Surface Vessels News

Saipem and Fincantieri have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to evaluate commercial and industrial opportunities for cooperation in the field of autonomous subsea vehicles (AUV) and their integration with surface and underwater units.The MoU is among the initiatives aimed at promoting and developing Italy’s national excellence in the underwater sector.The agreement aims to enable the two companies to participate in major programs in the Italian and international markets in the area of surveillance and control of critical underwater infrastructure and rescue activities…

Canadian company Kraken Robotics has completed deliveries and sea acceptance tests of all systems for its minehunting sonar equipment under the contract with Royal Danish Navy.The contract was signed in September 2020, following a competitive bidding process. Under the contract with the Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO), Kraken has delivered four complete turnkey minehunting systems.Each system consists of a KATFISH towed Synthetic Aperture Sonar…

Glasgow-headquartered subsea specialist Sulmara has signed a three-year deal with Atlantic Offshore to charter the DP II multi-purpose support vessel Ocean Marlin, that will undergo substantial refitting to accommodate the needs of renewable energy sector.As part of the contract, Sulmara, who earlier in February announced the signing of a Master Service Agreement with Asso.subsea, will undertake a substantial refit of the emergency response rescue vessel (ERRV) to transform it for use in the renewables sector.The refit will include the installation of class-leading survey equipment…

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Sunday its forces on Feb. 10 had carried out strikes on two unmanned surface vessels (USVs) and three anti-ship cruise missiles north of Yemen's port city of Hodeidah that were threatening ships in the area."CENTCOM identified these USVs and missiles in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen and determined they presented an imminent threat to U.S. Navy ships and merchant vessels in the region," it added.(Reuters - Reporting by Nayera Abdallah, Editing by Edmund Blair)

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm BMT unveiled its new design for a 48-meter service operation vessel (SOV).BMT said the mid-sized vessel sits in between crew transfer vessels (CTV) and typical SOVs, providing a more cost-effective solution to achieving operational requirements as operators in the offshore market look for ways to reduce their operational expenditure (opex). Incorporating a methanol-ready design, the SOV features an optimized hull form and machinery configuration, built on a dynamic diesel-electric platform.

Dutch offshore survey firm Fugro has reached an agreement to acquire two platform supply vessels (PSVs), Sea Goldcrest and Sea Gull, which will be converted to geotechnical vessels to address the needs of growing offshore wind sector.The addition of the Sea Goldcrest and Sea Gull, built in 2019 and 2020 respectively, to its owned fleet will further strengthen Fugro’s ability to address the market demands and shortage in geotechnical capable vessels, the company said.With the purchase of these strategic assets Fugro will operate a balanced fleet of owned and chartered vessels…

Austal USA Advanced Technologies is working with the US Navy on technical solutions that will power the next-gen of navy assets. Don Hairston recently took the helm of the AAT team, and discusses how additive manufacturing and artificial intelligence are powering the future of naval asset design, construction and lifecycle maintenance.Don, what specifically attracted you to the position as GM of Austal USA Advanced Technologies?I liked Austal USA as an up-and-comer; it offers tremendous growth opportunities.

Freeland, Wash. shipbuilder Nichols Brothers Boat Builders (NBBB) announced it has been awarded a contract to construct an uncrewed autonomous vessel for the U.S. Department of Defense's research and development agency.The No Manning Required Ship (NOMARS) project was awarded by Serco North America, the prime contractor and designer of the vessel, for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).The program aims to revolutionize naval operations by designing a ship that…

The U.S. Navy has awarded Bollinger Shipyards a contract to build four additional Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vessels (MCM USV). This brings the total number of vessels under contract up to seven, with options for up to 18 more vessels.“Bollinger is honored to be entrusted by the U.S. Navy to continue building the Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vessel program,” said Ben Bordelon, president and CEO of Bollinger Shipyards. “Our skilled workforce is second to none. We are proud to support and protect the men and women of the U.S.

FarSounder and NSSLGlobal have joined forces to introduce FarSounder’s Argos product line to their defense, commercial, and leisure clients. These innovative Forward Looking Sonars (FLS) are used for safe navigation and obstacle avoidance. FarSounder’s technology is renowned in the cruise and leisure markets and is increasingly being adopted in both the Scientific/Exploration and Defence sectors both of which are moving towards Unmanned Surface Vessels (USV).Vessels are often operating in more challenging environments such as higher latitudes where there may be ice, poorly chartered areas, or austere ports. This unique patented technology paints a clear picture of what lies ahead underwater of the vessel…

Saronic, a maritime autonomy company focused on surface vessels, has announced a $55 million Series A funding.The round was led by Caffeinated Capital, with participation from 8VC, U.S. Innovative Technology Fund, Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Point72 Ventures, Silent Ventures, Overmatch Ventures, Ensemble VC, and Cubit Capital.With this raise, Saronic will accelerate research and development while expanding in-house manufacturing capacity for rapid production.The need for these autonomous surface vessels is clear, says Saronic.

