Qinetiq Maritime News

The 2014 Maritime Innovation Award, given jointly by the Royal Institution of Naval Architects and QinetiQ, has been presented to Subsea Industries for the product Ecolock. The Maritime Innovation Award is presented to an individual or organisation in recognition of outstanding scientific or technological research in hydrodynamics, propulsion, structures and material which offers the potential to make significant improvements in the design, construction and operation of marine vessels and structures. Increasingly, offshore vessels such as FPSOs, FSOs, FLRSUs and others used for offshore oil and gas exploration, drilling, storage and transport need to stay out of drydock for 15, 25 even 40 years.

Former Vice-Admiral and Commander-in-chief of the German Navy Hans-Joachim Stricker, President of the German Maritime Institute (DMI), believes that in terms of security the industry is headed in the right direction. But challenges remain. Safety First: Shipping is no exception. Keeping people and property out of harm's way not only means complying with onboard technical safety regulations, training ship crews and providing rescue equipment. It also means addressing external threats from terrorism and piracy, which continue to be a major challenge for shipping.

At the forthcoming SMM maritime trade fair in Hamburg in September 2014 experts will present new security concepts for sea routes. Security at sea is improving: In recent months, pirate attacks on commercial ships have been repelled successfully with increasing frequency. One of the reasons is the EU-led Operation Atalanta providing military protection in the Gulf of Aden. Since 1, February 2009 commercial ships have been able to use a Transit Corridor established there. International naval units escort containerships or gas tankers through this corridor.

QinetiQ Maritime’s Paramarine ship and submersible design software has been selected by the Australian Maritime College (AMC) to use as part of their maritime engineering training program. Through AMC’s National Center for Maritime Engineering and Hydrodynamics, the software will assist students on a four-year Bachelor of Engineering degree that is accredited by Engineers Australia and recognized worldwide. “We selected Paramarine not only because of its extensive range of capabilities and functionality but also because it is so widely used by ship and submarine builders and designers around the world. We also wanted to ensure our students had exposure to and experience in using the design software used and recommended by many of our industry partners including the Australian DOD…

QinetiQ Maritime’s Paramarine software, a ship and submersible design tool, has released its latest version of software including a number of new capabilities. The new functionality in Paramarine V8, developed by QinetiQ GRC, is intended to further meet the needs of commercial ship designers and builders, whilst reinforcing its capabilities in the naval market. A major addition in the latest version of Paramarine is the introduction of probabilistic damage modeling and assessment, a requirement for all passenger and cargo vessels. Coupled with its innate parametric functionality and a flexible reporting system, Paramarine aims to deliver…

QinetiQ Maritime contracted by UK'sMinistry of Defence (MOD) to research co-ordinated defence against attacks on Royal Naval ships. The contract is to carry out research into the co-ordinated defence of the Royal Navy fleet against the emerging threat of attacks from small, fast and agile boats that might be used by pirates, terrorists or other hostile forces. The contract has been awarded by the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), a trading fund of the MoD which maximises the impact of science and technology for UK defence and security. The research brings together two innovative concepts from QinetiQ with the potential to deliver an integrated solution for the Royal Navy to counter the small boat threat.

QinetiQ is supporting the MOD in testing new composite materials for the UK submarine fleet using its recently re-commissioned and refitted Hyperbaric Trials Unit (HTU). The HTU forms part of an array of specialist equipment housed in QinetiQ’s Diving and Hyperbaric Test Center based in Haslar, Portsmouth. The use of composite materials in the construction of submarines has a number of advantages, including the need for less maintenance which delivers a reduction in operating costs. Composite materials also  provide the opportunity to reduce the acoustic signature of a submarine. As part of an on-going program  composite materials are tested by the MOD to develop new approaches and designs.

QinetiQ’s Ocean Basin provides the perfect platform for the successful testing and commercial demonstration of an innovative semi-submersible. QinetiQ, a world leading provider of a range of maritime services, has provided test and demonstration facilities for MSV Explorer, an innovative sea going semi-submersible. MSV Explorer is the brainchild of Chris Garner and has been designed to support a wide range of marine activities and applications including film making and documentaries, surveying, security and defence, treasure hunting and marine conservation.