University Of Rhode Island News

The question on many minds this week is why did some of the world’s richest men risk death to venture to the bottom of the sea in a cold and cramped “experimental” submersible for a chance to glimpse the wreck of the Titanic?The “unsinkable” ship that sunk on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic in 1912 after colliding with an iceberg is arguably the world’s most well-known boat. The Titanic is recognisable to more of the world’s population than, say, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria (Christopher Colombus’s fleet that launched the Spanish conquest of the Americas)…

The first of three new oceanographic research vessels dedicated to advancing marine science along U.S. coasts was successfully launched Thursday.The ship, R/V Taani, is being constructed as part of a project, led by Oregon State University (OSU) and funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF), to provide scientists with valuable new tools to study critical issues such as rapidly changing ocean conditions and human impacts on the marine environment.The Regional Class Research Vessel project…

The U.S. Navy's next Pathfinder-class oceanographic survey ship will be named USNS Robert Ballard (T-AGS 67), Secretary of the Navy (SECNAV) Carlos Del Toro announced on Wednesday.The name selection follows the tradition of naming survey ships after explorers, oceanographers and distinguished marine surveyors. Widely known as a discoverer of the final resting place of the R.M.S. Titanic, Dr. Robert Ballard is a retired U.S. Navy Commander, former director of the Center for Ocean Exploration…

For those operating equipment on, under or near the water for commercial or recreational purposes, the corrosive effects of saltwater can be costly. For the U.S. Navy, the ramifications could be much more severe.As a doctoral student in mechanical engineering and applied mechanics at the University of Rhode Island, Irine Neba Mforsoh studied the long-term effects seawater and ultraviolet radiation have on the materials used to coat marine structures.After earning her doctorate in spring 2021…

The National Science Foundation’s new Regional Class Research Vessel that will soon call the University of Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay Campus home has a name: Narragansett Dawn.Graduate School of Oceanography Dean Paula S. Bontempi announced the name of the new $125 million vessel after a nationwide competition and approval from the NSF.“Narragansett Dawn acknowledges the Indigenous peoples’ histories, ancestors, and perseverance in our communities today,” said URI President David M. Dooley.

Ocean explorer and scientist Dr. Robert D. Ballard opens up on his personal life and his world-famous ocean discoveries like never before in his new book, “Into the Deep.” Best known as ‘the man who found the Titanic,’ Marine Technology Reporter had the opportunity to interview Ballard on the contents of the book, a book released yesterday with a follow-up National Geographic television special scheduled for June 14, 2021, taking a deep dive into his dyslexia, the importance of his family throughout his career…

When Captain Will Whatley guides a ship through Arctic waters, he is starkly aware of what can go wrong.Double the manpower is needed to navigate. Lookout shifts are kept to just one hour, so sailors don't lose concentration and miss a mass of floating ice. Big icebergs show up on radar, but smaller, truck-sized "bergy bits"—even more dangerous—can be missed, the captain says.The cold can freeze equipment and the earth's magnetic field disrupts compasses. If anything goes wrong…

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Gibbs & Cox announced it is expanding its services into Houston with the aim to generate revenue in non-naval markets, develop and sell new products and/or services to non-traditional clients and contribute to existing programs."Over the last several months, we have hired a number of staff from the Houston area and expect this trend to continue as we continue to grow with our recent contract wins," Gibbs & Cox said in a statement on Monday.In the near term…

Mining the ocean floor for submerged minerals is a little-known, experimental industry. But soon it will take place on the deep seabed, which belongs to everyone, according to international law.Seabed mining for valuable materials like copper, zinc and lithium already takes place within countries’ marine territories. As soon as 2025, larger projects could start in international waters – areas more than 200 nautical miles from shore, beyond national jurisdictions.We study ocean policy…

Danish developer Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind has signed a research partnership  with Rutgers University, the University of Rhode Island and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution to support academic research activities related to offshore wind.The group is set to launch the Ecosystem and Passive Acoustic Monitoring (ECO-PAM) project.Ørsted signed an initial memorandum of understanding with Rutgers University in May 2019 to support academic research activities related to offshore wind. The ECO-PAM project will be in addition to this initial funding agreement.The company plans to apply the project’s learnings to develop tailored processes and procedures to better protect the North Atlantic right whale during survey, construction and operation phases of their U.S. offshore wind farm portfolio.

The Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Division Newport has joined the 401 Tech Bridge innovation initiative in the state of Rhode Island.“The Warfare Centers recognize that to be successful, whether it is on a submarine, on a ship or solving a technical challenge, you need a good team,”  NUWC Division Newport Commanding Officer Capt. Mike Coughlin said. “We realize that Expanding the Advantage means reaching out beyond our Navy partners, Warfare Centers and traditional defense contractors.

