Australian Court Lets Santos Build Barossa Pipeline
Australia's Santos can proceed with construction of an undersea pipeline vital to its $4.3 billion Barossa gas project after a court on Monday ruled in favor of the oil and gas firm in a dispute with an Indigenous man looking to pause the work.Work on the pipeline, which will connect the Barossa gas field to a processing plant in the northern Australian city of Darwin, was paused by court order in November after a suit by a member of an Indigenous group regarded as traditional…
Coast Guard Forces Back Illegal Mexican Fisherman
A patrolling Coast Guard aircrew spotted, pursued and compelled a lancha across the U.S./Mexican border, Friday, after the lancha was spotted poaching in U.S waters. At 2:30 p.m., a Coast Guard aircrew aboard an HU-25 Falcon aircraft spotted the 25-foot lancha fishing 45 miles offshore of Port Isabel and 7 miles north of the U.S./Mexican border. The aircrew immediately notified Coast Guard Sector Corpus Christi, and pursued the vessel south, forcing it across the border. The Coast Guard Cutter Cobia, an 87-foot coastal patrol boat, also pursued the lancha, but was unable to intercept it. The Cobia is currently searching for any longline gear the lancha may have laid. The Coast Guard is continuing its efforts in conjunction with Operation Sea Serpent.
South Texas Coast Guard Receives Response Boat
U.S. Coast Guard crews at Station South Padre Island have completed the qualification and trial run process, Tuesday, for the new 45-foot-Response Boat-Medium that was delivered to the station in late February. The training focused on acclimating the crews to the boat's advanced response capabilities. With twin diesel engines using water-jet propulsion, the RB-M can respond faster than previous boats of similar size and has a top speed in excess of 40 knots. It has advanced search capability with an installed forward-looking infrared search technology. Additionally, with twin jet propulsion, the vessel is extremely maneuverable and is better suited to respond to mariners in distress and law enforcement operations.
Mexican Fishermen Forfeit Boat, Catch, to Coast Guard
Coast Guard crew seizes a lancha, 297 illegally caught fish, & detain crew of 4 Mexican nationals apprehended fishing in US waters in the US Exclusive Economic Zone. The cutter's crew spotted the lancha 10 miles north of the U.S./Mexico border. The crew launched a small boat to pursue the lancha, which stopped and was boarded. The crew was able to determine that the four Mexicans onboard had been fishing illegally, having caught 272 red snapper, four mackerel and 21 blacktip shark.
A USV Franchise Grows Strong in Abu Dhabi
As the evolution and integration of robotics in maritime vehicles continues to reshape missions and capabilities inland, near-shore and at sea, Maritime Reporter & Engineering News last month was on hand in Abu Dhabi for the unveiling of a new Unmanned Surface Vessel family. If it delivers as designed, it will revolutionize marine robotic vehicle applications for both military and commercial purposes. Robert J. Murphy is certainly no stranger to the world of autonomous robotic marine vehicles, having worked in the field for more than a quarter of a century, dating to the mid-1980s.
New "Robot Boat" Family Debuts in Abu Dhabi
Today Al Seer Marine and 5G International announced the introduction of a new family of unmanned surface vessels, a family ranging from the 3m Sea Serpent to the 11m monohull Eclipse. The USV family is designed to rapidly penetrate a vibrant Middle East defense market and to offer affordable, dependable USV options for commercial operations. Eclipse, the top-of-class 11-m monohull. While USV technology is surely not in its infancy, in relative terms, particularly when considering dramatic strides made in aerial and ground robotics, it is still pre-puberty.
Icebreakers Break into Action
With ice forming at a rate that suggests the first “normal” winter shipping season in several years, Coast Guard officials have icebreakers working in disparate locations this week, according to a report on www.sooeveningnews.com. For now, two Bay-Class tugs, Katmai Bay and Biscayne Bay are working the ice in largely unfamiliar waters at Thunder Bay, Ont. and at Serpent Harbor, Ont. located at the northern end of Georgian Bay. Biscayne Bay, based at St. Ignace, has been working at Duluth-Superior then nearby Thunder Bay while the Duluth-based tender-breaker USCGC Alder was off about her buoy tending duties. (Source: www.sooeveningnews.com)
