Technology Strategy News

Subsea services company DeepOcean and the Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP have agreed to "pioneer" the use of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) for subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) and survey work.The first USV is planned to be ready for offshore operations from 2025, when it will go on an eight-year charter agreement with DeepOcean from specialist provider USV AS."Aker BP and DeepOcean already cooperate under a frame agreement for subsea IMR and survey work, and Aker BP has contributed to the development of the USV.

Three marine industry partners are working to develop a concept for a high-speed internal combustion engine for ships that can run on green methanol in a CO2-neutral manner.Rolls-Royce, Woodward L’Orange and WTZ Roßlau have been working since the beginning of 2023 on the new joint project “MeOHmare”, which is receiving eight million euros in funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Climate Protection.Dr. Daniel Chatterjee, responsible for technology strategy and sustainability at alliance coordinator Rolls-Royce Power Systems…

Defense and technologies company HII announced on Monday that Todd Borkey has been promoted to executive vice president and chief technology officer, effective immediately and reporting directly to HII President and CEO Chris Kastner.The move comes during a time of technological advancement for HII and expands the scope of responsibilities for Borkey, who has served as chief technology officer of HII’s Mission Technologies division since 2021. In his new role, Borkey will oversee the company’s technology strategy…

Mercury Marine, a division of Brunswick Corporation (NYSE: BC), has named Perissa Millender Bailey Vice President and General Manager, eSolutions. This new position on Mercury’s leadership team will be responsible for leading the company’s electrification business and product development strategy.Millender Bailey joins Mercury following an 18-year career with Ford Motor Company, most recently serving as the company’s global technology strategy and planning director. At Ford, she spearheaded electric vehicle user experience…

Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics, a developer of autonomous command and control systems for commercial vessels, announced Monday that it has hired Trevor Vieweg as chief technology officer (CTO), reporting to the company’s CEO Michael G. Johnson. Effective earlier this month, this new position gives Vieweg responsibility for the company’s overarching technology strategy, as well as continuing to develop a high-performing team focused on the development of advanced marine technology.

The Scottish energy group Xodus Group has appointed Phil Cooper as a new corporate development director to support the continued growth of the company.The Aberdeen-based international energy consultancy said in a press release that Cooper has more than 35 years of experience and was most recently London general manager at Heerema Marine Contractors where he led a team of engineers engaged in heavy lift and subsea technical activities.Previously, he was the global technology director at INTECSEA and was responsible for defining and delivering its technology strategy.This new role will see Cooper strengthen the Xodus leadership team as the business enters a new phase of growth in the UK and beyond…

Environmental regulations are the main driver in reducing these emissions worldwide. Although until recently ECA zones were limited to a few areas, the IMO has now decided to limit SOx emissions worldwide and by 2020 all newbuilds will have to comply with its new regulations. The challenge for the shipping industry, however, is not only to comply with the IMO 2020 sulfur cap but also to catch up with the planning of the regulation by identifying and implementing the solutions…

Seaspan has named three new Vice Presidents to its Senior Leadership Team, announcing the appointments of Linda Wortman as Vice President, Finance & Accounting; Catherine Chick as Vice President, Business Services & Technology; and Shawn Chylinski as Vice President, Health, Safety, Environment & Quality. As Vice President, Finance & Accounting, Linda is responsible for strategic financial oversight of the marine division and corporate services. She is a key advisor to the CFO and Executive Leadership Team and ensures information and metrics are available to inform value added business decisions. Linda joined Seaspan in 2008 as Controller, Marine and was appointed to the role of Vice President, Finance & Accounting in January 2016.

QinetiQ’s ship and submersible design software, Paramarine, has been used by Mojo Maritime to design an offshore construction vessel for the marine renewables sector. The Hi Flo 4 (HF4) is a dynamic positioning vessel capable of operating in extreme coastal and continental shelf environments, designed with the support of InnovateUK (formerly the Technology Strategy  Board). Mojo Maritime recently won the Best Tidal Industry Collaboration Award at the 8th International Tidal Energy Summit for its leadership of the HF4 R&D consortium…

Navy Unveils Firefighting Robot Prototype at Naval Tech EXPO. Scientists unveiled a firefighting robot prototype Feb. 4 at the Naval Future Force Science & Technology EXPO, revealing details about its successful demonstrations last fall. The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR), sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), walked across uneven floors, used thermal imaging to identify overheated equipment, and used a hose to extinguish a small fire in a series of experiments Nov. 3-5, 2014 aboard the USS Shadwell, a decommissioned Navy vessel.

Scientists unveiled a firefighting robot prototype Feb. 4 at the Naval Future Force Science & Technology EXPO, revealing details about its successful demonstrations last fall. The Shipboard Autonomous Firefighting Robot (SAFFiR), sponsored by the Office of Naval Research (ONR), walked across uneven floors, used thermal imaging to identify overheated equipment, and used a hose to extinguish a small fire in a series of experiments Nov. 3-5, 2014 aboard the USS Shadwell, a decommissioned Navy vessel. Developed by researchers at Virginia Tech, the two-legged, or bipedal, humanoid robot is helping ONR evaluate the applications of unmanned systems in damage control and inspections aboard naval vessels…

The world’s first marine engine to be run using the exceptionally clean fuel of glycerine will be on display at Seawork 2014 together with a seminar session entitled ‘Will my ship/workboat run on this?’ where interested parties can find out more about the fuel’s possibilities for use in the marine sector. The Cummins marine engine will be on display throughout the exhibition on the Alicat workboat on berth V28, courtesy of Gardline Marine Services, who are partners in the GLEAMS (Glycerine Fuel for Engines and Marine Sustainability) project, and Dalby Offshore, the vessel’s new owners.

