Today at Ocean Business, a project has been launched that aims to develop a guide for using ocean-robots to assess the impact of decommissioned oil structures on marine life. This National Oceanography Centre (NOC)-led, joint science-industry project was launched by Dr Daniel Jones at a workshop in Ocean Business. Decommissioned oil structures can have positive impacts, such as providing a habitat for marine life in a similar way to a reef, or negative consequences - such as marine pollution. In the North Sea, for example, structures are rapidly colonised and typically develop highly productive ecosystems that often include priority species, such as the cold-water coral Lophelia pertusa. On the other hand, large piles of oil-enriched sediments lie underneath many oil and gas installations. The environmental impacts of these piles are not well known, nor are the relative impacts of re-disturbing partially recovered systems while removing structures. Marine robots have great potential to investigate these impacts.

Robert Gordon University (RGU) has today launched a new set of online short courses to help professional development and address skills needs within the oil and gas industry. The courses, the first of which focuses on decommissioning and is available now, have been tailored to appeal to differing competency levels and are aimed at those with little or no knowledge of the topic, to high level industry professionals looking to develop their skillset. Each topic will come with a fundamentals course, typically taking two to three hours to complete, and an in-depth course, which will take longer - between two and four days to complete.

Happy Easter!

ROV Planet Magazine Issue 11 The magazine of choice for Subsea Construction and ROV Professionals. Featuring the E-ROV Update – The Fusion Hybrid Underwater Vehicle – The World's First Subsea Snake-Like Robot – The Starfish Drone – iXBlue Gaps USBL Update – SMD's Synthetic Subsea Technology and X Prize – Poster – The UMIS Mine Counter Measure System – The First Distributed Buoyancy Module Installation by ROVs – The SeaTrepid Story – The Single-Beam Story:The Evolution of Single Beam Imaging Sonar for ROVs – QSTAR ROV Pilot Training: Module 02 – Rigid Body Simulation to Accurately Prepare for work Offshore.

Aberdeenshire-based ROV solutions provider, Aleron Ltd has announced further success in 2017 with the announcement of an ROV sale to a new client in South East Asia – G8 Subsea. The XL150 has seen several upgrades performed by Aleron Subsea including a Single mode-upgrade to boost its survey capability and an HPU upgrade taking the system to 150HP to operate high powered tooling.

Subsea Technology & Rentals Ltd (STR); global specialists in the design, production and rental of advanced subsea technology for the offshore industry continue to grow their rental equipment inventory with the addition of the new automated sound velocity profiling system developed by Teledyne Oceanscience using Valeport's RapidSV Profiler. Teledyne’s rapidCAST and Valeport’s SVT Probe, purchased during the recent Ocean Business exhibition in Southampton, will be the latest products to join STR’s diverse range of sensor deployment and handling systems. The rapidCAST System has the ability to collect and transmit survey data without having to recover the probe on board at the end of each cast making any profiling exercise far more efficient. It also improves the targeting accuracy of probes as the need for conducting cable is removed.

The US operation of M² Subsea has announced the appointment of a new general manager and senior vice president of commercial as the firm embarks on the next stage of its growth strategy. Based in Houston, Paddy Hardey will be responsible for implementing the firm’s global commercial and contracting principals to ensure the strategic development and continued growth of the fledging subsea company. Overseeing the Woodlands, Texas, based US business and all commercial, tendering activity and contract negotiations across M² Subsea’s core business functions, Hardey will focus on the successful delivery of work for the firm’s key clients across the globe.

Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. is pleased to announce the sale of two Sub-Atlantic™ Comanche ROVs to international diving contractor Baltic Taucherei- und Bergungsbetrieb Rostock GmbH (Baltic Diver Germany). The deal, supported by distributor Scholz Ingenieur Bϋro, will see both systems delivered at the beginning of May 2017 following an optimised manufacturing schedule. The Forum Sub-Atlantic Comanche was chosen due to its high thrust-to-weight ratio and compact laydown requirements which make it ideally suited for the operating environments expected by Baltic Diver.

Oceaneering International, Inc. (“Oceaneering”) (NYSE:OII) announced that it secured a contract from Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (“Anadarko”) (NYSE: APC) to supply the umbilical for Anadarko’s Constellation subsea tieback in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The contract is for a dynamic and static electro-hydraulic steel tube control umbilical, and associated hardware. Oceaneering plans to design and manufacture the umbilical at its facility in Panama City, Florida.

