker supply by tankers is not available in Georgian ports since beginning of 2013. Vessels arriving to Georgian ports are supplied with MGO (Marine Gasoil) by tank trucks, while IFO (Fuel oil) delivery still does not exist", Says Marine Supply & Services specialist in Georgia - Jaba Tarimanashvili. There are about 2500 port calls annually in Georgia. Batumi and Poti are two main ports, and two oil terminals: Supsa and Kulevi.

Royal Dutch Shell and the China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) have signed a deal to boost cooperation in sectors like deep sea exploration as well as liquefied natural gas (LNG) and unconventional gas sources like shale, CNPC said on Wednesday. The two companies had agreed to join forces in the development of both upstream and downstream energy businesses, CNPC said on its website. Ben van Beurden, in his first overseas visit since becoming Shell's chief executive, told CNPC Chairman Zhou Jiping that both sides have set up deep and wide-ranging ties and have huge room for further cooperation. The Anglo-Dutch firm is already one of the biggest overseas investors in China's energy sector…

Scottish nationalists are betting $2.5 trillion of hydrocarbons trapped miles beneath the North Sea could bankroll an independent Scotland, but winning control of the European Union's largest oil reserves would be no blank cheque. Scotland says the bulk of Britain's North Sea oil and gas reserves are in its waters, while London says any division would be subject to negotiations should Scots vote to end their 307-year-old union with England in a referendum on Sept. 18. Oil is the punch in Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond's pitch for independence: he accuses London of squandering the North Sea's mineral wealth and says Scotland would be one of the world's richest countries if it took control of its own destiny.

By John Kemp. The opinions expressed here are those of the author, a columnist for Reuters. Britain's North Sea exploration and production business is set to be transformed, with cooperation replacing competition and proactive, intrusive regulation replacing a light touch. On Monday, ministers promised to back fully the recommendations contained in Ian Wood's review on maximising oil and gas recovery from the UK Continental Shelf (www.woodreview.co.uk). A powerful new regulator will be spun out of Britain's Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC), staffed by industry experts with salaries to match, to end the squabbling among offshore operators and promote a strategy based on shared infrastructure and regional development plans.

At Discovery Times Square, New York, Odyssey Marine Exploration will show silver recovered from the 'SS Gairsoppa' shipwreck. The company's multi-media traveling exhibit, 'Shipwreck' opens at Discovery Times Square in New York City on May 24, 2013 for the first public unveilling of silver bullion recovered from the World War II-era SS Gairsoppa shipwreck. Silver which lay approximately three miles deep, will be on display in the first public showing of some of the 1,218 silver bars (approximately 48 tons) of silver recovered to date from the Gairsoppa…

Regulatory uncertainty leads ConocoPhillips to call a halt to its 2014 Chukchi Sea exploration drilling plans. ConocoPhillips say it will put its 2014 Alaska Chukchi Sea exploration drilling plans on hold given the uncertainties of evolving federal regulatory requirements and operational permitting standards. The company has determined it would not be prudent at this time to make the significant monetary commitments needed to preserve the option to drill in 2014. “While we are confident in our own expertise and ability to safely conduct offshore Arctic operations, we believe that more time is needed to ensure that all regulatory stakeholders are aligned,” said Trond-Erik Johansen, President, ConocoPhillips Alaska.