University Of Portsmouth News

ABB has secured an order with Portsmouth International Port to supply a shore connection solution for visiting ferries and cruise ships as part of the UK port’s Sea Change project.Shore connection allows visiting ferries and cruise ships to avoid emissions by connecting to the shoreside electrical grid while in port, supporting the Portsmouth’s port aim to be the first in the UK to be zero emissions by 2030.The initiative is part of the port’s Sea Change project to design, build…

A significant element of the U.K. government’s levelling up plan to create thousands of jobs, regenerate more deprived areas and attract overseas investors is the introduction of freeports. These special low-tax trading zones allow all kinds of businesses to trade.Under the U.K. model, freeports can encompass two different kinds of sites. On customs sites, authorized businesses will be able to import certain goods with simplified customs documentation and without paying tariffs. Domestic goods can also be held in a customs site and used in any manufacturing process.

Whether we realize it or not, robotics and robotics systems are starting to impact our daily lives. From warehouse picking systems through to high-end medical devices through to your mowbot lawnmower. Each tends to be specialized to its own task and a similar trend is now starting to play out in the offshore wind space, where it’s hoped that robots can make operations safer and more efficient.According to a report, The Economic Opportunity for Robotics in Offshore Wind and Key Energy Markets by the Offshore Renewable Energy Catapult (ORE Catapult)…

U.S.-based seabed survey company Ocean Infinity, is, together with the University of Portsmouth, Airborne Robotics, and Bentley Telecom, working to develop an autonomous offshore wind farm inspection capability utilizing aerial drone swarms deployed from an uncrewed marine robotic vessel.Using 5G and satellite connectivity, the project will see a swarm of drones autonomously inspect wind turbines subsequently removing the need for manual, human inspection, Ocean Infinity, a company that is currently building a fleet of unmanned surface robots - the Armada - said.As part of the project…

On Sunday the first major cruise ship to take to the Mediterranean in almost five months sailed out of the Italian city of Genoa. Passengers on the MSC Grandiosa were tested for coronavirus before stepping on board. The ship—which has brought in an array of strict measures to limit the spread of the virus—will stop at three Italian ports and the Maltese capital Valletta in a seven-day voyage. But will these measures be enough to help the sector survive the pandemic? A lot is riding on the success of this Italian cruise.After all…

Owners of offshore support vessels (OSV) are beginning to examine the possibility of reactivating some of their fleet even as the consistent volatility of oil prices and a healthy stream of ships projected from global shipyards keeps their enthusiasm in check.According to Clarksons, demand for the versatile ships, which support offshore exploration and production activities around the world, edged up 3% in 2018, with marginally higher day rates tempting some units out of lay-up.Most of the idle OSV fleet is unlikely to become active this year…

Underneath the glistening patchwork of blues and greens lurks an intricate world of unique animal communities, diverse landscapes, and changeable conditions. The ocean is also one of the most extraordinary and fascinating ecosystems on the planet - a place that can host both the source of a problem and the solution. In the maritime sector, an estimated $56 million a year is associated with biofouling for the US Navy alone. Anti-fouling coatings have the potential to reduce millions of tonnes of greenhouse emissions each year, but the industry is yet to find an effective method that is also environmentally friendly. Dr. Maria Salta, an…

Arctic sea ice - the ice that freezes and floats on Arctic waters - is thinning at a steadier and faster rate than researchers previously thought, a new study finds. Using modern and historic measurements, the researchers got an extensive view of how the thickness of Arctic sea ice has changed over the past few decades. According to measurements from multiple sources, the ice in the central Arctic Ocean thinned 65 percent between 1975 and 2012, from 11.7 feet (3.59 meters) to 4.1 feet (1.25 m). The results of studies conducted by University of Washington researchers show a thinning in the central Arctic Ocean of 65 percent between 1975 and 2012. September ice thickness, when the ice cover is at a minimum, is 85 percent thinner for the same 37-year stretch.

Due to a continued increase in business, and an increasing portfolio of ever more sophisticated instruments and systems, Surrey based Planet Ocean Ltd. appointed Kira Coley as Scientific Applications Specialist. Kira will provide scientific and technical support to new and existing customers as well as being the science liaison between Planet Ocean and its principals. Kira will spend most of her time working with principals and customers on “science behind the measurement” activities and is available to provide help and assistance from that perspective.

The study, reported in 'The News' by Chris Broom,  was commissioned by local council and business leaders to examine three alternative futures for Portsmouth Naval Base at a time when its shipbuilding future is in doubt. In the worst case scenario, if BAE Systems was to pull out, it would have a massive knock-on effect on the area – resulting in huge job losses, and a hit to the region’s economy of £370m a year. BAE employs 1,500 ship builders in Portsmouth and a further 1,500 people working on the maintenance and repair work it does for the navy’s surface fleet. But the report – commissioned by the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire (PUSH)…

L-3 MPRI has launched the first liquid cargo handling simulator (LCHS) model for handysize products tankers capable of carrying mixed loads of crude oil, products and Class 2 chemicals. The simulator provides lifelike training in all aspects of operating such tankers. MPRI also introduced the WISE Assessment Tool that intelligently gauges students’ ability to perform multiple critical tasks at once. The new tool works across all of MPRI’s LCHS models. Determining the proper compatibility of handysize products tankers’ oil and chemical cargoes is vital to avoiding major safety risks including spills, explosions and fires. In addition to cargo selection and composition…

According to The News, Portchester-based VT Halmatic has told workers that up to 130 of the 270 workforce could be made redundant. The business has been under threat for some months and has now announced it is to cut costs by making fewer types of boats and reducing the workforce. Letters have been sent out to the threatened workers which gives them options to apply for jobs elsewhere in the VT Group. Company officials said, following a decline in orders for some Ministry of Defense and commercial craft, we have undertaken a strategic review that will result in us exiting some product lines and restructuring the business. VT Group has been reviewing the Halmatic site in recent months.