The Technology Strategy Board GLEAMS project is currently investigating technology by which marine vessels will be able to surpass the very highest regulatory standards required for sulphur and nitrous oxide emissions, as well as slashing their carbon emissions and potentially reducing fuel costs. One solution may be the use of glycerol, (commonly glycerine), as a fuel for marine diesel engines. There is a global oversupply of glycerol, a by-product of the expanding biofuel industry.

The Whatever Input to Torsion Transfer (WITT) transmission system is unique and capable of collecting chaotic movement in any direction to turn it into useable power. The Technology Strategy Board award for Vessel Efficiency is the first of its kind and follows successful testing of the device in the Wave Tank at Plymouth University and in Plymouth Sound, UK. The project, Energy Harvesting Technology from Vessel Motion, will be led by A&P Falmouth Limited, with Devon-based Supacat…

WaveSentry, a Technology Strategy Board funded project backed by a consortium of industry and academic experts, successfully concluded at the end of April with an event to present the key outcomes of the project explore technologies and opportunities for further development of wave measurement and maritime forecasting. The WaveSentry project consortium aimed to develop a new information and forecasting tool for managing the risks of marine operations in adverse sea states. Delegates…

Marine operations such as offshore oil and gas operations, renewable energy projects and shipping depend on high quality information on sea-state (wave height, period, direction, steepness) for economic and safety decision making. The information currently available is based on atmospheric/ocean models and lacks sufficient temporal and spatial resolution. “Wave conditions are always changing and can vary tremendously over a period of a few hours”, said Chelsea’s Technical Manager, Paul Bolton.

Maritime CCS "feasible, and can reduce emissions by 65%", says DNV and PSE. Det Norske Veritas (DNV), a leading classification society, and Process Systems Enterprise Ltd. (PSE), a global provider of advanced process modelling technology, today have released the results of the Maritime CCS (carbon capture and storage) research and development project. The project has successfully developed a concept design for on-board chemical CO2 capture. The system consists of a chemical absorption plant that separates CO2 from flue gases…

IMarEST Ship Propulsion Systems Conference speaker explains the government's new initiative in advance of upcoming meeting. The UK Government’s Technology Strategy Board (TSB) is shortly to announce the launch of a competition into vessel efficiency, with up to £8 million of funding available, opening for expressions of interest in January 2013. In view of the theme of the 3rd IMarEST Ship Propulsion Systems Conference (London, 20-21 November 2012), Andrew Tate, Capability Advisor – Maritime Resilience, DSTL Naval Systems has joined the speakers’ panel to explain the initiarive. “Central funding of marine research and development is limited in the current market…

GL Garrad Hassan signs MOU with Taiwanese Industrial Technology Research Institute to develop Taiwan's offshore energy strategy. The offshore wind resource around the Taiwanese coast is considered excellent, with more than 6,000MW potential capacity at water depths of less than 50m. Earlier this year the Taiwanese government announced an extensive plan to speed up the deployment of offshore wind farm and promote green energy economics. Beginning with a demonstration project in 2015, offshore installation is planned to ramp up over the coming years and reach 1000 turbines and 3000MW by 2030.

Engineering company OSBIT Power (OP) has been confirmed as a successful bidder to a major Government scheme to support manufacturers developing next generation offshore wind technology. OP, based in Riding Mill, Northumberland has been awarded a £615,000 grant to help develop its MaXccess offshore wind access technology to facilitate safe personnel transfer from the larger dynamically-positioned vessels expected to be used on future offshore wind projects. “The coalition is determined to drive ambitious green growth, and this is putting our money where our mouth is,” said Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker. “This cash shows that we are delivering on our commitment to support innovation and offshore wind.

Proven executive to build upon Company’s leadership position and growth. Purfresh, Inc., a provider of ocean transport and supply chain management technologies that optimize the quality and safety of fresh produce as it moves around the world from the farm to the consumer, announced the appointment of Dr. Brian Westcott as president and chief executive officer. A results-driven leader with more than 25 years of experience in operations, strategic management, and corporate development for both Fortune 500 and early stage companies, Dr.

Chelsea Sensor equipment to be fitted to French ferry to progress WaveSentry sea-state forecasting project. Novel sensors, provided by the Chelsea Technologies Group are to be fitted to a cross-channel ferry to collect vessel motion data as part of the WaveSentry project which is being managed by Marine South East. This motion data will be processed to derive certain indirect sea-state measurements which will be merged with a range of other data feeds within the WaveSentry sea-state measurement and forecasting system.

Inmarsat (LSE:ISAT) has announced the commercial availability of a new voice distress service on FleetBroadband. The free-to-use service ensures that, in the event of an emergency, all non-priority telephone calls underway on the vessel’s FleetBroadband are interrupted, connecting the caller directly to a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC). The new voice distress service requires a simple software and hardware add-on, which provides a ‘red button’ for one-touch easy use. The new service also utilises the enhanced capability of the FleetBroadband network, as it simultaneously sends an email to the MRCC and network controllers to alert them to a call, providing additional data such as vessel name, identification and position.