Sonsub 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…

An experienced figure in the subsea sector has been appointed Managing Director of DOF Subsea UK. Giovanni Corbetta, who was most recently Managing Director with Hallin Marine, will lead the company’s transformation from vessel operator to provider of integrated subsea solutions for the market from its headquarters in Aberdeen. In total, Giovanni has more than 22 years of experience in the subsea sector and has also worked with major companies including Sonsub and Saipem. His expertise encompasses areas such as international project management…

Massimo Fontolan, of Saipem Ltd., takes on the role of President of the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA). Mr. Fontolan is currently Vice President Commercial, North Atlantic and Arctic at Saipem Ltd. In addition to becoming President of IMCA, he also becomes Chairman of the association's Overall Management Committee (OMC), having served as Vice President of IMCA for the past two years. He is a Civil Engineer with a degree in hydromechanics and quick to point…

InterMoor Marine Services Ltd., an Acteon company, has completed a Saipem UK Ltd. (Sonsub Division) contract to perform positioning and heading control for the hook-up operations of a new floating production, storage and offloading(FPSO) unit in a depth of 815 meters in the Aquila Field, Adriatic Sea, Italy. Initiated in August 2010, the agreement included carrying out FPSO positioning and heading control analyses; analyzing optimized anchor handling scenarios for the FPSO mooring hook-up; and producing marine and survey procedures.

Hallin Marine, a Superior Energy Services Company, has appointed a new managing director for its West Division as it grows the capability and assets of its Aberdeen-based operation. Hallin has promoted Giovanni Corbetta to the Managing Director’s role after he distinguished himself as the division’s projects director. Giovanni has strong, industry-wide experience and is considered ideal to lead Hallin’s expansion in the region as it continues its growth from ROV operations to an integrated subsea contractor. Hallin’s West Division has successfully operated a large fleet of ROV vehicles in the northern hemisphere and is emulating the success of the company’s Singapore-based East Division as it adds specialist DP2 vessels, saturation and air diving and engineering to its offering.

Sonsub Inc. announces the promotion of David Sheetz to vice president of operations. Sheetz has been with Sonsub for almost 12 years and has served mostly in operational roles, starting as an ROV technician, progressing through Supervisor to Offshore Superintendent. As vice president operations, Sheetz will take responsibility for execution of all offshore projects undertaken by Sonsub Inc. This role within the Sonsub organization has recently taken on more responsibility and added complexity due to the expansion of Sonsub into more complex and comprehensive subsea construction contracting, including the management of long term vessel charters.

Sonsub has been awarded a contract by Shell Exploration & Production Company for ROV/Survey vessel support during the export pipeline and flowline construction phase of the Na Kika project. Tasks will include pipeline and flowline touchdown monitoring, setting acoustic arrays, sled deployment and assisting in the installation of SCRs at the host facility. Additional responsibilities for Sonsub comprise flowline and well jumper metrology, installation of span rectification measures and conducting an as-built survey of all export pipelines and flowlines. Located approximately 144 miles southeast of New Orleans, La., the Na Kika development is composed of 5 independent fields in the Mississippi Canyon area of the Gulf of Mexico, ranging in water depths from 5,800 fsw to 7,000 fsw.

The Kongsberg Simrad supplied integrated positioning & multibeam package used by Thales GeoSolutions and Sonsub in a detailed survey of the Prestige tanker wreck has produced several industry firsts. Phase I of the Prestige site survey was carried out to examine the integrity of the vessel's hull, in order that a decision could be made on how to handle the remaining cargo of oil trapped inside the crippled wreck, which lies on the seabed at a depth of (3,850 m). 4000m rated LBL transponders & ROV HPR transceivers; EM2000, ROV mounted Multi-beam echo sounding system; Hydroacoustic Aided Inertial Navigation (HAIN) system, integrated into the LBL system.

The solution to the pollution problems caused by the wreck of the Prestige oil tanker could be at hand. The main Spanish Oil Company Repsol YPF was appointed by the Spanish Government to find the best solution to extract the remaining fuel in the Prestige wreck. Repsol YPF selected and awarded contracts to the industry experts Thales GeoSolutions and Sonsub to design and build ROVs for the deepwater survey and investigation, and a further contract to Sonsub, in partnership with Thales GeoSolutions, to carry out a deepwater survey, investigation and evaluation study on the wreck of the Prestige oil tanker, which sank in deep water off the coast of Northern Spain in November of 2002 still carrying a substantial amount of heavy fuel oil.

