Bluefin News

Esgian reports fresh finds confirmed in Guyana, China and Norway in its Week 12 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report Outline:ContractsDolphin Drilling has announced the award of a $154 million drilling contract from India's exploration and production company, Oil India Limited (Oil India), to the 6,000-ft semisub Blackford Dolphin.Malaysian offshore drilling firm Velesto confirmed Friday it had recently secured long-term contract extensions for three of its jackup rigs with Petronas Carigali…

Any competition requires skill — but when the stakes are high and seas are rough, the right technology can set contenders apart. On the popular National Geographic reality series "Wicked Tuna" and its spinoff, "Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks," commercial fishing crews compete to reel in elusive bluefin tuna. To brave North Atlantic waters off the coast of Gloucester, where the series is set, and bring in fish that are several hundred pounds, it's critical that captains outfit their…

Environmentalists on Thursday sued the agency overseeing U.S. fisheries, claiming it had failed to protect endangered humpback whales from entanglement in drift gillnets - sprawling curtains of nylon mesh - used in commercial fishing off California.The lawsuit accuses the National Marine Fisheries Service of violating the Endangered Species Act by allowing drift gillnets without safeguards and failing to take into account the harm posed to whales already at risk of extinction.The suit…

In August, 2021, after years of delays, cost overruns, and rising tensions, the Australian government canceled a A$90 billion order with France’s Naval Group for 12 conventionally powered submarines intended to replace the Royal Australian Navy (RAN)’s aging fleet of six Collins-class attack subs. Overnight, the future of the RAN’s undersea warfare capability was cast into uncertainty. The very next month, however, the United States and the United Kingdom announced a plan to help Australia fill the void…

The U.S. Navy uses unmanned and robotic underwater vehicles for a multitude of functions, including environmental sensing, mine hunting, and salvage. The Navy plans to evolve an unmanned systems operating concept that is platform agnostic and capable of operating in highly complex contested environments with minimal operator interaction.The most recent edition of the Navy’s Unmanned Systems (UxS) Roadmap was issued in 2018, and a new version is expected in the near future. The 2018 document states that UxS will operate in every domain…

A captain claims victory at the end of a popular high-stakes fishing competition thanks to help from a new electronic boat control system.When the Summer to Fall bluefin tuna season ends in Gloucester, Mass., it’s only just beginning in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It’s in these rough waters that commercial fishermen compete on the TV show, “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks.” A spin-off of the original “Wicked Tuna,” this series has run on National Geographic since 2014 and recently completed its seventh season on air in September 2020.Fishing for bluefin tuna comes with unique challenges.

Orcas behavior of battering sailboats off Spain and Portugal baffles expertsThere are many mysteries in the maritime environment. For Sailors along Spain and Portugal’s Atlantic coastline, there has been a recent series of puzzling incidents involving apparently aggressive orcas.While orcas are not known to attack humans, they can cause damage to boats. In a series of incidents along the Spanish and Portuguese coasts between Gibraltar and Galicia, groups of orcas have been recorded swimming near sailboats and other vessels…

Driven by the need to organically protect maritime Task Groups from the threat of sea mines, the Royal Australian Navy is introducing a deployable Mine Counter-Measures (MCM) capability under the first phase of Project SEA 1778.The Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) SEA 1778 deployable Mine Counter-Measures (MCM) capability is both a small step forward in the spiral development process and a “technological leap” into autonomy.”The RAN is looking to replace its four legacy Huon-class minehunter coastal ships (MHCs) with a new deployable MCM capability.

A fisherman from a popular reality television series recently outfitted his vessel with a new electronic control system—giving him the edge in a high-stakes fishing competition.The waters of the North Atlantic Ocean can be treacherous—especially for fishermen pursuing the elusive bluefin tuna. This pursuit is the subject of the popular reality television series, “Wicked Tuna,” which chronicles the competition between commercial bluefin tuna fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Greek commercial ship management company Signal Maritime Services and tanker vessel trader Heidmar join forces to deliver commercial management to the global tanker market.Both companies have agreed a milestone partnership, under which Signal will manage a joint tanker fleet using its proprietary technology and analytical approach, said a press release.Signal’s Artificial-Intelligence-backed solution to pool management has consistently delivered superior earnings to its pool members since its launch in 2018.Commercial management of 18 Aframax vessels in Heidmar’s Sigma Pool will be handled by Signal with immediate effect, with a transition period of one month.Signal will also be working with the Heidmar team to manage the LR2 vessels in its Sigma Pool…

At CMRE, it’s not just about the science. It’s about building trust and confidence in resilient systems. An interview with Dr. Catherine Warner, Director, NATO Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation, La Spezia, ItalyTell us a little about yourself and CMRE. What does CMRE do, and how do you see your mission evolving?I came here from the Pentagon, where I was the science advisor for the director of operational test and evaluation. My experience has been working with operators on systems that they’re getting ready to field.

Underwater vehicles communicate, make decisions, and work as a teamThe NATO Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE) in La Spezia, Italy, is combining smarts and muscle to solve a complex warfighting challenge: finding and destroying mines in the murky waters of the littoral.CMRE has developed experimental unmanned vehicles for experimentation. Now it is evolving those vehicles to communicate and cooperate with each other, and to solve problems on their own.According to CMRE’s director Dr.

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.

