A18D in Business for AUV Survey Services

ECA Group demonstrates the high-performance of its mid-size AUV during deep survey missions

As announced in early 2018, ECA Group signed a cooperation agreement for subsea robotic services to Oil & Gas companies with a leasing offer on its latest generation A18D AUV creating a new dimension for its AUV services activity. Throughout 2018, ECA Group conducted several successful deep survey missions. The next generation AUV demonstrated its capabilities to perform multi-sensor surveys during deep sea operations (around 2,500m water depth) in the Mediterranean Sea. A Comprehensive Survey Solution The A18D is the most compact multi-sensor AUV on the market for long-endurance deep water surveys (up to 3,000m). The AUV can capture... (read more)

2019-04-05 01:31:24

Advances in High-speed Underwater Remote Vehicles for Subsea Pipeline Inspection

The Benefits and Challenges of the Technological Revolution in the Pipeline Survey Industry

The pipeline survey industry has undergone a technological revolution in the past couple of years, and the consequential benefits and challenges are only just beginning to be fully realized. The cost efficiency of subsea operations has been one of the key focus areas of the offshore energy industry in recent years. This focus, combined with increased growth in the amount of subsea infrastructure now in-situ on the seafloor, has seen a rising need for innovative approaches to subsea asset inspection. These solutions need to be cost-efficient, maintain data quality, and be able to provide a platform that supports future technologies.... (read more)

2019-04-02 10:25:26

SeaRobotics Corporation Launches SR-ENDURANCE ASV

SeaRobotics Corporation (SeaRobotics), has announced the successful completion of its factory acceptance testing of its entry into the Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) Workboat market with the SR-Endurance 7.0 metre system. The system is optimized for sonar research through the utilization of an optionally manned helm configuration and a serial diesel-electric propulsion system. Outfitted with an instrumented launch and recovery system (LARS), and supporting hydrographic winch system, the SR-ENDURANCE 7.0 can deploy towed sonar/instrument systems, dipping sonar/systems, or ROV systems. “Having built numerous ASVs in the 6-11-metre range, we are now offering a commercial workboat for the research and survey markets,”... (read more)

2019-03-18 03:17:05

Resolutions of the IHO

The year 2019 sees the centenary of the first Hydrographic Conference which took place in London in the summer of 1919. Only one year after the end of the First World War, representatives from 26 countries met in London at Trinity House to discuss and agree on future technical cooperation in hydrography. The report of the proceedings starts with the following statement: 'The experiences of the war in special relation to hydrographic matters showed most clearly the enormous importance of the possession of accurate charts and hydrographic information generally, and the very grave disadvantage attendant on their no-possession; and also... (read more)

2019-03-05 10:02:58

Depth of Burial – Galloper Offshore Wind Farm

Galloper Offshore Wind Farm is a 353MW wind farm project located 30km off the coast of Suffolk, UK. It is now in full operation and each year will generate enough green electricity to power the equivalent of more than 380,000 British homes. The construction of the wind farm created almost 700 UK jobs and its operation has created around 90 direct and indirect long-term jobs in the local area. A 60-strong team will operate and maintain the wind farm day-to-day from a base under construction in Harwich International Port. There are 56 wind turbine generators (WTGs) located in water depths... (read more)

2019-02-11 10:51:47

MacArtney Expands into New Market Areas

With 40 years of growth and development behind them, the MacArtney Group are growing product lines and continue to strengthen ties within a diverse range of underwater technology industries. Still strongly linked with oil & gas and ocean science, MacArtney is also developing system solutions for renewable energy, defence, civil engineering and fishery industries. Overall, the MacArtney Group’s revenue has increased, resulting in positive earnings this financial year. The integration of two manufacturing sites; the creation of an operations organization responsible for procurement, supply and service globally, in addition to process enhancements in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), IT support tools... (read more)

2019-01-28 11:56:54

Swire Seabed Orders HUGIN Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Kongsberg Maritime has announced that Swire Seabed of Bergen, Norway has ordered a HUGIN AUV System configured for commercial survey applications. The Swire Seabed HUGIN AUV System is rated to 4,500 metres and equipped with Kongsberg Maritime’s HISAS 1032 Synthetic Aperture Sonar and EM2040 multibeam echosounder. Other payload sensors integrated in the Swire Seabed HUGIN AUV include the CathX Ocean 48.5-degree field of view still image camera and laser profiler, a sub-bottom profiler, magnetometer and turbidity sensor. To make the best use of the extensive payload sensor suite, the Swire Seabed HUGIN also includes Kongsberg Maritime’s automatic pipeline tracking solution,... (read more)

2019-01-18 11:37:07

Game-changing Sensor and AI System for Plymouth Sound

M Subs has installed a ‘game-changing’ sensor system with connected artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning technology around Plymouth Sound, UK, as part of the vision to turn the city into a centre of excellence in maritime autonomy and unmanned vehicles. The Plymouth-based company will operate a secure network of cameras, radars, and other sensors which will provide situational awareness and communications with the unmanned vehicles operating out of the city’s harbour. The system will also provide the command & control of unmanned vehicles using the nearby ranges at sea. Data from the network is being collected and analysed by machine... (read more)

2019-01-15 09:47:23

The Study of Mapping the Seafloor

What is the Difference Between a Bathymetry Chart and a Hydrographic Chart?

This article will immerse you into the deep water of bathymetry. It explains in detail what a bathymetry map is, what it shows, what methods we use to collect the bathymetry data and, last but not least, how to create a good-quality bathymetry map. It will also cover the difference between a bathymetry chart and a hydrographic chart and the techniques our ancestors used in the past to collect and record depths. What is Bathymetry? Bathymetry is the study of mapping the seafloor. Bathymetric maps represent the ocean (sea) depth as a function of geographical coordinates, just as topographic maps represent... (read more)

2019-01-15 08:58:54

Tidal Energy Plant Gets Smarter with Data Intelligence Platform

Sabella, a pioneering tidal and ocean stream turbine developer, has partnered with QOS Energy to improve the performance monitoring of its ground-breaking Ushant tidal energy project. The first 1MW tidal turbine of the plant, immersed 55m underwater off the west coast of France, is equipped with more than 100 sensors gathering data every 5 minutes. It now uses QOS Energy’s powerful data intelligence platform to identify, assess and anticipate potential failures. Sabella’s 1MW D10 turbine was initially commissioned in 2015 in the Fromveur Passage, a strait that lies between Ushant Island and the Molène archipelago, off the coast of the... (read more)

2018-12-18 09:08:26