Survey Services News

Ambrey and Inchcape Shipping Services (ISS) announced a strategic partnership aimed at transforming safety and security in the maritime sector.Through this partnership, Ambrey and Inchcape will jointly offer a comprehensive range of services via Inchcape's Survey & Inspection Department, led by Vice President Chris Greenwood, including Citadel Inspections, Ship Security Assessments, Anti-Piracy Ship Security Assessments, Ship Security Plan Reviews, and Port Security Assessments on various projects worldwide.In turn…

China Classification Society (CCS) has issued a first Approval in Principle (AiP) certificate for the marine liquid hydrogen fuel supply system developed by Weishi Energy Technology Hebei.The system design includes a marine liquid hydrogen tank and cold box, supercooled hydrogen storage technology, heat exchange technology, regulated hydrogen supply technology and subcooled hydrogenation technology. Dual-boost functionality ensures rapid system startup, says CCS, and the system…

Belgium-based offshore survey services provider GEOxyz announced it has opened its first office in the United States, located in New Brunswick, N.J., as it expands to serve the offshore wind energy industry on the U.S. East Coast"The renewable energy industry in the U.S. is an important market in full expansion and we are thrilled to establish a presence here," said Patrick Reyntjens, CEO of GEOxyz. "We have extensive experience in offshore surveying and we are eager to provide…

Norwegian company PGS, best known for its seismic survey services in the offshore oil and gas sector, said Wednesday it had scored its first offshore wind contract. The company said it had secured its first ultra-high resolution offshore wind farm site characterization project, marking its debut in "a strategically important new energy market.""PGS New Energy offers solutions to the ongoing energy transition by building on the subsurface and operational expertise of PGS’ employees and using the company’s assets.

Dutch offshore survey services firm Fugro has secured a contract with the Danish grid operator Energinet for geotechnical site investigations for the North Sea I offshore wind development.The Danish government plans to expand offshore wind capacity by 4GW by 2030, and the geodata acquired by Fugro will be used to inform future bids in the area. "This award follows Fugro’s success working on the North Sea Energy Islands project for Energinet throughout 2022, a project that is the first of its kind…

Australian offshore vessel owner MMA Offshore has secured a vessel contract with the oil and gas company Beach Energy.The MMA Coral will provide vessel support to Beach Energy’s two production platforms located in the Bass Strait, offshore Australia. The vessel will also provide subsea inspection and survey services and will support planned drilling operations.Starting in late November 2022, the contract is for a firm period of one year with an additional one-year option. The vessel will also be marketed to the broader region for ad hoc work scopes in addition to Beach Energy’s operations…

Marine seismic survey services specialist Shearwater GeoServices is set to introduce its first dual ROV seismic vessel, which the company says will be equipped with a broad scope of operational capabilities. "Designed to deploy ocean bottom nodes in both deep and shallow water, the vessel will also be able to provide high-quality source for surveys and conduct towed streamer surveys," Shearwater said.The dual ROV vessel, under Shearwater ownership and management, is expected to be available in the second quarter of 2023 following a conversion of the SW Tasman multipurpose vessel.

Bourbon entered into a strategic partnership with IWS Fleet AS, the vessel owning company of Integrated Wind Solutions ASA  to address the French commissioning and maintenance market of offshore wind farms. This agreement will allow Bourbon to market and operate the IWS’s “Skywalker class” windfarm specialized support walk-to-work vessels in France. The ship management will be performed by the French affiliate Bourbon Offshore Surf, with a strong footprint on French Atlantic and Mediterranean coasts, as the group currently employs about 500 French seafarers with relevant offshore experience.IWS currently has four vessels under construction, the two first IWS vessels will be delivered in Q2/Q3 2023 and the remaining two in the first half of 2024.

Dutch marine survey services firm Fugro is back on the water for Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind off the U.S. east coast, conducting a third year of integrated site characterisation services for the New Jersey-based offshore wind farm developer.Geophysical, metocean, and environmental scopes of work are currently underway, while geotechnical services will startlater this month, using a newly commissioned Fugro C30 mobile rig.Working from a third-party vessel, the Fugro C30 mobile rig will deliver Atlantic Shores heave‑compensated drilling capabilities and downhole sampling…

Subsea services provider DOF Subsea said Tuesday it had won several new contracts in both the oil and gas and renewables sectors in the North Sea.The projects, to be delivered in 2022, total more than 185 vessel days excluding any optional work. Skandi Acergy, Skandi Constructor, Skandi Hera and selected third-party vessels will be utilised in the offshore execution phases. The projects, which are scheduled to be delivered in 2022, will cover a total of 185 vessel days, excluding optional work. In the offshore execution phases, DOF Subsea will use the Skandi Acergy, Skandi Constructor, Skandi Hera vessels, as well as selected third-party boats.DOF Subsea…

Norway-based subsea services company Reach Subsea is set to close the acquisition of the offshore survey company iSurvey, first announced in mid-February.As previously reported, Reach Subsea said on February 17 it had agreed to buy the offshore survey services firm iSurvey in a transaction valued NOK 135 million. Separately, it was announced that Wilhelmsen had acquired a 21% stake in Reach Subsea.The company at the time said that the transaction would be settled through the issuance of 33.8 million shares in Reach…

TerraSond announced plans to invest in a new base in Massachusetts as part of its commitment to support the Vineyard Wind 1 project and wider US offshore wind developments. The company, which already has facilities in Alaska and Texas, has been confirmed as a preferred supplier for the subsea balance of plant inspection and survey services for the Vineyard Wind 1 wind farm, a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The wind farm will be situated 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket, and 35 miles from mainland Massachusetts.

