Side Scan News

Between January 2023 and February 2024, TDI-Brooks conducted an extensive site investigation program in two offshore wind blocks in state and federal waters. The projects involved surveying in excess of 20,000 line-kms of analogue and either single or multi-channel seismic in lease blocks and cable routes along the coasts of New York and New Jersey. Various tasks were carried out at different stages, such as offshore geophysical surveys, UHRS detailed surveys, archaeological identification surveys…

The wreck of a World War II-era freighter has been discovered in over 600 feet of water around 35 miles north of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula.Over the last 7 years, shipwreck researcher Dan Fountain has been studying remote sensing data in the search for shipwrecks in Lake Superior. After coming across a particularly deep anomaly, he reached out to the Great Lakes Shipwreck Historical Society (GLSHS) for help in identifying the potential wreck. In 2023 GLSHS Director of Marine Operations…

When most people discuss energy sources such as fossil fuel and green energy, it is from an “either-or” perspective. Some favor the former while others advocate for the latter. However, what is often lost in the arguments on both sides is that regardless of the type of energy being extracted or generated, those platforms that are offshore, especially oil rigs, oil and gas pipelines, and wind farms, are incredibly vulnerable to anyone who wants to attack these sources in wartime…

U.S.-based marine services company TDI-Brooks announced it was awarded geophysical, geotechnical and benthic sampling survey campaigns to study seabed conditions within the project lease area and potential export cable corridors for offshore wind farms off the U.S. East Coast. TDI-Brooks said it expects to begin the program in April and will continue through summer 2023 with two to three vessels in operations. The data collected will help determine safe and responsible project design and engineering along with identifying potential geohazards and benthic habitats.

Survey, positioning and data management firm UTEC, part of the Acteon Group, is targeting the offshore wind survey and inspection market with a new uncrewed surface vessel (USV).Torsten Marten, lead surveyor, UTEC, outlined the new design at the Marine Autonomous Technology Showcase (MATS), at the National Oceanography Center (NOC) in Southampton, UK, early November.It’s a 12m-long, “DP equivalent” catamaran design, developed to offer a stable platform for survey and inspection operations…

The shared capacity, indefinite delivery contract will support USACE Civil Works projects to help advance navigation safety, dredging, flood control and hurricane response.The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District awarded eTrac, a Woolpert Company, with an architect-engineer contract to provide hydrographic surveying and mapping services within the Galveston District and potentially the USACE Southwest Division. The five-year, Multiple Award Task Order Contract has a total shared capacity of $13 million.

Today, despite an abundance of market challenges and supply chain headaches, many of America’s police and fire boat builders are in possession of the shipyard holy grail: a healthy backlog.Dave Hunt, business development and project manager for Theodore, Ala. based Silver Ships said vessel orders from police and fire agencies have been on the rise and that the expectation is that this trend will continue. “Between vessels delivered and in production, we have seen a year over year increase steadily since 2017; particularly the last two years.

The decades long mystery of a missing U.S. Coast Guard Ship has finally been solved. U.S. Revenue Cutter (USRC) Bear, lost at sea in 1963, has been found on the seafloor about 90 miles south of Cape Sable, Nova Scotia, NOAA Rear Adm. Nancy Hann announced Thursday.Widely considered one of the most historically significant ships in American history, Bear was purchased by the U.S. government and first put into service by the U.S. Navy as part of the rescue fleet for the Greely Expedition to the Arctic in 1884, attaining legendary status for the rescue of the expedition's few survivors.

Investigators have located a Boeing 737-200 cargo jet that made an emergency water landing off the Hawaiian island of Oahu in the Pacific Ocean on July 2, the National Transportation Safety Board said on Friday.Transair Flight 810 was found approximately 2 miles offshore from Ewa Beach. The major components of the airplane -- the aft fuselage including both wings and tail along with both engines, and forward fuselage -- were located on the sea floor at depths between 360 and 420 feet…

The British Royal Navy said it has taken delivery of its third and final autonomous minehunting boat.RNMB Hebe, named after the ancient Greek goddess of youth, joins sister vessels Harrier and Hazard as part of the Royal Navy’s crewless minehunting program Project Wilton. Together, the three vessels are key components in the future of minehunting operations for the navy. The boats are capable of working in different configurations – manually, remotely or autonomously – to detect…

While the adoption of unmanned/uncrewed surfaces vessels (USVs) was initially in defence, use of these low footprint systems has spread into other sectors, not least survey, and now the race is on for greater capability, endurance and autonomy. Elaine Maslin reports.After starting small, in inland waterways, use of USVs for survey operations has moved into coastal and now offshore waters. Given the extensive amount of seabed and rapid growth in offshore wind, there’s plenty of work out there for them to do.With the travel restrictions posed by Covid and increasing awareness of climate change…

Pascagoula, Miss. shipbuilder Halter Marine has been awarded a $149,053,160 fixed-price-incentive (firm target) modification to definitize contract number N00024-19-C-2208 for the detail design and construction of one oceanographic survey ship (T-AGS 67), the U.S. Department of Defense announced on Friday.The shipyard has delivered the seven previous survey ships in the Pathfinder-class, the first of which, USNS Pathfinder (T-AGS-60), entered service in 1994. Today, six of the ships are still operational, including the newest ship, USNS Maury (T-AGS-66), commissioned in 2016.Owned by the U.S.