Subsea Technology & Rentals Ltd (STR); global specialists in the design, production and rental of advanced subsea technology for the offshore industry announce the purchase of Tritech’s latest Gemini 720is Multibeam Imaging Sonar at the launch of this year’s Ocean Business Exhibition. This recent purchase represents a further investment in next generation technology from STR as they continue to increase their equipment rental inventory. Scott McLay, Sales Director at Tritech said: "We have worked closely with STR for many years so are thrilled to see the company continuing to invest in more of the latest Tritech products for its rental pool. Our Gemini 720is multibeam sonar provides real-time, crisp imagery for applications including obstacle avoidance and target detection and offers significant enhancements over the earlier Gemini 720i.

Norwegian technology supplier, Water Linked, has launched a game-changing Underwater GPS system that leverages traditional GPS along with Water Linked’s unique underwater acoustic positioning technology. The Underwater GPS Developer Kit is available for order starting today with the first deliveries expected in June 2017. The system price is 4,800 USD, just half the cost of any other underwater positioning system. This system will enable underwater positioning in a wide new range of marine technology applications. California-based Blue Robotics is the first partner to integrate the Water Linked Underwater GPS system with their remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). “Our new system has the potential to revolutionize performance in the ROV market”, says Oliver Skisland, CEO of Water Linked.

Forum Subsea Rentals, a Forum Energy Technologies business, announces that new multiplexer video and data acquisition technology is available to their global rental market following significant investment in MacArtney’s EMO range. The acquisition of DOMINO-7 Mk II and NANO-MUX multiplexers has been made in response to a growing demand for compact, lightweight designs which deliver enhanced operational efficiencies while supporting a complex array of subsea sensors. The investment not only expands Forum’s extensive range of multiplexers, it brings the newest kit - the NANO-MUX- to the global rental market for the first time.

OCEANS'17 Aberdeen Registration Is Now Open We would like to invite you to join us in Aberdeen in June this year. We have had a fantastic response to the Call for Abstracts to allow us to create a diverse and engaging technical programme; complemented by our Exhibition and Commercial Showcase. Register now to take advantage of the Early Bird rates.

Subsea Technology & Rentals Ltd (STR); global specialists in the design, production and rental of advanced subsea technology for the offshore industry announce the purchase of Tritech’s latest Gemini 720is Multibeam Imaging Sonar at the launch of this year’s Ocean Business Exhibition. This recent purchase represents a further investment in next generation technology from STR as they continue to increase their equipment rental inventory.

The Local Organizing Committee is accepting applications for tutorials to be presented at the OCEANS 17 Conference at the Dena’ina Conference Center in Anchorage, Alaska on Monday, September 18, 2017. We request Tutorial submissions be made by May 15 2017. Submissions will be evaluated as they are received. Acceptance notices will be sent as soon as the committee completes its review and makes a decision so those providing the tutorials can plan and prepare. Final notice of acceptance will be issued no later than June 1, 2017 in order to facilitate registrant sign-up. Submissions that are received after May 15 will be considered, but at the discretion of the local technical committee, these will be treated as free-of-charge workshops if space is available, and there will be no fee paid to the provider.

The MAS project is a two year programme, supported by Innovate UK and DSTL, to develop a pressure tolerant battery pack capable of powering autonomous vehicles to ocean depths of 6,000m using next generation Lithium Sulfur cells. With just 6 months remaining until completion, the consortium, led by Steatite, and consisting of OXIS Energy, MSubs and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has made tremendous advances in battery capability through extensive design and testing.The project is now moving towards full open water trials in two deep dive vehicles.

Significant opportunities and challenges face the subsea industry - increasingly strident requirements to satisfy environmental legislation is one; the challenges of ROV utilisation in the growing renewables sector is another. The need to recruit and retain properly trained, competent people remains vital. These challenges and opportunities have led the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) to organise an ROV Seminar, with the theme ‘The future for remote systems and ROVs in the offshore construction industry’. Chaired by Graham Duncan of TechnipFMC, the IMCA ROV Committee Chairman, it will be held Tuesday 30 - Wednesday 31 May at Oceaneering International’s facility in Stavanger, Norway. The free-to-attend seminar is open to IMCA members and invited guests

OceanWorks International is pleased to be providing an upgrade to the Strait of Georgia Shore Station for Ocean Networks Canada (ONC). Our scope consists of design, supply, installation and system integration testing of the upgraded system. The new system will provide the customer with the ability to monitor and control the power system in the Shore Station with a state of the art control system. New functionality will allow remote access and include soft start capabilities to enhance the safe use of the equipment. The upgraded shore station will also now share commonality with other shore stations, creating simplicity for the ONC team.