As is the norm, and due to a large number of requests it has been agreed to extend the deadline for abstract submission. Given the proximity to the festive holiday season the deadline will be extended until 16 January 2017 at midnight Pacific Standard Time. Dear MTS/IEEE OES colleagues, We are writing to you in our capacity as Technical Program Chairpeople for the MTS/IEEE OCEANS'17 Conference, to be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, 19-22 June 2017. OCEANS'17 will be a tremendous opportunity to focus on topics of interest to you in all fields of Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering. We are developing a Technical Program that we hope will appeal to the most significant areas of interest.

The Hydrographic Society of America - Houston Chapter (THSOA-HC) is proud to host their Annual 2016 Holiday Party & Scholarship Presentation. Date: Thursday, December 8th 2016 Location: Omni Houston Westside 13210 Katy Freeway Houston, TX 77079 Time: 6:30pm - 7:30pm: Check-in & Networking (One Hour Hosted Bar) 7:45pm - 9:30pm: Dinner / Awards 9:30pm - 11:30pm: Mix, Mingle and Music Cost: $85 per person Event Details: Scenic Lakeview Plated Dinner with Desert Buffet National & Houston Chapter Scholarships will be awarded during dinner Cash Bar following Hosted Bar Premium Beers Domestic Beers Mineral Waters and Soda Call Liquors and House Wines

Scantrol is proud to have successfully upgraded a Saab Seaeye Leopard ROV LARS to have Active Heave Compensation in only 3 days. The retrofit allows the customer, a Japanese marine science company, to continue working in tough weather conditions by increasing operational time of the vessel and reducing the risk of damage to the system.

Scantrol is proud to have successfully upgraded a Saab Seaeye Leopard ROV LARS to have Active Heave Compen-sation in only 3 days. The retrofit allows the customer, a Japanese marine science company, to continue working in tough weather conditions by increasing operational time of the vessel and reducing the risk of damage to the system. First AHC upgrade of Leopard ROV LARS – When our partner in the UK, Hydramec,got a request from Saab Seaeye to upgrade an existing Launch & Recovery system,Scantrol was contacted to supply the AHC controls. Even though we have done several systems together in the past, this was the first time an upgrade of a Leopard ROV LARS system has been carried out, explains senior design engineer Rolf Krogh Hjelmeland, re- sponsible for the offshore segment. The project was carried out in Japan in May where Hydramec and Scantrol took up the task of retro fitting Active heave compensa-tion to an existing LARS 1055, a 3000 meter rated Leopard ROV Launch and recovery system. Testing and research was done at the Hydramec facilities to find the optimal and most cost effective way to perform the upgrade of the LARS systems.

ACE Winches, a leading global deck machinery specialist, is marking a year of project successes in Asia-Pacific at the Offshore South East Asia Conference and Exhibition, OSEA, taking place from 29 November – 2 December in Singapore. These projects are varied in scope and requirements, and include the mobilisation from the UK of a 200te and 400te Reel Drive System (RDS) package with operators and technicians. The RDS was used as part of a mooring line deployment on the Malikai Development, a deep-water project located in Malaysia. The company also supplied a 50te SWL 4-Track Tensioner to support operations on the Ichthys Gas Field Development. This field is located in Browse Basin, 220 kilometres offshore Western Australia and is the largest discovery of hydrocarbon liquids in Australia for 40 years.

Subsea Technology & Rentals Ltd (STR); global specialists in the design, manufacture and rental of advanced subsea technology for the offshore energy industry has announced an agreement with Guidance Marine to supply their range of position reference sensors for Dynamic Positioning (DP). Guidance Marine is a leading global developer and supplier of Dynamic Positioning (DP) position measurement technologies for high value offshore marine markets for real-time vessel positioning and manoeuvring.

Fletcher is well known as a platform supply vessel operator, having worked in the North Sea for over 20 years. But with experience carrying out ROV operations and boulder clearance for the renewables industry, Keith Fletcher saw an opportunity for expansion.

Dear MTS/IEEE OES colleagues, We are writing to you in our capacity as Technical Program Chairpeople for the MTS/IEEE OCEANS'17 Conference, to be held in Aberdeen, Scotland, UK, 19-22 June 2017. OCEANS'17 will be a tremendous opportunity to focus on topics of interest to you in all fields of Marine Technology and Ocean Engineering. We are developing a Technical Program that we hope will appeal to the most significant areas of interest.