California-based boatbuilder Moose Boats has delivered a new fireboat to the Rochester, N.Y. Fire Department. The M2-38, dubbed Marine 1, is the first Moose in the Great Lakes. With a roof monitor, a cockpit monitor, a 5” large diameter hose Storz discharge, and the ability to pump over 1,500 gallons per minute, this boat will offer greatly increased capabilities to the city and its surrounding communities, the builder said.Rochester Fire Department's new boat has an extended walk-around cabin configured with three shock-mitigating crew seats…

The U.S. Navy last week retrieved one of its crashed helicopters from 19,075 feet below the surface of the North Pacific, setting a record for the deepest aircraft recovery at sea.The helicopter, a twin engine Sikorsky Seahawk, crashed off the coast of Okinawa, Japan last year while operating from the amphibious command ship USS Blue Ridge (LCC-19). The air crew was able to escape the MH-60S before it sank and no lives were lost in the accident.Responding to a U.S. Pacific Command Fleet request…

Back in 2017, Ocean Infinity made a novel move; deploying six autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), instead of just one, from a single vessel, vastly increasing the ground that could be covered in a single survey. Now the firm is taking the use of remote, robotic systems a significant step further.Back in 2017, Ocean Infinity made a novel move; deploying six autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs), instead of just one, from a single vessel, vastly increasing the ground that could be covered in a single survey.

Shipbuilder Metal Shark has delivered two of three new welded-aluminum “50 Defiant” monohull pilothouse fireboats to Miami-Dade Fire Rescue (MDFR).Designed by Metal Shark’s in-house engineering team and built to Lloyds Registry Standard, the welded-aluminum monohull pilothouse fireboats “FB-21” and “FB-73” were acquired to boost MDFR’s maritime firefighting capability and will replace existing vessels in its fleet.Compared to MDFR’s outgoing vessels, the new 55’ x 17.5’ Metal Shark fireboats offer faster speeds enabling shorter response times…

Paramount Maritime launched its second of three next-generation Survey Motor Boats (SMBs) for the South African Navy in a move that will enhance the capabilities and infrastructure of the South African Navy Hydrographic Office (SANHO). This follows the launch of the first Survey Motor Boat to the South African Navy in August 2020.Veecraft Marine, a subsidiary of Paramount Maritime, had been tasked with the design and manufacture of the three Survey Motor Boats, all of which having taken place in their shipyard in Cape Town…

Ocean mapping at scale is the target of a new unmanned systems player started by two ex-US Navy SEALS. They have big ambitions, from new building unmanned vehicles to creating the intelligence that will drive them to changing how accessible ocean data is. Elaine Maslin learned more. The pace of change in the ocean mapping space has been fast in recent years. New entrants have come into the scene offering “force multiplier” mapping using autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and unmanned surface vessels (USVs).

Work is underway to retrieve dozens of containers lost from a containership off the coast of Australia, with the first boxes raised to the surface this week. The first container was recovered from the seafloor on Monday using a hydraulic crane and rigging, remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROV) and a specially manufactured steel basket, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority said. Another two boxes were lifted in the days following.The recovered containers are among more than 80 lost from containership YM Efficiency in the Tasman Sea…

U.S.-based marine data acquisition services company TDI-Brooks said it recently mapped the Liberty Ship George Vancouver off Freeport, Texas while out on a seabed survey project with the R/V Brooks McCall. The multiple multi-phase geophysical and geotechnical site surveys program consisted of pipeline routing and subsea structures to facilitate route and project design for offshore developers.Equipment used to map the ship was a Teledyne Reson SeaBat T-20 multibeam sonar with integrated Applanix POSMV for Motion.

Paramount Maritime, a Paramount Group company, said it has launched the first of three next-generation Survey Motor Boats (SMBs) to the South African Navy in continued support of its programs to enhance the capabilities and infrastructure of the South African Navy Hydrographic Office (SANHO).In addition to the three Survey Motor Boats to be delivered to the South African Navy Hydrographic Office (SANHO), this program also provides for the delivery of a Hydrographic Survey Vessel and a Sea Boat as well as a third…

The search for the Argentinian submarine was like hunting for the proverbial needle in a hay stack, except that it was a piece of straw. Elaine Maslin reports. At 7.19am, local time, on November 15, 2017, the last message was received from the San Juan submarine. She belonged to the Argentinian navy and was on a routine mission from Ushuaia in the Patagonia region to Mar del Plata in Buenos Aires province when she lost contact with the military. Fifteen days later, neither the submarine nor any debris had been found and the crew of 44 sailors were presumed dead.

The US Coast Guard said it is searching for a crew member missing from a vessel that sank in the La Quinta Channel near Ingleside, Texas, Tuesday morning.Two men were reported to be working on board the vessel Cristi when it sank approximately 100 yards north of Ingleside Point at 10:30 a.m.One crew member was recovered by a good Samaritan vessel with no reported medical concern, the Coast Guard said.Coast Guard air and boat crews are searching for the second crew member with…