Ocean Business – January 2019
Sensor Tech Company Joins Innovation Center
Sensor Technology Ltd. is expanding manufacturing operations to Nova Scotia at the Centre for Ocean Ventures & Entrepreneurship (COVE), a collaborative facility for applied innovation in the ocean sector. The company has been expanding its manufacturing plant in Collingwood, Ontario, due to increased demand and technology advances, and now it needs a second location. Nova Scotia Business Inc., the business development agency for Nova Scotia, worked with Sensor Technology Ltd. to help facilitate its expansion to COVE on the Dartmouth waterfront.
Geospace Acquires Fiber-Optic Sensing Tech
Geospace Technologies has acquired the PGS Americas OptoSeis fiber-optic sensing technology business. Geospace intends to retain PGS’s employees dedicated to the OptoSeis business and will continue operating the business in Austin, Texas. The OptoSeis fiber-optic technology has been deployed in a marine reservoir monitoring system in the Jubarte field located offshore Brazil and has also been demonstrated as a viable technology for large-scale cabled land seismic data acquisition systems.
Wireless Surveillance Installed At Mexican Port
InfiNet Wireless successfully deployed a video surveillance system solution in Guaymas, a port in northwestern Mexico. In recent years, the previous network infrastructure had been severely affected by hurricanes and corrosion resulting from sea salt in the air. The legacy system was not adequate to monitor the entire port area. After first considering a fiber-optic solution, Guaymas port management eventually settled on a wireless solution to operate reliably in adverse weather conditions.
New Ferries for New Orleans Transit Authority
Two new 105-ft., 150-passenger, high-speed aluminum catamaran passenger ferries constructed for the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA) have been completed and are ready to enter service. The first of the two new ferries was delivered to New Orleans in July 2018. The second vessel is complete at Metal Shark’s Franklin, Louisiana, shipyard, where it successfully passed U.S. Coast Guard inspections.
Japanese Agency Orders Modular AUV
Hydroid received an order for a new-generation REMUS 6000 AUV from the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology (JAMSTEC) as part of the Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP): Innovative Technology for Exploration of Deep Sea Resources. The new-generation REMUS 6000 is based on modular architecture that allows for the addition of multiple payloads, customer sensor packages, forward fins and additional battery sections, as well as low-power core electronics.
Drill Center Scanned with Fixed-Line Tool
Newton Labs M3200UW underwater laser scanner was recently used in a laser survey of a drill center by DOF Subsea. Scans were gathered at a depth of 4,500 ft. with the M3200UW scanner deployed on a work-class ROV. Location data were provided by an IMU, and navigation software was used for coordination of all sensors and rendition of the final results.
Partnership Based in Brazil Focuses on
Support for Shipping, Oil and Gas
Unique Group is partnering with BRAeMar Serviços Portuários e Offshore Ltda., a provider of knowledge and skill-based marine services. Based in Rio de Janeiro, the partnership will facilitate comprehensive support for the shipping, energy and oil and gas markets in Brazil and across Latin America. Founded in 1997 with a focus on environmental issues and the support of marine industries and oil and gas exploration and production, BRAeMar will be the sole representative agency for Unique Group in the region.
Volvo Penta to Supply Engines, Drives
For 46 New USCG Cutter Large Boat RIBs
Volvo Penta of the Americas will supply the engines, drives and controls for the new U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) cutter boat large (CBL) rigid-hull inflatable boats (RIBs), which are being built at Metal Craft Marine. The boats will be powered by Volvo Penta 3-l 220-hp diesel Aquamatic sterndrive systems with HD controls. USCG contracted with Metal Craft to build a minimum of 46 new 7-m RIBs. The RIBs are designed for a top speed of more than 35 kt. carrying up to 13 passengers with an operating range of 200 nautical mi. in up to 4-m wave heights. They will be carried on three classes of USCG cutters.
USCG Inspections in Alaska
The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage inspections division inspects barges and tugs from Prince William Sound, west through the Aleutian chain and north to the Arctic Ocean, including the North Slope and all of Alaska’s inland rivers. They also inspect tour boats, ferries, cruise ships, freight ships, oil tankers, fishing boats and more than 400 fuel storage facilities throughout the state. Inspections include structural integrity, seaworthiness, fire hazards, ability to save a life in a man-overboard situation, navigational functionality and crew competency.
Technology Industry Association Hosts
Blue Tech Event at USCG Headquarters
The International Ocean Science and Technology Industry Association (IOSTIA) conducted a blue technology exhibition for the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and demonstrated cutting-edge ocean technologies during Blue Technology Focus Day. The event included presentations from RAdm. Michael Haycock and the USCG Dive Team. IOSTIA plans to host similar programs with other federal agencies throughout 2019.
Phoenix Completes Rescue Exercise in Alaska
The Phoenix Submarine Rescue Team mobilized the submarine rescue diving and recompression system (SRDRS) on board the MV HOS Dominator and completed eight days of submarine rescue operations with the U.S. Navy’s Undersea Rescue Command (URC) off the coast of Ketchikan, Alaska, culminating in the mating of the Pressurized Rescue Module (PRM) with a U.S. submarine.
Corvus to Open Battery Factory in Norway
Contracts for the factory location and the production equipment are final, and plans for a fully automated factory for maritime batteries in Bergen, Norway, will proceed. The new factory will be located at Midtun in Bergen, about a mile south of the city center. The supplier chosen for the production equipment is Intek Engineering AS of Raufoss, Norway, and the factory will be fully operational in the third quarter of 2019.
Autonomous Acoustic Surveillance System
In Development with Canadian Funding
GeoSpectrum Technologies (GTI) will develop a passive autonomous acoustic surveillance system (PAASS) with funding under the Innovation for Defence Excellence and Security Program (IDEaS). The project will demonstrate the feasibility of using a networked array of persistent autonomous platforms for the layered surveillance and tracking of underwater objects, including submarines and UUVs. PAASS will also be capable of detecting surface vessels, making it a useful tool for counter-narcotic and illegal trafficking operations.
Fire-Suppression Technology Company
Ends Use of Hydrofluorocarbon Products
Sea-Fire Marine, manufacturer of fire detection and suppression systems for recreational, commercial and naval vessels, announced that it will cease distribution of hydrofluorocarbon-based suppression fluids in Europe. Instead, it will use 3M Novec 1230, which has negligible global warming potential.