Sea Exploration News

OceanTools is celebrating two projects that highlight their engineering expertise and versatility. From designing subsea pressure housings for a well-known space technology company to creating solutions for the world’s deepest oceans, their housings deliver reliability and resilience in the most extreme environments.A major U.S. space technology company approached OceanTools with detailed specifications, and they designed and built a highly intricate pressure vessel to meet their requirements.

First High-Tech Exploration of Argentina’s Mar del Plata Canyon, Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Remotely Operated Vehicle SuBastian shines light on an offshore canyon in Argentine waters nearly twice as deep as the Grand Canyon — capturing images and video of 40 suspected new species, coral fields, and a seastar that resembled a famous cartoon character.An Argentinian-led expedition on board Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falkor (too) has captured the attention of millions, inspiring a predominantly Argentine audience with live video feeds from the deep seafloor.

Japan will begin test mining for rare-earth-rich mud from the deep seabed off Minamitori Island, some 1,900 kilometres (1,180 miles) southeast of Tokyo, in January next year, the head of the government-backed project said on Friday.Tokyo is seeking to secure stable supplies of critical minerals amid tightening export controls by China, the dominant supplier of rare earths.

The Philippines has deployed a coast guard vessel and an aircraft to challenge and escort a Chinese research ship it said was conducting illegal marine scientific research activities within the country's exclusive economic zone.The Chinese Research Vessel (CRV) Tan Suo 3 was detected entering the country's EEZ on May 1, 2025, around 92 nautical miles off the Philippines' northern Ilocos coast, the PCG said in a statement on Monday."Their irregular movements were deemed inconsistent with the freedom of navigation and indicative of marine scientific research activities, which violate the soverei

The UK's National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has renewed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Royal Navy, reinforcing a long-standing partnership in marine science and technology. The MOU, which includes collaboration with the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the Ministry of Defense (MOD)’s science and technology organization, underscores a shared commitment to fostering innovation and advances in autonomous and robotic underwater systems.With expertise from NOC Innovations…

Oceans worldwide hold untold riches hidden beneath the waves. Now treasure hunters are using  cutting-edge technology to explore them, discovering some of history's most treasured sunken finds from Caribbean waters to Arctic depths rewriting maritime history and uncovering fortunes lost at sea.According to estimates by marine archaeologists and treasure hunting experts, the value of treasure lying beneath the waves could range anywhere between $60 billion to over $100 billion.

KAUST announced that Freire Shipyards will build its new research vessel at its yard in Vigo, Spain. Upon the expected completion in 2026, RV Thuwal II will be the first regional class research vessel for Saudi Arabia and enable complete access to the Red Sea, including coastal waters and the deep sea. The vessel was designed by Glosten (United States), who will continue to provide off-site engineering support during the construction. Maritime Survey International (Australia) was selected as KAUST’s on-site owners' representative and will oversee the day–to-day construction activities.

Esgian provides an update on exploration drilling in its Week 25 Rig Analytics Market Roundup.Report SummaryDrilling Activity and DiscoveriesOslo-listed BlueNord announced on Monday the start-up of drilling operations on the Harald East Middle Jurassic well (HEMJ) in the Danish North Sea.Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) encountered non-commercial hydrocarbons at the Orange #1 exploration well on Mississippi Canyon Block 216 in the US GOM and the well has been plugged and abandoned.

Canadian safety officials on Friday opened an investigation into the undersea implosion of a tourist submersible that killed all five people aboard while diving to the century-old wreck of the Titanic, raising questions about the unregulated nature of such expeditions.A debris field from the submersible Titan was found at the bottom of the North Atlantic on Thursday by a robotic diving vehicle deployed from a Canadian search vessel, ending an intense five-day international rescue effort.Fragments of Titan…

The maritime and scientific community have set themselves the ambitious target to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. Volvo Penta and Danfoss Editron will play a role by powering a novel fleet of unmanned surface robots for subsea exploration.The companies have been commissioned for the unique venture by Grovfjord Mek. Verksted (GMV) shipyard, to power the world’s first fleet of autonomous robot exploration vessels for commercial use. The seafloor analysis and oceanography company Ocean Infinity has invested in the ‘Armada’ fleet of super-advanced unmanned vessels.

The third annual meeting between the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Secretariat and the contractors with deep-sea exploration contracts in the international deep-seabed (the Area) concluded in Changsa, China on Sunday.Delegates gathered at the three-day meeting hosted by China Minmetals from October 11-13 to discuss areas of common interest, and the next steps in moving from exploration to the sustainable development of deep-sea mineral resources.In his remarks at the opening ceremony, ISA Secretary-General Michael W. Lodge highlighted the need to advance the development of regulations for deep-sea mineral exploitation (the Mining code).

The global unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV) market was around USD 2.92 billion in 2018 and is expected to reach approximately USD 7.64 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of slightly above 14.91% between 2018 and 2025.The global unmanned underwater vehicles market is growing, owing to its rising applications in the defense and military sector, scientific research applications, and commercial purposes, said a report from Zion Market Research.Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), also referred to as underwater drones, are vehicles that can operate underwater without any kind of human interference.The rising demand for these vehicles in navel applications for safety and security purposes is another major factor driving the unmanned underwater vehicles market growth.

Norway's Statoil will continue to drill for oil in the Arctic Barents Sea next year even though its 2017 campaign was mostly disappointing, the company's head of exploration told Reuters on Tuesday. Statoil plans to drill between 25 and 30 wells in Norwegian waters in 2018, of which five or six are expected in the Barents and the rest will be split between the North Sea and the Norwegian Sea, which are both located further south. "We have tested a lot of potential there (in 2017)…

China Shipbuilding Industry Corp (CSIC) is developing a manned submersible vehicle, which would be able to dive into Challenger Deep, the deepest point on Earth estimated to be around 10,900m below the surface, Xinhua news agency reported. CSIC is almost done building a new cost-efficient manned submersible that could reach the majority of seabeds in the world. The development of deep-sea manned submersibles for rough seas would be one of CSIC's priorities in 2017. The vessel, now under final assembly and testing phase, will be equipped with five observation windows and three seats. If successful, the Chinese submersible would be the third to reach the bottom of Challenger Deep, also in the Mariana Trench.

