The full programme has been announced for the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) Marine Autonomy and Technology Showcase (MATS) 2019, taking place from 12-14 November at the NOC's waterfront site in Southampton. MATS 2019 promises to be the biggest showcase of its kind to date, with a record number of expert speakers and a wide range of industry exhibitors lined up.

The Maritime Archaeological Trust has discovered a new 8,000 year old structure next to what is believed to be the oldest boat building site in the world on the Isle of Wight.

Equinor, Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and the Korean power company Korea East-West Power (EWP) have formed a consortium to develop the floating offshore wind project Donghae 1 off Ulsan in South Korea.

The latest Autosub Long Range (ALR) vehicle being developed by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has successfully completed its first live trials in the waters of Portland Harbour in Dorset.

Research published earlier in the week reveals that microplastics often accumulate on the deep sea floor in the same place as diverse and dense marine life communities. This is because the same submarine sediment flows that transfer the oxygen and nutrients needed to sustain life, also transport microplastics from urban rivers to the deep-sea floor via pathways such as submarine canyons.

Mineral deposits, in the form of potato-sized nodules, which cover wide areas of the world’s sea floor, are extremely important in structuring communities of deep-sea animals according to research published this week by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

A new project has been announced to reduce the potential environmental impact of future mining by making exploration for deep-seafloor mineral deposits much more effective. ‘Project ULTRA’ has been funded by the Natural Environmental Research Council (NERC), and will be led by Professor Bramley Murton at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC).

This week the Royal Research Ship (RRS) Discovery set sail to the Rio Grande Rise in the South Atlantic, 1400 km east of Brazil, to investigate cobalt-rich mineral deposits of interest to potential deep-sea mining.

The full programme has been announced for the NOC Marine Autonomy and Technology Showcase (MATS) 2018, taking place from 13-15 November at the NOC's waterfront headquarters in Southampton. MATS 2018 promises to be the biggest showcase of its kind to date, with a record number of expert speakers and a wide range of exhibitors lined up.

Robotic sensors disguised as boulders, or ‘smart boulders’, have been used to measure the initiation and evolution of huge seafloor avalanches for the first time, revealing some surprising findings that will help inform where best to lay the seafloor cables that keep the internet running.

A new study led by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and the University of Southampton has revealed a series of depressions forming mysterious “tracks” on the seafloor, which may be an unprecedented record of deep-diving whales. The observations were made by a type of marine robot called an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in a region of the Pacific Ocean targeted for deep-sea nodule mining.

New insights into animal patterns around extinct submarine volcanoes could inform measures used to protect marine ecosystems from human activities, such as trawling and deep-sea mining. These insights have been published today in Nature Scientific Reports, and show that the structure of marine life communities depends on depth and small-scale features on the sea floor.

Fugro has commenced a programme of geophysical and geotechnical surveys for Artelia, Abu Dhabi as part of the Hail and Ghasha development, a landmark project by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC).

A fleet of pioneering marine robots, built and operated by the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) and its partners, has successfully detected whales and porpoises and recorded the sounds they make in a survey of the deep ocean off northern Scotland. In the summer of 2017 a fleet of 11 autonomous marine robots was deployed to explore the seas northwest of the Orkney Islands in search of marine mammals and sources of man-made noise pollution. The mission was part of an annual series of marine robot trials co-ordinated by the NOC in partnership with 16 organisations representing UK government, research and industry.

The government this week announced an investment of over £19 million into NOC platforms and sensor development through the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund (ISCF).

Media colleagues are invited to attend the National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) 2017 Marine Autonomy and Technology (MAT) Showcase which runs from Monday 13 to Wednesday 18 November at the NOC’s waterfront site in Southampton.

Topaz Energy and Marine (“Topaz”), a leading offshore support vessel (“OSV”) company, today announced a new $100 million contract with Dragon Oil, the upstream oil and gas subsidiary of Emirates National Oil Company (ENOC) whose principal asset is the Cheleken Contract Area, in the eastern section of the Caspian Sea, offshore Turkmenistan. Under the terms of the contract, Topaz will supply Dragon Oil Turkmenistan with six vessels, comprising five anchor-handlers and one Emergency Recovery and Response Vessel. The contract has already commenced with vessel mobilization and operation ramp-up under way. The contract is scheduled for a five year term with a two year option and brings Topaz’s market leading revenue backlog above $1.5 billion.

Ocean Installer has been awarded a SURF project at the Al Jurf oil field in the Mediterranean. Client is Mabruk Oil Operations, a Joint Venture (JV) between Total E&P and the National Oil Cooperation (NOC) of Libya.