Underwater Equipment News

Brazilian geoscience services company OceanPact Geociências has chosen deep water positioning technology from Sonardyne Brasil Ltda. to support its geophysical, geotechnical and environmental research operations across the region.Ranger 2 Ultra-Short Baseline (USBL) systems have been installed on board OceanPact’s research vessels Seward Johnson and Austral Abrolhos, both currently on hire to Brazilian oil major Petrobras. The systems will be used to precisely track the location of underwater equipment and sensor packages deployed from the ships…

Inspecting fuel and ballast tanks. Sand-blasting old paint coatings and applying new ones. Removing corrosion on ships, submarines, aircraft and other vehicles.These are some of the unpleasant jobs in naval shipyards and maintenance facilities that could be made safer by pairing human workers with robots. Experts say this could improve the speed and efficiency with which the U.S. Navy sustains its assets—and expand the career paths of current workers (and create new jobs) by teaching them to operate…

In close communication with the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management, Hydrex has developed a new method to clean propeller blades underwater. This method complies with the strict environmental regulations in Belgium and the Netherlands. As a result, the company has been given permission to clean propeller blades in both countries.The traditional approach in the propeller maintenance industry is to polish the blades with a grinding disk which can be quite damaging to the propeller.

With digitalization technologies sweeping through maritime, Henrik Segercrantz, Maritime Reporter’s correspondent in Helsinki, explores latest developments in the quest to harness the power of 'big data.'Wärtsilä's Smart Marine EcosystemWärtsilä continues to build its leadership resume in marine and energy markets, boasting net sales of $5.7 billion last year, supported by 18,000 employees with operations in more than 80 countries. Increasingly Wärtsilä is using ‘smart’ technologies in its growing scope of products for the maritime industry…

The U.S. Navy said it has contracted a research vessel owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen to survey the location of a downed C-2A Greyhound plane before attempts are made to recover the aircraft from 18,500 feet below the surface in the Philippine Sea. The C-2A Greyhound was transporting 11 crew and passengers when it crashed into the ocean on November 22, 2017, killing three. On December 29, A Navy team using a towed pinger locator (TPL-25) system discovered the aircraft resting on the seafloor at a depth of 18,500 feet, an unprecedented depth for the salvage of an aircraft.

The U.S. Navy warship that famously fired the first American shot in World War II has been found resting on the seabed in Ormoc Bay near Ponson Island in the Philippines. The historic vessel USS Ward was discovered and documented by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul G. Allen's expedition crew aboard Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel, who has now released video images just prior to the anniversary of the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. At 6:45 a.m. on Sunday, December 7…

Falmouth Scientific, Inc. These are small, lightweight, battery-powered, intelligent devices that can be mounted directly on AUVs, Gliders, or other underwater equipment for recovery after their mission duration has elapsed. Multiple user-programmable settings allow for selection of delay, timing, flashing, and frequency options which enable use in a variety of different applications. The Stand-Alone Flasher uses high power, high color-temperature LEDs for optical flashing, and the Flash-Pinger adds a pinger transmitter for acoustic tracking below the water surface.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems, Ltd. (MHPS) have planned to reorganize their  their Nagasaki Shipyard & Machinery Works and Nagasaki Works respectively. The coordinated decisions are aimed at further strengthening global competitiveness, particularly in terms of technologies, costs and efficiency, by pursuing higher productivity through consolidation of their manufacturing sites by product: at MHI in the area of defense and space systems, and at MHPS in operations involving thermal power generation systems. The reorganization initiatives are slated for completion by the end of March 2018.

Classification society and consultancy DNV GL inform it has introduced the "Environmentally Acceptable Lubricants" (EAL) Report Service to help ship operators to comply with the new rules set out for the US Vessel General Permit (VGP) without the need for extensive outlays, & provides feedback on areas of concern. The VGP framework, which came into effect in December 2013 stipulates that biologically degradable oils, or EAL, must be used at all oil to sea interfaces, where technically feasible.

During November and December 2011 the Swedish Navy received the last two of four state of-the-art AUVs (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles) from the Danish company EIVA a/s. The AUVs are equipped with advanced sensors in the form of sonars and underwater cameras and they are designed to operate autonomously underwater following a mission route planned ahead. There is a multitude of purposes for which the AUVs can be used. For instance mine detection, visual inspection of the seabed, location of mission objects etc.

The United States Coast Guard (USCG) has reduced maintenance costs by minimizing the time spent on ship bottom refurbishing, with the help of E Paint Company of East Falmouth, Mass. E Paint SN-1 coating provides USCG vessels with well-balanced control over a wide array of common soft and hard fouling species. Vessels coated with E Paint SN-1 solventborne antifouling paint can operate for up to two years before they must be hauled, pressure-washed and repainted. This is longer than is possible with virtually all approved non-metallic biocide antifouling paint. Extending the interval between maintenance significantly reduces vessel downtime.

First Wave/Newpark Shipbuilding, in Galveston, Texas, has had a busy spring. First, the company was awarded a contract by Diamond Offshore Drilling to install a crane and perform annual survey work on Ocean Lexington. That contract was completed in March. Next, the company won a contract from Smit Americas, Inc. for drydocking of Ocean Hercules. The vessel was drydocked on the shipyard's 7,500-ton drydock for general maintenance and conversion from a seismic vessel to a telecommunication cable laying vessel. Finally, First Wave drydocked Pride Louisiana for Pride Offshore. The rig was docked in the Galveston Ship Channel, utilizing a heavy lift barge for an annual survey. The rig will depart upon completion of the survey.