ICS, East India Branch conducted conference on Legal matters pertaining to Maritime Sector prior to joining hands with M/s Hinode Events a Knowledge Partner to serialise this an Annual Conference on Legal Maritime Legal matters. The Branch takes pride to state that "The Ministry of Shipping" &  "The Directorate General of Shipping" have taken the view of the Branch in several legislative matters. Capt.K.G.Ramakrishnan,FICS, Past  Chairman acted as the Convenor for this Conference. Capt. K.P.Rajagopal,FICS(Chairman) welcomed  the  audience, introduced the speakers and Chaired the inaugural session. The Key note speech was delivered by the veteran Barrister at Law Capt.A.K.Bansal, who gave the history of Maritime Law dating back to the ancient times and the journey until the current times.

China on Friday adopted a new law on deep sea exploration, state media said, the country's latest move to cement its status as a seagoing power. President Xi Jinping is reforming the military and investing in submarines and aircraft carriers, as China's navy becomes more assertive in its territorial disputes in the East and South China Seas. The new law will "protect the rightful interests of Chinese citizens and organisations in their search for resources and in deep sea surveys," the official Xinhua news agency said after China's top legislature passed the measure. "Exploration and development should be peaceful and cooperative, in addition to protecting the maritime environment and safeguarding the common interests of mankind," it added.

Norwegian firm Statoil ASA is ending its rig contract for the Maersk Gallant six months early. The jack up rig has been on contract with Statoil for two years, since 21 August 2014, and since 9 October it has been sub-chartered to ConocoPhillips. "Between 14 February and 21 August 2016 the Maersk Gallant is on a new contract with Total E&P Norge AS, who will pay cancellation fee according to the former contract," says a press statement from Statoil. In January, Total received consent from the Petroleum Safety Authority (PSA) of Norway, to drill the North Sea exploration well 1/5-5 in PL 618 using Maersk Gallant. The jack-up Gallant was last listed as operating in the North Sea. No information was given on the day rate or other terms for the lease.

As Imperial Oil, as senior partner in the northern venture with ExxonMobil and BP, told Canada’s National Energy Board (NEB) that the exploration program has been deferred, the plan to revive arctic gas and oil drilling in deep Canadian waters of the Beaufort Sea ground to a halt. The slow pace of regulatory review has left too little time to finish the approval process and does the work before the group's drilling leases expire, Imperial said in a filing at the board. The partners – Calgary-based Imperial, Exxon Mobil and BP – have asked Canadian officials for seven-year extensions of Beaufort Sea exploration licenses that are currently scheduled to expire in 2020, reported Reuters.

The first deep-sea exploration of the Perth Canyon, Australia's largest undersea valley, will launch today, Phys.org is reporting. The 12-day expedition is backed by Google billionaire Eric Schmidt and will study the conditions and marine life inside the canyon, which researchers hope will provide new information about the effects of climate change. A team of researchers from the University of Western Australia led by Professor Malcolm McCulloch will collaborate with researchers from the Western Australia Museum…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has deemed submitted Shell Gulf of Mexico, Inc.’s revised multi-year Exploration Plan (EP) and invites the public to review and comment on it. The revised EP describes Shell’s proposal to conduct exploration drilling in the shallow waters of the Chukchi Sea Outer Continental Shelf, off the northwest coast of Alaska. It is available for review at: www.boem.gov/shell-chukchi/. An EP describes all exploration activities planned by the operator for a specific lease or leases, including the timing of these activities, information concerning drilling vessels, the location of each planned well, and actions to be taken to meet important safety and environmental standards and to protect access to subsistence resources.

The BOEM's (Bureau of Ocean Energy Management) decision to conditionally allow Shell to proceed with the carefully planned and coordinated drilling effort in Alaska is good news. The potential for energy development in the Chukchi Sea would allow Alaskans to benefit from well-paying jobs and resources to safeguard the environment, protect native traditional activities, and improve communities. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline may also benefit from the flow of resulting production. For the rest of the U.S. and the world, successful oil and natural gas development in the area will help to meet the ever increasing demand for reliable, reasonably priced energy.

South China Sea spats are a territorial fight and not about the oil, points out a report appeared in Bloomberg. "When it comes to territorial tensions in the South China Sea, it’s more about what goes through it than what lies beneath it," says the report. The collapse in oil prices prompted oil majors from Royal Dutch Shell Plc to Norway’s Statoil ASA to shelve the projects of deep-sea exploration. But in the South China Sea political and security considerations will keep territorial tensions simmering, fueling military spending by countries that border the area. The South China Sea contains some of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and is a vital artery for China’s energy supplies from the Middle East.

On March 1 (Sun) the Mitsubishi Minatomirai Industrial Museum will launch its newly renovated "Ocean" zone, an area dedicated to introducing advanced technologies relating to the earth's oceans. In its new configuration the zone will display items in a way that enables visitors to experience what it's like to undertake deep-sea exploration using, for example, a simulator of a next-generation submersible research vessel. The centerpiece of the zone will be a disassembled full-scale mockup of the Shinkai 6500 manned submersible research vessel. The theme of the new "Ocean" zone will be "Let's Go to the Deep-sea World!" The main display, a full-size re-creation of the Shinkai 6500 displayed like a cutaway, will incorporate reproductions of both the outside and inside of the vessel.