Survey Systems News

The November edition of Marine News magazine highlighted a selection of the most notable American newbuilds delivered of 2023—from a first-of-its-kind green towboat, to the lead vessel in a series of game-changing ships to train U.S. mariners.Empire StateAs the lead vessel in a series of five new training ships being constructed to serve America's state maritime academies, Empire State is easily one of the most important U.S.-built vessels delivered in recent memory.Built by Philly Shipyard for the U.S.

Bellingham, Wash. shipbuilder All American Marine (AAM) announced it has delivered a new research and hydrographic survey vessel for NV5-Geodynamics. The vessel was sea-trialed on Bellingham Bay, prior to shipping via cargo ship to its homeport of Beaufort, N.C.Built to service the growing offshore wind market as well as accomplish many other scientific survey missions, Shackleford is a 73- by 26.7-foot semi-displacement aluminum catamaran developed by Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand.

Autonomous technology is adding value to the offshore wind (OSW) industry, its supply chains and government policy with the potential to deliver benefits such as increased operational efficiency and safety, and reductions in human error and operational costs. With the unique needs for wind leases and their relative close proximity to shore, a wider group of systems and technologies can be deployed.A developing regulatory landscapeAutonomous technology is the result of rapid advancements in sensors and imaging, vessel connectivity, machine learning, and more.

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…

As COVID-19 and a historically weak energy market wreaks havoc on maritime, Takeshi Okamoto, Corporate Officer and General Manager of Public Relations Team, ClassNK, tells Maritime Reporter & Engineering News in its May 2020 edition that the pandemic will effectively help to fast track portions of its ClassNK Digital Grand Design 2030 strategy, particularly "where we have a great interest in expanding evaluation methodologies using digital technology to substitute the current physical evaluation methods."Takeshi Okamoto was part of Maritime Reporter's report on 'Class'…

Classification Society ClassNK has released “Guidelines for Remote Surveys” in preparation for carrying out remote surveys using ICT (Information and Communication Technology). The guidelines outline requirements to apply to remote surveys for some types of occasional surveys, and from now on ClassNK will implement remote surveys that satisfy the requirements.ClassNK has been working on the advancement of surveys using digital technology in research and development in line with their R&D roadmap developed in 2017.

Oceaneering International announced Monday that it has taken delivery of a newbuild subsea construction support vessel, Ocean Evolution, built by BAE Systems in the US.The US-flagged, Jones Act-compliant multi-service vessel (MSV) has completed sea trials and received all necessary ABS and U.S. Coast Guard certifications and is currently in Port Fourchon, La., completing final outfitting and preparing for project work scheduled to begin in June.Oceaneering said the vessel is designed…

Newbuild shallow draft survey vessel Fugro Americas was delivered to Fugro on March 18, 2015. Built by Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors in Louisiana, with supervision by Fugro Marine Services Custom, the new vessel is designed to Fugro’s specifications, fitted with the latest geophysical survey equipment and houses some of the most advanced instrumentation in the field, Fugro noted. The Fugro Americas is optimized for working in the Gulf of Mexico, but is also suited for operations in other geographical areas…

An additional Fugro vessel has been commissioned to carry out underwater search activities for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the company announced. Multipurpose offshore survey vessel Fugro Supporter is on its way to the Southern Indian Ocean search area, having conducted trials in Bali. The vessel is equipped with a Kongsberg HUGIN 4500 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) which will be used to scan those portions of the search area that cannot be searched effectively by the equipment on other vessels.

DOF Subsea, a subsidiary of DOF ASA, reported it has been awarded several new and extended existing contracts by clients in the Asia Pacific region.   According to DOF Subsea, the contract awards will improve the utilization of the vessels Skandi Hercules and Skandi Hawk during the first half of 2015, with an additional approximately four months. The scope of work includes project management and engineering, subsea construction, FPSO moorings and deep water survey systems installation work.

The Ocean Class Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) vessel hull number 27 started its official life as the R/V Neil Armstrong, the first research vessel named after a space explorer. The ship was designed by Guido Perla and Associates and built at Dakota Creek Industries (DCI). R/V Neil Armstrong will replace the R/V Knorr, in service since 1968, one year before Armstrong’s walk on the moon. The R/V Knorr, AGOR-15, is retiring after logging over one million miles in service to the Navy and WHOI.

A division of the Unique Maritime Group (UMG) which is one of the world’s leading integrated turnkey subsea and offshore solution providers, Unique System FZE in conjunction with HYPACK Inc. has successfully conducted HYPACK’s hydrographic & offshore survey training course at its training centre in Hamriyah Free Zone, Sharjah, UAE. As a precursor to this hugely popular course, a string of training topics, both technical and operational remarkably influencing the current market trends in the survey industry were also discussed as a part of the training schedule. The training courses were held from the 16th to the 27th of November 2014. HYPACK is one of the most widely used hydrographic surveying packages in the world, with more than 4,000 users.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has awarded Fugro an additional contract for the deployment of two specialist vessels, equipment and expertise in the deepwater search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 (MH370). Fugro will mobilize its vessels Fugro Equator and Fugro Discovery, both fitted with specialist deep tow survey systems for the work. Since June, the Fugro Equator has been involved in the bathymetric survey of the search area. Fugro and ATSB expect the Fugro Discovery to begin the deep tow search late September with Fugro Equator joining shortly thereafter.