Derecktor is a diverse boatbuilding organization, with a multitude of yards and long experience building  hundreds of yachts, workboats and military craft. Its shipyards today include:• Robert E. Derecktor: The company headquarters located 25 miles north of Manhattan in Mamaroneck, NY, and the original Derecktor yard. Today, the site remains as the company’s new construction base, and it also provides repair services for a variety of yachts and commercial craft.• Derecktor Robinhood: Located in Riggs Cove…

Now that the United States finally can envision steady winds blowing from the Atlantic Seaboard due to a pipeline of offshore wind farms on the horizon, the maritime industry can finally step up and earn some of the benefits. This includes shipbuilding, port construction, and worker training. This article reviews the key developments and forecasts the growth in maritime jobs.The federal and state governments share responsibility for developing offshore wind farms and bringing the wind into the power grid and…

Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource pledged $4.5 million Monday to talent and workforce development in Rhode Island based on the Revolution Wind project.Governor Gina M. Raimondo said: "Ørsted and Eversource's commitments, as part of their Revolution Wind offshore wind farm, will expand our efforts already underway to build our talent pool and provide opportunities for college students in Rhode Island to study for a career in offshore wind. When they are ready to work, we will have plenty of jobs for them in our growing offshore wind supply chain, right here in Rhode Island."Ørsted and Eversource have committed to invest $4.5 million locally…

Construction of a new Oregon State University (OSU) bound research ship that will advance the science of coastal environments, and support research on topics such as ocean acidification, hypoxia, and sea level rise, officially began today at Gulf Island Shipyards in Louisiana.Officials from OSU the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Gulf Island Shipyards LLC gathered at the shipyard in Houma, La. for the keel-laying ceremony, marking the start of fabrication of the state-of-the art ship.

Crowley Maritime Corp. has announced that Tim Bush has been promoted to vice president and deputy general counsel. In his new position, Bush will help support the company’s growth as a provider of solutions for the U.S. government and various public-sector agencies. He will be based in Houston and report to Michael Roberts, senior vice president and general counsel. “Tim is an outstanding lawyer, and adds a great deal of value to the Crowley team,” Roberts said. Bush will continue to serve as Crowley’s lead attorney on several large projects for the U.S government, including the Defense Freight Transportation Services (DFTS) contract for the U.S.

USACE and USCG collaborate to make inland waterways safer. The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), supported by Alion Science and Technology (Alion), has put forth considerable effort during the last two years to further extend the capabilities of the existing Automatic Identification System (AIS) network to improve the safety and efficiency of navigation along the inland rivers. The USACE works with the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and other agencies and stakeholders to operate and maintain the nation’s Marine Transportation System (MTS).

When you face various deck equipment challenges, making the right lubricant selection can help lower labor costs, extend the life of the equipment, improve safety and more. The key is to identify deck equipment stresses, then apply the optimum lubricant solution. A trained lubricant specialist has the knowledge to relieve problems and significantly lower your total operating costs. That’s because selecting a specialty lubricant that can maximize the performance of a given deck application brings many benefits…

In 1869, the U.S. Navy’s first research facility—the Naval Torpedo Station—was built on Newport, Rhode Island’s Goat Island. This rich history continues today, as the state is home to the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, which provides the technical foundation to ensure the U.S. Navy’s undersea superiority. Fitting for “the Ocean State,” we have identified more than 170 Rhode Island organizations that touch undersea technology—and we believe that is a conservative count. We are a cluster leader not just in New England but indeed in the entire country.

Stewart B. Nelson, Ph.D. - B. June 9, 1937 D. Dr. Stewart B. Nelson URI -MMA 1974, oceanographer, explorer, author, lecturer and marine historian passed away of complications related to cancer on September 12, 2016 in Tampa, Fla. He is mourned by family, friends and classmates of the Marine Affairs Program at the University of Rhode Island. Dr. Nelson's multifaceted career was principally spent in service to his country in his position as aide to the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy and in this capacity he was the Senior Advisor to the to the Oceanographer, a Rear Admiral Flag position. Dr. Nelson who later earned a Ph.D, from the University of Southern California, was a pivotal figure in the modern era of the Naval Oceanographic Office.

Oregon State University (OSU) will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for a project to construct up to three advanced regional class research vessels to help replenish the aging United States academic fleet. OSU will implement a two-stage “best value procurement process” for selecting a single U.S. shipyard to construct the vessels, which allows the university to evaluate proposals on qualitative factors in addition to cost factors. In January 2013, the National Science Foundation (NSF) selected OSU as the lead institution to finalize the design and coordinate the construction of a vessel – and possibly up to two more – a project considered crucial to modernizing the country’s marine science research capabilities.

The voyage data recorder (VDR) from El Faro, a U.S. flagged cargo ship that sank during Hurricane Joaquin in October 2015, has been recovered from the ocean floor late Monday evening, the U.S. National Transportation Board (NTSB) said. The recovery of the capsule caps a 10-month-long effort to retrieve the recorder, which was designed to record navigational data and communications between crewmembers on the ship’s bridge. Investigators hope the recorder will reveal information about the final hours of El Faro’s voyage and the circumstances leading up to the sinking.

The design phase for a project to construct a new regional class research vessel to replenish the United States academic fleet is complete, and Oregon State University will issue a request for information (RFI) on Monday, May 2, to shipyards interested in constructing the vessel. In January 2013, the National Science Foundation (NSF) selected Oregon State as the lead institution to finalize the design and coordinate the construction of the vessel – and possibly up to two more – a project considered crucial to maintaining the country’s marine science research capabilities.