Warming oceans are leading to an increase in the harmful neurotoxicant methylmercury in popular seafood, including cod, Atlantic bluefin tuna, and swordfish, according to a research.The scientists developed a first-of-its-kind, comprehensive model that simulates how environmental factors, including increasing ocean temperatures and overfishing, affect levels of methylmercury in fish.The Harvard University researchers found that, while the regulation of mercury emissions has successfully reduced methylmercury levels in fish, spiking temperatures are driving those levels back up and will play a major role in the methylmercury levels of marine life in the future.

Ten new research institutes from Europe, North America and Australia have joined the Nereus Program research partnership, bringing the total to 17. Launched in September 2011, the program is an international collaboration between The Nippon Foundation and the University of British Columbia with the aim to make comprehensive forecasts of the ocean’s future, the program has grown into one of the world’s largest research initiatives in its field. Principle investigators from eight…

U.S. shipbuilder General Dynamics NASSCO has taken delivery of a new tug, Blue Fin, to support its waterfront activities. The new tug, built by Marine Group Boat Works in National City, Calif., was christened July 8 at a ceremony at NASSCO’s shipyard in Barrio Logan in San Diego. Bonnie Fanelli, the wife of 43-year NASSCO employee and assistant dockmaster Tom Fanelli, christened the tug. The name Blue Fin was selected for the new tug after NASSCO invited local K-8 students to participate in a vessel naming contest.

General Dynamics Mission Systems featured the Bluefin Robotics hovering-autonomous underwater vehicle (H-AUV) at OCEANS 2016 in Monterey, California. The Bluefin Robotics H-AUV locates, identifies and maps structural issues on a ship’s hull including large ocean going cargo ships, petroleum and chemical tankers, cruise ships and military surface and sub-surface vessels without dry-docking the ship. “Inspecting ship hulls and other underwater surfaces can be a manpower- and cost-intensive part of a ship’s observation and maintenance,” said Matt Graziano, director of Autonomous Undersea Systems for General Dynamics Mission Systems. The Bluefin Robotics H-AUV operates autonomously and navigates along a hull, bridges or piers.

The General Dynamics Bluefin-21 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) successfully launched multiple Bluefin SandShark micro-autonomous underwater vehicles (M-AUV) Underwater vehicle (M-AUV as part of several capability demonstrations at the U.S. Navy sponsored 2016 Annual Naval Technology Exercises (ANTX) in Newport, R.I. Through several ANTX demonstrations, the Bluefin SandShark M-AUVs surfaced and functioned independent of the heavyweight-class Bluefin-21. In one mission scenario, the Bluefin-21 simulated data collection and transfer of target imagery and other information to two Bluefin SandSharks. Those Bluefin SandSharks then surfaced to communicate with a Blackwing unmanned aerial vehicle.

When it comes to fishing, Captain Dave Carraro of FV Tuna.com knows a thing or two, having run a successful charter business for the past 37 years, and is now a leading competitor and previous winner of the television show Wicked Tuna. Carraro keeps a busy schedule off land, even flying as a pilot for JetBlue when he isn’t fishing. “Sometimes we are out on the water for four to five days in a row, fishing around the clock, which can be very strenuous, both physically and mentally.

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Raymond Evans repatriated 15 Cuban migrants to Bahia de Cabañas, Cuba, Thursday. This repatriation is a result of two separate migrant interdictions at sea. "Coast Guard missions and operations in the Southeast remain unchanged. The Coast Guard strongly discourages attempts to illegally enter the country by taking to the sea," said Capt. Mark Gordon, Coast Guard 7th District chief of response enforcement. The Raymond Evans along with numerous other Coast Guard patrol boats and aircraft aggressively patrol the Florida Straits to detect and deter illegal and unsafe maritime migration. Safety of life at sea is always the Coast Guard's top priority. The Coast Guard Cutter Raymond Evans, a 154-foot fast response cutter homeported in Key West, Florida.

Bluefin Robotics has delivered new vehicles to the U.S. Navy that aim to increase the Navy's capability to remotely search and investigate ship hulls, harbor sea floors and other underwater infrastructure for limpet mines, Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and other objects of interest. The Navy accepted delivery of Bluefin Robotics’ ship hull inspection systems 4 and 5 under the “Explosive Ordnance Disposal, Hull Unmanned Underwater Vehicle Localization System” (EOD HULS) Program of Record, in February.

Bluefin Robotics underwater robot helps locate historic sunken Japanese battleship Musashi; located by philanthropist and entrepreneur Paul G. Bluefin Robotics underwater autonomous vehicles (AUV) scour the ocean floors around the world looking for items critical to the defense industry, oceanographic researchers and the oil and gas industry. Most recently, a Bluefin vehicle was used by Paul G. Allen and his team of researchers in their search for the sunken Japanese battleship Musashi, the largest battleship in naval history.

Scientists have long known that leatherback sea turtles travel thousands of miles each year through open ocean to get from foraging habitats to nesting beaches and tropical wintering grounds, but how the wanderers find their way has been “an enduring mystery of animal behavior,” says marine biologist Kara Dodge. “Adult turtles can pinpoint specific nesting beaches even after being away many years,” she notes. Sea turtles’ ability to identify and maintain appropriate headings affect migration distance, duration and, for reproductively-active adults, breeding schedules, so understanding migratory orientation and potential cues is an important step toward understanding how sea turtles optimize travel routes and minimize energy costs of migration, Dodge adds.