Novacavi reported a second supply of marine cables used in the Costa Concordia shipwrecking salvage operation off the shore of the island of Giglio, Italy. As the first delivery successfully performed during the parbuckling phase, Novacavi was called in again to provide high tech custom tailored cables for the positioning and survey systems in use in the progressing operation of Concordia wreck removal. Individually designed, tested and manufactured to be suitable for their specific application, these customized marine cables further broadened Aquancable, the wide range of specialist bespoke cables for maritime and underwater technologies made by Novacavi. novacavi.it

The world’s move north to the Arctic for the exploration of energy resources has attracted global attention of Arctic and non-Arctic states. The newest player: China, which last month announced its plan to design and build its first ever Polar Research Vessel. The plan has been organized by State Oceanic Administration (SOA),China, Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAA)  and the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) to build a new icebreaking research vessel to meet the country’s increased need of polar scientific research.

A plan has been organized by State Oceanic Administration (SOA),China, Chinese Arctic and Antarctic Administration (CAA)  and the Polar Research Institute of China (PRIC) to build an advanced new icebreaking research vessel to meet the increased need of polar scientific research. The new vessel will be equipped with advanced scientific equipment for polar oceans research. The integrated survey systems include marine geological and geophysical equipment,  marine biological and ecological instruments. Meanwhile, helicopters with associated systems will also be provided. For the integrated environmental science programs the vessel will have marine and atmospheric observing and sampling capabilities closely related with climate change monitoring.

The most recent Loop Current eddy to halt operations in the Gulf of Mexico with 4.0+ knot currents shows no sign of letting up any time soon. In support of multiple projects, Horizon Marine has mobilized three of its ocean current monitoring systems to provide fine-scale monitoring of Eddy Hadal*, the latest eddy to shed from the Loop. This large, vigorous oceanographic feature has impacted operators in Mississippi Canyon, Green Canyon, and Walker Ridge since June. Over the years, the Loop Current and associated eddies have cost the offshore industry millions of dollars with operators reporting downtime as 'Waiting on Currents'. The Fast Automated Survey Technology (FAST) Eddy survey systems…

As Arctic ice recedes, countries are looking forward to faster, safer and more efficient sea routes across the top of the world. Responding to a request from the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska Maritime Pilots and the commercial shipping industry, NOAA sent one of its premier surveying vessels, NOAA Ship Fairweather, to detect navigational dangers in critical Arctic waters that have not been charted for more than 50 years. Fairweather, whose homeport is Ketchikan, Alaska, will spend July and August examining seafloor features, measuring ocean depths and supplying data for updating NOAA’s nautical charts spanning 350 square nautical miles in the Bering Straits around Cape Prince of Wales.

principle. of other survey systems. and a Display Unit. inertial sensor device. Ethernet. information and push buttons for user control and command. dynamics as with traditional gyrocompasses. advanced phase measurements. provides yaw information. determination until the GPS signals become reliable again. ensure accurate, continuous and robust heading information. of turn.

Master Class Seminars has announced the hosting of the Offshore Survey Training Seminar, October 21 through October 25, 2002. The workshop will be held in West Houston, at a venue to be announced shortly. The course is being offered in response to a high level of demand for advanced and hands-on offshore survey training, and will include instruction on the theoretical, operational and data processing aspects of surface and underwater positioning, seabed mapping; geodesy and coordinate systems. There will also be talks on the latest concepts and technologies associated with GPS, inertial systems, and the relevance of GIS for offshore applications.

Vosper Thorneycroft has won a $205 million British government contract to build two new specialist warships, safeguarding 800 jobs at the Appledore Shipyard. The multi-role Hydrographic and Oceanographic survey vessels are due to enter service in 2002 and 2003. The new 3,500 ton ships will be equipped with the latest survey systems, including multi-beam echo sounders and modern side sonars as well as advanced navigation and communications systems.

Dutch engineering consultancy Fugro NV said that, together with Boeing Co. and Oceaneering International, it had sealed a partnership to provide underwater survey services. The venture combines the marine experience of Houston-based Oceaneering, an advanced applied technology company, Fugro and the unmanned vehicle and autonomous guidance technology of Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company. The underwater services, to be provided initially for oil and gas exploration and telecommunications markets, will be available by the end of this year. The vehicle should eventually replace towed survey systems that are currently used to collect data.

Wynn Marine has won the contract to supply the wiper systems to two new survey vessels being built at Appledore Shipbuilders in Devon, U.K. The survey vessels, HMS Enterprise and HMS Echo, and will be fitted with Wynn's Straight line wiper system. The Oceanographic Survey Vessels will be 90m in length with around 3,500 tonnes displacement and are due to enter service in 2002 and 2003. HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise will represent an enhancement of the capabilities of the Royal Navy's Survey Squadron. The new 3,500 tonne ships will be equipped with the latest survey systems, including multi-beam echo sounders and modern side sonars, as well as advanced navigation and communication systems.