Ocean Business – July 2019
Ship & Shore Adds
New Division
Ship & Shore Environmental Inc. (SSE), an environmental products and services company specializing in air pollution solutions, has launched a new division called Ship & Shore Technologies (SST).
The new group will feature SSE’s latest product line expansion of scrubber systems. SST will also engineer, design and supply a full range of pollution, particulate removal and odor control equipment beyond SSE’s current scope.
Pushing Boundaries of
Deep-Sea Exploration
OceanGate has broken another deep-sea diving record by transporting a crew of four on an abyssal descent of nearly 4,000 m. OceanGate’s Titan is the only submersible capable of carrying five people beyond a depth of 3,000 m, according to the company.
The dive, which was validated by a representative from Lloyd’s Register, took 2 hr. to reach the ocean floor at approximately 2.34 mi. beneath the surface outside Little Harbor near the Great Abaco Island in the Bahamas. The images, video and data captured will be used as real-world calibration for the Titanic Survey Expedition that OceanGate Expeditions has planned for June through August this year.
BIRNS Scholarship
Recipient Named
The recipient of BIRNS’s annual Debra K. Geist Memorial Scholarship is Jarrod Norton. Norton will be going to Occidental College in the fall. He received a scholarship award of $500.
The college scholarship program rewards high-school students with strong leadership potential, committed to the pursuit of excellence in a business career.
Industry and Academia Partner
To Offer Students Real-World Experience
FarSounder has partnered with the University of Rhode Island ELECOMP Capstone Program. Two students were matched with a local business to work on designing, building, programming and testing solutions to real-world problems.
The two senior-level engineering students working with FarSounder this past school year were Thomas Lott and Cole Boulanger.
Riptide Receives Recognition
For Growth in UUV Market
Frost and Sullivan has recognized Riptide as the 2017 North America Product Leader in the UUV market.
As part of its recent UUV market study, Frost & Sullivan recognized Riptide’s continuing growth in the UUV market and expanded market presence. The report highlights Riptide’s international expansion through new offices and international representatives, along with several key partnerships it has in the marine industry.
Iver4 Demonstrates Endurance
During California Mission
L3 Technologies’ Iver4 UUV completed a mission lasting more than 14 hr. in San Diego Bay, California. It was successfully completed with a standard nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) battery configuration, demonstrating the battery’s power endurance, system efficiency and predictability of the Iver4 platform.
During the transit route of more than 35 nautical miles, the Iver4 UUV collected high-quality side scan sonar and bathymetry data.
New Office for Canadian ROV
Company in Chile
Deep Trekker Inc., a Canadian-based global provider and manufacturer of portable and durable submersible ROVs, has opened a new company office in Puerto Montt, Chile. The new office will manage the distribution of Deep Trekker products and services to the Latin American market. Deep Trekker SpA will offer the company’s full range of submersible products, technical support, training services and customer service.
Norwegian Hyperbaric Facility
Buys Pressure Chambers
NUI, the Bergen-based Norwegian independent hyperbaric research and test facility, has agreed to purchase two very large hyperbaric pressure chamber systems from Optime, with a working pressure of 700 and 1,000 bar (equivalent to 7- and 10-km water depth).
Both systems will be delivered with Optime’s advanced control system, enabling NUI’s customers to test, monitor and document different environments and scenarios.
New Fast Response Cutter for USCG
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) has taken delivery of its newest fast response cutter (FRC), USCGC Joseph Doyle. Built by Bollinger Shipyards in South Louisiana, the 154-ft. Sentinel-class FRC is the 33rd such vessel in service, and the latest of 58 planned FRCs to be delivered.
At the heart of the vessel’s command, control and communications equipment lies a full suite of Furuno marine electronics.
Clean Shipping Award for COMPAC Tech
Thordon Bearings’ COMPAC seawater-lubricated propeller shaft bearing system has won the coveted 2019 Seatrade Award for Clean Shipping, in recognition of the technology’s capacity to completely eradicate operational oil pollution from ships’ stern tubes. The COMPAC bearing system prevents leakage of millions of liters of oil into the world’s oceans and reduces ship operating costs.
KVH Sells Videotel
And Shifts Focus
KVH Industries Inc. has sold its maritime training business, the Videotel group of companies, to an affiliate of Oakley Capital for a base purchase price of $90 million. KVH will use the net proceeds of the sale to invest in three key growth initiatives: the development and commercialization of photonic integrated chip technology for use in autonomous vehicles and other commercial and military platforms; supporting further acceleration of the AgilePlans (Connectivity as a Service) program; and finalizing development and launch of an IoT connectivity solution.
Canada Chooses SEAMOR
To Receive Government Funding
Nanaimo-based SEAMOR Marine Ltd. is receiving an investment of up to $100,000 from the Women Entrepreneurship Fund offered by the government of Canada. Among only three companies on Vancouver Island, SEAMOR Marine joins approximately 200 other women-led businesses across Canada to receive this funding.
Autonomous Vessel Control
For Search and Rescue
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics has a new partnership with Hike Metal of Ontario, Canada, to integrate Sea Machines’ SM300 autonomous vessel control system aboard commercial vessels tasked with search-and-rescue (SAR) missions.
Phase I demonstrations will begin this summer, near Hike Metal’s headquarters on Lake Erie.
Phoenix Sponsors Engineering Project
For Catholic University Seniors
Phoenix International Holdings Inc. and the Catholic University of America announced Phoenix as a sponsor to the School of Engineering for a senior design project at the university.
The $2,000-dollar sponsorship will go toward a mechanical engineering project that entails designing, building and testing a buoyancy engine that can work up to 6,000 m deep. The funds will provide a highly engaging, hands-on learning experience for the seniors that will promote strong problem solving and teamwork to help them prepare for their future careers.
Auditor for Scrubber Tech
Pacific Green Technologies Inc. (PGTK), owner of the ENVI-Marine and ENVI-Clean exhaust gas scrubbing systems, has announced the appointment of KPMG LLP as its auditor.
In support of the world’s need for cleaner and more sustainable energy, Pacific Green Technologies has developed a portfolio of patented, emission control technologies that remove pollutants from marine engine, power plant and waste incinerator exhaust streams in order to meet increasingly stringent environmental standards.
Pacific Green solutions utilize the company’s patented Turbo Head Technology, which enables a more thorough mixing of exhaust gases and a chosen reagent solution that delivers more effective contaminant removal in a system that is both smaller and more efficient to build and operate.