On a windswept island 50 miles north of Seattle sits a U.S. Navy monitoring station. For years, it was kept busy tracking whale movements and measuring rising sea temperatures. Last October, the Navy gave the unit a new name that better reflects its current mission: Theater Undersea Surveillance Command.The renaming of the spy station at the Whidbey Island naval base is a nod to a much larger U.S. military project, according to three people with direct knowledge of the plans:…

Over the past year North Korea has moved to boost its navy with new nuclear weapons, including an underwater drone, warships, and its first operational missile submarine, unveiled on Friday.North Korea's navy has historically been dwarfed by the country's land forces, and overshadowed by its rapidly advancing ballistic missile program.Now, leader Kim Jong Un has said the navy will play a key role in the country's nuclear deterrence, and analysts say it may also assure support among naval commanders and boost national pride."Until quite recently…

Tech company Leidos was recently awarded a new task order by Naval Sea Systems Command to manage, operate and maintain the U.S. Navy’s Overlord and medium unmanned surface vessels (USVs). The single-award task order has a one-year base period of performance and two one-year options. The task order has a maximum value of approximately $95 million if all options are exercised.“Leidos is leading a new era of naval operations,” said Gerry Fasano, Leidos Defense Group president. “The Leidos team has unmatched experience and expertise in autonomous vessel design and operations…

HydroComp is a well-established, small engineering firm focused on hydrodynamic and propulsion system simulation, providing design tools for engineers and naval architects to focus on vessel performance, including emissions. Don MacPherson, HydroComp’s long-tenured Technical Director, discusses the impacts of tightening emissions regulations, with insights on maximizing new vessel designs and refits.Don, maritime has been in the crosshairs of regulators to reduce emissions. What do you see as the top new regulatory issues that are impacting ship and boat design…

The Navy wants, and needs, more ships; but it can’t build them fast enough.While the U.S. Navy aims to achieve a 355-ship fleet, it is decommissioning older (and some not so old) ships at about the same rate it's adding new ones.A Congressional Research Service report stated that, as of April 17, 2023, the Navy included 296 battle force ships. "The Navy projects that under its FY2024 budget submission, the Navy would include 293 battle force ships at the end of FY2024 and 291 battle force ships at the end of FY2028."But there is progress…

Don Hairston has been named General Manager of Austal USA Advanced Technologies in Charlottesville, Va. Hairston comes to Austal from L3Harris Technologies where he was vice president and general manager of the C5 Systems Division. He was responsible for leading a $400 million organization that designs and delivers unmanned surface vessels, integrated C5ISR, and maritime controls and cyber solutions to support, defend and protect critical national assets and infrastructure.In…

Uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), automated vessels, maritime autonomous surface ships (MASS), remote controlled vessels, and the employment of artificial intelligence and smart marine technology to navigate and operate civilian and military vessels have created a lively debate over utilizing and regulating such technology. Recent articles addressing artificial intelligence (AI) have questioned the value of experience and intuition versus computed logic based upon data and logarithmic differentiations.

Offshore wind energy planners are giving close review to fixed-tower systems in order to extend lessons learned to floating wind towers, under development now. In the U.S., floating towers have been most closely associated with plans for new wind energy areas (WEA) in the Pacific, off of California and maybe Oregon and Washington. But important research is also taking place in Maine, at the University of Maine, because of deep ocean Atlantic areas there, and floating towers may also be used in the Gulf of Mexico.As most readers likely know…

When Ukraine successfully deployed self-driving “drone” boats for a major attack on the Russian navy at Sevastopol in Crimea in September 2022 it was a defining moment that changed the future of naval warfare. Uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) have been used before, but this was the first instance of multiple, armed USVs, used simultaneously in combination with aerial drones for a successful, offensive naval operation on a military target.Several Russian ships were damaged in the attack…

Brendan Smith brings more than a decade of maritime experience to his role as president of Seaward Services, a marine services company specializing in the operation, maintenance and repair of government and privately owned vessels. The company is part of the Hornblower Group.During his 6.5 years with the U.S. Navy, he served aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS Santa Fe, and his roles included chemistry and radiological controls assistant (CRA), quality assurance officer (QAO) and combat operations instructor.

With a background in subsea and offshore, coming up with new ideas is the norm’ for UK-based engineering consultancy STL (Submarine Technology Limited), writes Elaine Maslin.The last few years have been no different. The company has been focusing on ship-based robotics, including robotic arms. These aren’t just any robotic arms – they’re motion compensated systems for deploying/recovering people and robots to and from fixed or moving objects. That could be wind technicians to…

Manama, Bahrain -- Advancing maritime domain awareness in the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/U.S. Fifth Fleet area of responsibility (AOR) is a challenging task. Yet keeping the sea lanes open is critical for the region, for the U.S. and the world.U.S. Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT), U.S. Fifth Fleet and Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) are all headquartered here in Bahrain, under the command of Vice Admiral Brad Cooper. U.S. Fifth Fleet oversees the operations for all U.S. naval forces in the Middle East.