Sonsub announced that, as of February 10, Sonsub’s HOS Innovator and Innovator 09 ROV Crews have accumulated an impressive 250,000 man-hours and over 1,000 days without a lost time incident (LTI). This exceptional accomplishment is the direct result of the dedication, pride, and work ethics the personnel onboard the HOS Innovator have shown time and again. Sonsub wishes to recognize the great cooperation and attitude of Hornbeck Offshore Services, Delta Catering, and the leadership of Sonsub’s Superintendents Rickie Stier and Conrad Picou.

It seems to be a soap opera without an end. "It is crazy…makes no sense at all," is a common observation. If you are in the oil and gas business, the number one question is, "When is the drilling going to pickup?" It is a question without an answer…at least through the first quarter of 2004. "Normally when prices are low and oil rises about $25 a barrel and gas goes above $2.50 per million cubic foot, everybody goes back to work," noted Roy Breaux, Jr., president of Breaux Bay Craft, Loreauville, La. a leading builder of crew/supply boats. "We drill ourselves out of recessions, but not this time, at least not yet" Breaux said. Breaux echoes the sentiment of almost everyone in the industry "The answer must lie in Houston because that's where the decisions on when to drill come…

Sonsub announced that, as of February 10th, its HOS Innovator and Innovator 09 ROV Crews have accumulated an impressive 250,000 man-hours and over 1,000 days without a lost time incident (LTI). This exceptional accomplishment is the direct result of the dedication, pride, and work ethics the personnel onboard the HOS Innovator have shown time and again. Sonsub wishes to recognize the great cooperation and attitude of Hornbeck Offshore Services, Delta Catering, and the leadership of Sonsub’s Superintendents Rickie Stier and Conrad Picou.

What happens to shipwrecks in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and why is the answer so important to the oil and gas industry? A team of world-renowned, multidisciplinary scientists representing the federal government, academia, and industry will begin a biological and archaeological investigation of World War II shipwrecks in the deep waters of the Gulf that will address those questions and many more. Just as the importance of our oceans is being recognized and studied by several independent commissions, this research mission will provide new information to answer questions about some of the least studied areas of the Gulf. The $1.2 million study will take 18 days and employ the use of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to explore selected deepwater shipwrecks.

Sonsub, Inc. has been awarded patent no. 6,350,085 B1 for a cable deployment system and method that is ideally suited to efficiently install 4D seismic cables on the seafloor. This patent allows precise placement of the long seismic cables needed to form large-scale 4D arrays and incorporates a built-in anchor for the second end of the cable as well as an armored riser cable to the surface. The system incorporates direct connection of the seismic cable to the riser cable to the surface and does not require an electrical or fiberoptic swivel. The system is designed to operate with a single ROV, which is used to set the first end of the cable and then monitors the payout of the cable and controls the location of the cable as it is deployed.

There are 2,511 identified pending, probable and possible subsea production wells forecast (base case) worldwide over the next six years. Some 18 percent of these subsea completions will be installed in North America, 30 percent in Africa/Mediterranean, eight percent in Asia-Pacific, 26 percent in the North Sea and 18 percent in Brazil. These subsea projects are in various development stages, including: 23 percent at the pending/construction stage, 11 percent bidding, 9 percent in detailed engineering, 16 percent at the front-end engineering design (FEED) stage, 16 percent of the wells probable and 26 percent possible indicating possible development in the future.

Sonsub Inc. is currently offering time slots for their ROV spread consisting of the HOS Dominator support vessel and the 2500m Triton XL 11 ROV system. Available for work during the time frame of April 21st to June 1st in the Gulf of Mexico, the vessel and ROV spread has been configured for light subsea construction and well intervention flying lead and umbilical installations. Additionally, the spread is well suited for route clearance and trenching of fiber optic and power cables using one of Sonsub's cable/pipeline trenching systems. The HOS Dominator measures 240 x 54 ft., is Class II DP vessel with a 30-ton A-frame. It has accommodations for 36 people, and offers a moon pool, a roll stabilization system, and an optional portable reel and vertical lay ramp system.

