Ocean Business – February 2019
Fugro Receives Compass Industrial Award
Fugro received the Marine Technology Society (MTS) 2018 Compass Industrial Award, co-sponsored by the publisher of Sea Technology, for outstanding private sector contributions to marine science and technology. MTS cited the company’s legacy of marine survey innovation and its support of the Seabed 2030 Project. David Millar, Fugro’s government accounts director for the Americas region, accepted the award
Beacon Dives Deep to Avoid Signal Blocking
EdgeTech delivered an emergency recovery beacon (ERB), a programmable acoustic command transmitter and transponder in a 6,000-m-rated nickel aluminum bronze alloy housing that can be lowered from the side of a vessel below any surface noise, shipboard noise or thermoclines. The ERB is programmed through a serial port, and it can transmit EdgeTech LF BACS enable, disable and release commands at a pre-programmed rate. The ERB can be used as a transducer to get below a thermocline that may block acoustic signals for release.
New Tenants Join COVE in Canada
Ottawa-based sensor developer RBR joined the Centre for Ocean Ventures & Entrepreneurship (COVE), a collaborative facility for applied innovation located in Nova Scotia, Canada. RBR creates sensors to track water parameters—temperature, depth, salinity, dissolved gases, pH and others. The office location at COVE allows RBR to network and collaborate with commercial, academic and government clients, as well as the global organizations attending scientific and industrial events.
Precise Design and NSBA have also become tenants of COVE.
Fuel Available on Pacific Coast by Columbia River
World Fuel Services (WFS) has a new U.S. physical bunker supply operation and is fully operational in the Columbia River, servicing Portland, Vancouver, Kalama, Longview, Rainier and Astoria in Oregon and Washington states. By partnering with Harley Marine Companies Pacific Terminal Services and Olympic Tug and Barge, WFS will offer RMG 380 and MGO 0.1 percent sulphur by dual-product barge on the Pacific Northwest Coast.
Moody’s Affirms Panama Canal Stable Rating
Moody’s Investors Service reaffirmed the Panama Canal Authority’s A2 long-term rating with a stable outlook, based on its position as an infrastructure asset with a unique geographic advantage and business model and its strong historical operational and financial performance. ACP had better than anticipated financial metrics, driven by the successful operations of the Expanded Panama Canal.
Sea Machines Establishes Global Dealer Network
Boston-based Sea Machines Robotics has closed a $10 million series A investment, one of the largest venture rounds for a marine- and maritime-focused technology company, bringing the total capital Sea Machines has raised to $12.5 million. The company also created a dealer program that includes strategic partners who sell, install and service the company’s line of command and control systems for workboats. The dealer network initially includes builders located in the U.S., Canada, U.K., Netherlands, United Arab Emirates and Singapore.
Canaveral Port Bonds Given Stable Ratings
The Canaveral Port Authority’s planned issuance of a series of bonds for approximately $75 million in proceeds has been reviewed and assigned favorable ratings by two nationally recognized statistical rating organizations. Fitch Ratings assigned an A rating to Canaveral Port Authority (CPA) port revenue bonds, Series 2018 A&B. Fitch also affirmed its rating on $63 million in outstanding Port Facilities Revenue Bonds. Moody’s Investors Service assigned an A2 rating to CPA’s issuance of Port Improvement Revenue Bonds, Series 2018A (AMT) and Port Improvement Revenue bonds, Series 2018B (Non-AMT).
BWTS Electrochlorination System Approved
De Nora, a supplier of electrochlorination equipment, received type approval from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) for its BALPURE ballast water treatment system. The BALPURE system is approved for both safe area and hazardous zone installations for internationally trading vessels, including U.S.-flagged ones.
In De Nora’s system, 0.5 to 1 percent of the seawater flow entering the ballast line is channeled into the electrochemical unit, and the necessary amount of hypochlorite to treat the water is generated in the slipstream and then mixed to the full volume of ballast water.
US Applied Physics Laboratory Receives UXO Detection Platform
A MacArtney FOCUS 3 instrumentation platform for underwater data acquisition and inspection is on its way from Esbjerg, Denmark, to the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) at the University of Washington in the U.S. The FOCUS 3 will be used to develop and test new methods for UXO detection and classification. With funding from the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program and the new device, APL can detect an object and provide high-resolution imaging, spectral response and accurate position of the object using sonar technology.
Conservation X Tech Prize Winners Modify Nanolander for Underwater VR
Global Ocean Design helped modify and adapt one of its Nanolanders for one of the Conservation X Tech Prize challenge teams. The SubC Imaging prototype 360° camera mounted on a modified Nanolander was deployed off San Diego. The team Real Deep Conservation VR won the grand prize for its easy-to-use deep-sea camera trap for filming in virtual reality underwater.