Sun Feng formerly a CCS vice president, was named Chairman and President, taking over from Mo Jianhui, who retired.In a handover ceremony at CCS headquarters in Beijing, Sun paid tribute to Mo, praising his contribution to CCS.“Mr. Mo oversaw the rapid growth of our classed fleet, an expanded global network and he helped increase our international presence and influence, we thank him for all the success he helped deliver,” he said. “We have also seen our offshore business increase despite the downward trend.

The installation on what is reported to be the world’s largest offshore converter station is being hailed by China Classification Society (CCS) as ‘a significant milestone’ in the development of deep-water wind power. CCS provided authentication and survey services for the China Three Gorges Corporation (CTG) Rudong offshore converter station, which is also an Asian first.CCS says the facility effectively addresses the challenges of large capacity and long-distance power transmission presented by offshore wind farms.

Dutch seabed survey services firm Fugro has won a subsea inspection contract with the oil and gas company Neptune Energy at the Cygnus gas field in the UK North Sea.As part of the contract, Fugro will employ its specialized survey technology to inspect the subsea infrastructure, including pipelines and structures, and to undertake survey activities in advance of future drilling campaigns on the Cygnus field. It will use the Atlantis Dweller vessel as part of the operations."Traditionally…

Lenders of the troubled marine seismic contractor Polarcus, which last week took control of the company's vessels after a debt payment default, will sell Polarcus' vessels and all the employees will be let go.Banks last week tool control of Polarcus' subsidiaries that own seismic vessels, with the subsidiaries in question being Polarcus Asima AS, Polarcus Alima AS, Polarcus Amani AS, Polarcus Adira AS, Polarcus Nadia AS, Polarcus Naila AS - bearing the corresponding vessels' names,   and Polarcus Shipholding AS.

ABS and Chevron Shipping Company LLC have embarked on a digital fleet management journey.As a first step, the Suezmax lightering vessel Pegasus Voyager has become the first vessel in Chevron’s fleet to qualify for the ABS maintenance optimization notation SMART-MHM (Machinery Health Monitoring), with more vessels expected to follow. The ship is also the first ABS-classed to receive the notation.ABS says this is just the beginning of the journey to condition-based maintenance for the Chevron’s fleet of 28 vessels.

Testing, inspection and verification services firm Bureau Veritas (BV) said it has taken a number of steps to broaden and deepen its marine and offshore services in North America.The opening of a new remote survey center in Miami is the latest step in the delivery of digital services across the Bureau Veritas network, providing yet further global coverage for remote surveys.Florida-based Tropical Shipping’s fleet has now benefited from remote survey services on three of its vessels sailing in the Caribbean trades.

Fugro will use its new uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to chart the waters of South Australia’s Gulf St Vincent and Investigator Strait as part of the Australian Government’s HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program (HIPP).The Dutch-based offshore survey services company will carry out  the 998 km2 survey will be conducted on behalf of the Australian Hydrographic Office (AHO), which will use the data to update nautical charts for safer navigation. Data will also be shared with scientific agencies…

The world’s largest container tonnage provider has become the latest vessel owner to benefit from classification society DNV GL’s remote audit capabilities, as the impact of the global COVID-19 crisis continues to spur the increased use of remote survey services globally.Under a Hong Kong flag special authorization, DNV GL, together with representatives from Seaspan Corporation, carried out a remote Document of Compliance (DoC) audit of the company’s Safety Management System (SMS).According to DNV GL, the Hong Kong flag administration gave the classification society the go-ahead to perform the Seaspan DoC audit on behalf of Hong Kong flag after having become familiar with its process and capabilities from a series of remote audits completed in recent months.“With more than 18…

The SeaMar Group said its offshore support vessel Deep Helder has been hired on a six-month contract to support seabed mapping work for MMT. The contract for the 2014-build DP2 survey and ROV vessel will start in July 2020.Leo Balkema, Managing Director of SeaMar said: “We are pleased to be awarded the contract in these uncertain times. The successful performance of the crew and vessel on previous projects for MMT prove to be an added value, and we do our utmost to continue delivering a safe and stable platform for their services.”“We are very glad we can continue to develop the relationship with SeaMar and optimize the high performance of the Deep Helder for a variety of survey activities for the remainder of this year…

Remote vessel and equipment surveys have been available in the maritime world for years, but classification societies are seeing increased demand for these services as more firms turn to digital solutions to continue business during the coronavirus outbreak.Using real-time video communication tools, and even drones and robotics when applicable, surveyors are able to work with stakeholders to perform inspections without having to be on site, which is especially beneficial amid current COVID-19 travel restrictions.ABS…

Thomas Chance founded C & C Technologies in his home in 1992. Today C & C is a global oil field surveying and mapping company with more than 550 employees in ten offices worldwide. C & C was the first company in the world to offer autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) survey services to the oil industry and remains a world leader in the field. In April of 2015, he sold C & C Technologies to Oceaneering International. Complementing the autonomous underwater vehicle business, Mr. Chance started Autonomous Surface Vehicles, Ltd., or ASV, in 2010. ASV has 140 employees, four offices across the globe and has built more than 100 state-of-the-art unmanned boats for the defense and commercial sectors.