Hornbeck-Leevac Marine Services, Inc. announced today that its Board of Directors has approved a new vessel construction program for its wholly-owned subsidiary, Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC. This is the company's third such program since its inception five years ago - the first two were seven and six vessel programs, respectively. The current plan is to build eight additional state-of-the-art, deepwater OSVs, with construction of four 240-ft. DP-2 Class vessels to commence as soon as a definitive agreement has been signed with the selected shipyard. The company has signed a letter of intent for the first four vessels with one of the shipyards currently constructing vessels for Hornbeck and, therefore, anticipates prompt contract execution.

Sonsub’s versatile 240 ft., Class II DP vessel, the HOS INNOVATOR, has completed a its first year of operations in the Gulf of Mexico. During this time the HOS INNOVATOR had no LTI’S (Lost Time Incidents) and held 321 safety/toolbox meetings. These accomplishments are the result of dedicated personnel, technically superior equipment and the help from our established, long-term partners. The vessel, permanently outfitted with a 200 Hp INNOVATORâ ROV and a 36 ton, 75 ft. box boom crane, has assisted with some of the largest projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The HOS INNOVATOR spread has thus far performed tasks including pre-lay pipeline route inspections, pipeline crossing mat installations, pig pushing operations and wellhead change-outs.

The Delaware River Pilots Association recently contracted with Carey's Diesel to repower a vessel with a pair of Isotta Fraschini marine diesel engines, rated at 550 hp @ 2,400 rpm. This is the third vessel the Pilots Association has chosen to repower using Isotta Fraschini engines. The first Isotta Fraschini repowers were two 56,000-lb. vessels named Wilmington and Delaware. Wilmington's two 8V-72T Detroit Diesel two-cycle, eight cylinder engines were replaced with two V1308T2 MLH Isotta Fraschini four-stroke, V-8 cylinder marine diesel engines. Delaware's two 8V-92 Detroit Diesel two-cycle, eight cylinder engines were replaced with a pair of V1312T2 MLH Isotta Fraschini four-stroke, V-12 cylinder marine diesel engines.

Sonsub's newest cable burial and maintenance system, SEDNA, has successfully completed system tests and sea trials off the Louisiana coast at depths exceeding 9,900 ft. The system has been delivered to the CRABSS - Craft for Repair and Burial of Submarine Systems - Maintenance Authorities in Portland, Ore., where it will be on 24-hour callout service to perform cable survey, cable repairs, deburial/burial and maintenance for a period of six years. In-house designed and manufactured, the 500 shp free flying trenching system was built on INNOVATOR technology with ease of maintenance and high system reliability in mind. The ROV Trenching System is capable of constant operations in six knots of current and trenching at speeds of 800 m/hr. in soils with shear strength of up to 80kPa.

In today's fast moving offshore service industry with vessels venturing deeper and deeper into the Gulf of Mexico and to far off oilrigs around the world, communications is more important than ever. Today's offshore service vessels need far more ship-to-ship, ship to shore and even internal ship communications than ever before. "System redundancy is the key to today's state-of-the-art marine communications system", said Karl Beier, president of Beier Radio, Harvey, La. one of the leading suppliers of maritime communications equipment. "Communications backups not only make good sense but SOLAS rules mandate separate communications systems be in place to meet the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS)", Beier added.

In order to continue to serve ongoing client projects in the Gulf of Mexico, Sonsub extended its long term vessel charter with Hornbeck Offshore Services, LLC for the HOS Innovator DP II Vessel for the 2005 season. HOS Innovator -- having worked for Sonsub for almost four years -- equipped with a heavy duty workclass Innovator ROV, has been utilized on several significant projects in the Gulf with works including mattress installation, touchdown monitoring, pre and post lay survey, pod change outs and a variety of other construction related activities.

Sonsub Inc. recently signed a 3 year charter agreement with Otto Candies, LLC for a New Build IMR Construction Vessel. The yet to be named 280ft, Class II DP Vessel includes a 100T tele-knuckle boom crane, a 20’ X 25’ moon pool, accommodations for 66 personnel, and outfitted with one or two 200Hp Innovator ROV systems depending upon the project and client requirements. The vessel will be the first and only US flagged vessel in the GOM capable of supporting subsea construction projects in addition to standard remote intervention and maintenance tasks. The Moon-pool & crane arrangement will allow safe and stable deployment to the seabed on heavy loads, like manifolds, as well as the lay of umbilical and/or coil tubing lines.