AutoNaut Ltd, a global leader in autonomous wave propelled vessels, has formally become a partner with the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre. UK-based AutoNaut and the NOC has enjoyed a long-term relationship since 2013 and this move is a sign of the company’s increasing ambitions. Recent investment from the Seiche Group has enabled AutoNaut to expand manufacturing facilities and engineering expertise as well as recruit several new members of staff. A desk in the innovation centre will be utilised by AutoNaut Ltd technical and business development personnel to work alongside the NOC’s marine autonomy and robotics team.

Two young engineers will soon be attempting a 250 kilometer crossing of the English channel in a pedal powered submarine. The two friends, Antoine Delafargue and Michael de Lagarde, are passionate about technical challenges, exploration, and sustainable management of natural resources. Their plan is to travel from Plymouth, England to Saint-Malo, France just a few meters above the sea floor in their human powered sub equipped with variety of observation instruments. The two pilots will provide propulsion through pedals attached to a crankshaft which is connected to a drive train that turns the sub’s propeller. The sealed hull is constructed of wood, fiberglass and a resin composite and has many of the features found on full a size submarine including ballast tanks, CO2 scrubbers, bow thrusters, and a sonar. The sub also has a number of safety features such as an emergency buoy and an acoustic pinger. The pinger will allow a surface vessel to track the sub throughout it’s journey.

A major metrology campaign conducted off the coast of Western Australia has been completed in just 26 hours thanks to the time saving features offered by specialist survey software supplied by subsea technology company Sonardyne International Ltd, UK. The project was led by global offshore construction company, EMAS CHIYODA Subsea (ECS), who was contracted by Apache Energy to install infrastructure at the Julimar natural gas field. The scope of work included installation of two manifolds, connected by five 30 metre vertical spools and five 80 metre horizontal spools

Thales, a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Transport, Defence and Security markets, announced today that it will be taking space in the Marine Robotics Innovation Centre at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in Southampton to facilitate its ongoing partnership with the NOC on marine autonomy projects. Thales and the NOC are currently working together on the regulatory, environmental risk, policies and laws associated with Marine Autonomous Systems.

ECA Group, within the framework of the Belgian Navy evaluation of Unmmaned Maritime Systems, demonstrated the AUV A9-M capability to remotely survey the seabed in search for mines from its CPV POLLUX.

After a very long and varied career I have decided to retire from full time employment as from 1 April 2017 when I shall be stepping down as Chief Executive of the Society for Underwater Technology. My first real involvement with the SUT was in 1987 when I joined the Subsea Engineering and Operations Committee shortly after taking up my post of Senior Lecturer at Cranfield University. However, my real first experience of the SUT was in attending an excellent one-day conference in 1978 on the subject of diving. Little did I know then that in 2009, just a little before normal retirement age, I would be leading this wonderful unique organisation. When it comes to praising the SUT, I am certainly not alone.

Liquid Roboticsâ, the leader in long duration, unmanned surface ocean robots has become the newest Associate Member of the National Oceanography Centre’s (NOC) Marine Robotics Innovation Centre. Kevin Forshaw, Associate Director, Innovation and Enterprise at the NOC said, “As the Liquid Roboticsâ Wave Gliderâ was invented to provide ocean researchers with reliable and persistent monitoring, we’re thrilled to welcome them to the Innovation Centre and to be working closely with them on the advancement of marine autonomy.”

ROV Planet Magazine Issue 09 The magazine of choice for Subsea Construction and ROV Professionals. Featuring the AUV Market Report – Company Focus: Subsea Technology & Rentals – The Application of ROVs in the Nuclear Industry – The World's Most Productive Research Vessel – Poster: The Nereid HT Hybrid ROV and AUV – The Nereid on Engineering Sea Trials Offshore Panama – Product Focus: Ashtead AMS and DMS Systems – Fly your ROV from Half Way Around the World at the Touch of a Button.

IKM Cleandrill AS has been awarded a contract by Wintershall Norge AS to provide mud recovery services on multiple offshore wells. The contract will cover potential development drilling campaigns on Maria, as well as an option for future exploration drilling. The Maria development drilling from the rig ‘Deep Sea Stavanger’ is scheduled for 1st half 2017, where the wells will be drilled using the top-hole mud recovery technique. IKM Cleandrill will provide the MRR500 top-hole mud recovery equipment and specialist offshore operational personnel to undertake these services. The MRR500 is the latest generation mud recovery technology, setting market leading standards for safety, efficiency, reliability, and cost effectiveness. The contract is for an initial period of 3 years, with options to extend to 2023.

A recently formed subsea services business has secured a substantial injection of private equity investment to acquire a fleet of 32 best-in-class ROVs.