Monterey, California — Two underwater robots, known as remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) – and the teams that built, designed, and operated them – rose above the rest at last month’s Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Center’s International Student ROV Competition. Jesuit High School of Carmichael, California won first place in the Explorer (advanced) class for the third year in a row, while AMNO & CO, a home school team from Seattle, Washington, took the first-place honor in the Ranger (intermediate) class.

Trojan Crates, based at Aberdeen Harbour, is looking to create around 20 new jobs after investing £1m in new premises.

SubC Imaging is excited to introduce the latest version of its SubC DVR software, version 5. Based on valuable input from users and a detailed analysis of the industry’s current needs, this version includes a significant number of improvements over previous versions.

SMD are pleased to announce the delivery of three Quantum Work Class ROV (WROV) systems to China’s largest offshore engineering construction company, COOEC Subsea Technology Co Ltd. SMD were awarded contracts to supply COOEC with three Quantum MkIII 3000m rated WROV systems in the first quarter of 2015. The orders include one 12Te and two 15Te launch and recovery systems, SMD DVECS-S control systems for each vehicle and a comprehensive spares and support package. In addition to supporting COOEC during system mobilisation, the contract includes a comprehensive SMD customer training package for COOEC personnel, with the option for training to take place at SMD's industry leading training suite in North East England, or at the customers’ preferred location.

An Aberdeen-headquartered firm has donated specialist subsea equipment to help solve one of the most tragic mysteries of the Second World War. Ashtead Technology has been supporting attempts to discover exactly what caused the loss of 645 crewmen when the HMAS Sydney sunk on November 19, 1941. In addition, the leading independent provider of subsea equipment rental, sales and services to the offshore industry, has provided 3-D survey equipment to study the wreck and inform conservation of what is a mass grave site.

2G Robotics' ULS-500 underwater laser scanner is now interfaced with EIVA's software, NaviSuite. NaviSuite is an advanced multipurpose software suite that facilitates data acquisition and processing for subsea surveying and engineering operations. The underwater laser scanners developed by 2G Robotics capture high resolution 3D point cloud visualizations. The submillimeter-level resolution generated by these innovative systems provides engineers with the detail and precision needed for detecting and assessing damage, developing design and repair plans, and performing maintenance and installations.

The final phase of a competition to develop novel adaptive autonomous ocean sampling network (AAOSN) management systems for the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) is now underway. Two UK consortia will move forward to develop systems capable of coordinating a suite of marine autonomous vehicles gathering data from the ocean over periods of months, and tracking and sampling dynamic features

Technip has been awarded by TAP(1) a Project Management Consultancy (PMC) Services contract, for a project designed to transport gas from the Shah Deniz field to the European market. TAP project scope includes an approximately 870 kilometer long pipeline, which will start from the tie-in with the TANAP(2) portion of the Southern Gas Corridor project, at the Greece/Turkey border. The pipeline will then go through Greece and Albania, to eventually cross subsea the Adriatic Sea to end in Puglia, Italy, where it will connect to the Italian natural gas network.

Seabed survey company Bibby HydroMap has appointed Mick Slater as their new Operations Director. After 3 years with the company, Mick Slater has been appointed to the role of Operations Director.

Fugro has been awarded the Geotechnical Verification Investigations 2015 programme by Femern A/S, owner of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link project. The planned 18 kilometre-long immersed tunnel will connect Denmark and Germany as part of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean corridor, one of the EU’s nine priority network corridors. Detailed knowledge of the subsurface soil properties is key for the proper design and execution of this challenging tunnel construction, for which the world’s largest construction and marine dredging companies are amongst the bidders.

Premier is pleased to announce that it, together with its joint venture partners Talos Energy (operator) and Sierra Oil & Gas, has been awarded Blocks 2 and 7 in Mexico’s Round 1 held in Mexico City on 15 July. The Blocks contain numerous leads in established and emerging plays, located in the shallow water Sureste Basin, a proven and prolific hydrocarbon province in the Gulf of Mexico. Blocks 2 and 7 contain Tertiary clastic plays, typical of the Salinas sub-basin. The forward plan is to acquire, evaluate and reprocess 3D seismic data with a view to firming up drilling locations towards the end of 2016.

As constantly being on the forefront on R&D, MMT is pleased to announce their participation and sponsorship on the investigation on the 530 year old wreck Gribshunden outside Ronneby, Sweden. MMT and MARIS (the Maritime Archaeological Research Institute) at Södertörn University have evaluated different techniques to map archaeological remains. The wreck Gribshunden has been one of the projects among others such as wreck investigations in the Baltic Sea on Mars, Lost Landscapes and Traveling Man.

Following a successful showing at Ocean Business, Valeport has now released the latest addition to its portfolio of sound velocity sensors and profilers, the SWiFT SVP. Positioned as the ultimate handheld profiler, the SWiFT SVP has been designed from the outset with the intention of a seamless workflow, and has integral GPS to geo-locate every profile. This new compact unit features high accuracy sound velocity, pressure, temperature, salinity and density measurement, plus integral GPS, re-chargeable battery and LED status indications for GPS, battery and communications.

Remote Ocean Systems Ltd. (Aberdeen, Scotland) is pleased to announce the sale of a significant number of subsea LEDs to ROVOP, an independent provider of subsea remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).

Now in its third edition, the Oceanology International China Conference is developed with government and industry associations, connecting the latest marine science and ocean technology solutions with China's rapidly developing offshore energy & marine industries.

The Italian Air Force Search and Rescue team has been expanding its skills and knowledge during a visit to world leading subsea trials and training facility The Underwater Centre, which is fast developing a reputation for supporting international rescue teams with its range of bespoke packages.

Trelleborg Sealing Solutions has invited colleges and universities to use its online learning program aimed at teaching engineers the basics of sealing. Educational institutes are being urged to take advantage of the company’s commitment to “sharing its knowledge” to help develop “engineers of the future”

Fugro has added cable-lay services to trenching for offshore windfarm and tidal energy sectors. The company has equipped its trenching vessel, Fugro Saltire, with a compact, custom-made, cable-lay spread that comprises a reel drive system to store the cables, a tensioner to lay them, twin winches and a quadrant deployment system on rails. The equipment is fitted to the rear deck of the vessel alongside the existing trenching equipment.