Institute Of Marine Research News

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…

Norwegian maritime technology and equipment specialist Kongsberg Maritime will supply Norway’s Institute of Marine Research (IMR) with four autonomous vessels. The scope of supply includes two Kongsberg Maritime Sounder USVs (Unmanned Surface Vehicles) and two KONGSBERG AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles), which will form the practical basis of the institute’s long-term strategy to develop the monitoring and management of marine environments and resources.According to Kongsberg Maritime…

The extent of the continental shelf beyond 200 nautical miles outside Bouvet Island has now been clarified with the Continental Shelf Commission (CSC) in New York.The Commission’s recommendation is in line with Norway’s proposal submitted to the Commission in 2009 and revised in 2015.According to a press note from Norwegian Petroleum Directorate (NPD), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs led the work on the shelf proposal.NPD, which is the State’s authority charged with geotechnical mapping of the continental shelf, has been responsible for preparing the technical and scientific documentation required by the UN Convention on Law of the Sea.

A new icebreaking research vessel built for the Norwegian governmental body for oceanographic research and fishing, was delivered this week in Norway. After the building process was completed at Fincantieri’s Integrated shipyard of Riva Trigoso and Muggiano in Italy, the new vessel, named Kronprins Haakon, sailed to the Vard Langsten shipyard in Norway for final tests and preparation for delivery to the Institute of Marine Research (IMR). The 9,000-gross-ton icebreaker is more than 100 meters long, 21 wide and can reach speeds up to 15 knots. She is able to move independently through ice up to one meter thick. She is built to ensure minimum environmental impact and reduced underwater noise, so as to allow studies on fish and marine mammals.

Rolls-Royce is marking another milestone on the journey toward the completion of Britain’s new polar research vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough being built by Merseyside shipyard Cammell Laird. The last of the vessel’s Bergen B33:45 engines/gensets have been craned into the ship’s hull at Cammell Laird ready to be connected to the RRS Sir David Attenborough’s Rolls-Royce propulsion system. The nine cylinder engines are carefully installed in three separate pieces. The first part of the nine cylinder engine to be craned into place was its double resilient foundation.

A new oceanographic icebreaker being built for the Norwegian government has been launched at Fincantieri’s shipyard in Muggiano, La Spezia. The vessel, Kronprins Haakon, touted by the builder as “one of the most advanced oceanographic icebreakers in the world,” will continue to undergo final outfitting ahead of its delivery by the end of 2017. Kronprins Haakon will be owned by the Norwegian Polar Institute for the Norwegian Government, while the vessel, taking its name from the heir to the Norwegian throne…

Gondan Shipyard in Figueras today launched a new fishery and oceanographic research vessel to be operated by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research of Bergen under a program led by NORAD, FAO and the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The contract for the construction of this oceanographic vessel was signed in March last year and was awarded to Gondan Shipyard through an international tender, in which it competed with eight shipyards in Norway and one in Spain. Designed by the company Skipsteknisk…

Five nations set moratorium on fishing near North Pole; no fish there now, but thaw is drawing stocks north. The United States, Russia and other Arctic nations signed an agreement deal on Thursday to bar their fishing fleets from fast-thawing seas around the North Pole, an agreement delayed more than a year by tensions over Ukraine. The accord, also signed in Oslo by the ambassadors of Canada, Norway and Denmark, is a response to global warming, which is melting sea ice in the central Arctic Ocean, an area the size of the Mediterranean. The central Arctic probably has no commercial fish stocks now, experts say, but melting sea ice may draw fish such as cod farther north. Forty percent of the area was briefly open water when summer sea ice shrank to a record low in 2012.

The new RV Kronprins Haakon, the first Norwegian Icebreaker built for Polar research, and the first purpose built polar research vessel since Roald Amundsen’s Maud launched in 1917, will start regular science cruises in 2017 with a complete hydroacoustic systems package from Kongsberg Maritime. Builder Fincantieri has selected a combined delivery of Kongsberg Maritime survey technology, including a wide range of Simrad scientific research systems for the Kronprins Haakon. Kongsberg Maritime will also supply an extensive K-Bridge system…

Gondan Shipyard has celebrated at its facilities in Figueras the keel laying ceremony of the new Oceanographic Research Vessel for the Institute of Marine Research (IMR) of Bergen, Norway. Several representatives from the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, NORAD (Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation), IMR (Institute of Marine Research) and FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) attended as well as representatives of the shipyard management. The contract of this oceanographic vessel was signed in March last year. This sophisticated ship was awarded to Gondan Shipyard through an international tender, in which it competed with eight Norwegian and a Spanish shipyard, and in March the project was finally awarded to it.

Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract by ship builder Fincantieri to supply a fully integrated propulsion system for Norway’s new Polar Research Vessel, which will carry out significant environmental research at the North and South Poles. The Rolls-Royce system includes gen-sets with a power electric system, a range of thrusters and automation and control systems. The vessel, to be named FF Kronprins Haakon, is a NVC 395 POLAR design from Rolls-Royce ordered by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. Detailed design will be carried out by Fincantieri. It is designed to operate through rough ice conditions, and will be equipped to cover a wide range of marine research operations, such as monitoring fishing stocks, metrological studies, sea floor sampling and mapping.

Rolls-Royce informs it has been awarded a contract by shipbuilder Fincantieri to supply a fully integrated propulsion system for Norway’s new Polar Research Vessel, which will carry out environmental research at the North and South Poles. The Rolls-Royce system includes gensets with a power electric system, a range of thrusters and automation and control systems. The vessel, to be named FF Kronprins Haakon, is a NVC 395 POLAR design from Rolls-Royce ordered by the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. Detailed design will be carried out by Fincantieri.

Climate change is aiding shipping, fisheries and tourism in the Arctic but the economic gains fall short of a "cold rush" for an icy region where temperatures are rising twice as fast as the world average. A first cruise ship will travel the icy Northwest Passage north of Canada in 2016, Iceland has unilaterally set itself mackerel quotas as stocks shift north and Greenland is experimenting with crops such as tomatoes. Yet businesses, including oil and gas companies or mining firms looking north, face risks including that permafrost will thaw and ruin ice roads, buildings and pipelines.

Calecore opened office in Stavanger, Norway. The office is located on the quayside in the city centre with many of Calecore´s Oil and Gas clients within easy walking distance. In addition to serving as a meeting facility for clients, the office will also serve the crucial role of local presence to further strengthen Calecore´s position in the Norwegian market and involvement in the push towards the Barents Sea and the Arctic. “After completing a number of highly successful Norwegian contracts in 2012…

The Hanseatic trading city of Bergen, on the edge of the Norwegian North Sea, has a long maritime tradition. From shipping to aquaculture to offshore oil and gas, this is a city whose economic identity is defined by its ties to the sea. The city is by far Norway´s largest port, with more than 13 million metric tonnes of cargo transported to and from Bergen in 2010. Bergen is also the country´s largest center for aquaculture and marine science research, and is home to the Institute of Marine Research and an active marine science research centre at the University of Bergen.

The Rogaland county public prosecutor notified Statoil on 18 December that it has been fined $4.26m following the oil leak from the Statfjord A loading buoy on 12 December 2007. “We have noted the public prosecutor’s decision,” said Thorstein Hole, vice president for the operations west cluster in Statoil. “We’ve made changes to the way we plan and implement modifications, strengthened the maintenance programme and adopted more secure routines for offshore loading,” Hole said. He notes that more than 20,000 offshore loading operations have been conducted on the NCS over the past 30 years, including 7,000 on Statfjord. “The measures we’ve adopted have enhanced loading robustness and security even further.

Northrop Grumman Corporation's Sperry Marine business unit has been selected to supply a state-of-the-art navigation and communication systems for the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) and University of Bergen's new fisheries research ship in Norway, the G.O. Sars, which is named after a renowned Norwegian marine biologist. X- and S-Band BridgeMaster E 340 ARPA radars, ADG4000 self-tuning autopilot, dual SR2100 fiber optic gyrocompasses, repeaters and steering indicators, and a full A4 GMDSS communications package. The IBS consists of three workstations, which can be configured to display radar, ECDIS or conning information. The 3,800 gross ton vessel, being built at the Flekkefjord Slip & Mek shipyard, is scheduled to enter service in early 2003.