january/february 2011 techn ol gy byron dawe, rutter five

January/February 2011 www.seadiscovery.com

DivingThe Global Way

OffshoreBrazil Pre-Salt

ScienceDiving with Sea Perch

MARINETECHNOLOGY

R E P O R T E R

Admiral Roughead Named “Seamaster” The View from St. John’s New Salvage/FiFi Rules

Five Minutes withByron Dawe, Rutter

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View from St. John’s

14 Ice & Oil Spill DetectionSpecialized radar from Rutter leads the way. by Andrew Safer

Diving

27 Diving Deep with GlobalGlobal Diving & Salvage President Devon Grennan shares the secrets of hiscompany’s success. by Greg Trauthwein

Offshore O&G36 Tapping Brazil’s Pre-Salt

Investment, Regulation well underway offshore Brazil. by Claudio Paschoa

Science

44 Diving in with Sea PerchNaval officers help youth learn science and engineering. by Edward Lundquist

January/February 2011

contentsMarine Technology Reporter • Volume 54 • Number 1

In the BackgroundTraditional Jangadaopen sailboat on aPetrobras sponsoredrace, investing in cul-ture. For more onhow the oil giant isinvesting in its mas-sive Pre-Salt fields,turn to page 36

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SUBMIT EDITORIALMTR invites you to submit company news and events for publica-tion on-line and in print. Visitwww.seadiscovery.com/mt/mtStories.aspx?PostStory=new

the Authors

Andrew Safer is a St. John’s, Newfoundlandbased reporter on subsea technology.See Story on page 14

Captain Katharine Sweeney is CEO ofCompliance Maritime. Captain Sweeney isan experienced Master Mariner, safety expertand federally licensed pilot with over 25 yearsexperience. Contact her [email protected] or(206) 414-4661. See Story on page 22

Claudio Paschoa is a Rio de Janeiro basedwriter for Marine Technology Reporter as wellas www.SeaDiscovery.com.See Story on page 36

Capt. Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret.), is asenior science writer for MCR LLC, and a reg-ular contributor to Marine TechnologyReporter.See Story on page 44

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The turn of the year has brought with it a renewedsense of hope and vigor to the subsea industry,though there are still plentiful reminders of the fis-

cal pain wrought by a global economic downturn. The eco-nomic crisis — as painful as it was and remains for large sec-tors of our economy — was a process that forced upon cor-porate entities, government agencies and institutions of higher learning alike thevirtues of becoming ‘lean and mean.’ While I admit it is a safe assumption that notime soon will we see a drastic expansion of budgets for subsea exploration, it is asimilarly safe statement to point out that opportunities in this market abound, as theworld collectively seeks to contiually improve and make more safe and efficient theway in which it works underwater. Last year’s oil well blowout and disaster nearlyone mile deep in the Gulf of Mexico exposed, in stark terms, the current capabilitiesand limitations of these technologies, but at the same time brought to the forefrontthe intrinsic value of the work you do every day.

Ijust returned from a swing through the Middle East which combined work forme in both the subsea and maritime sectors. While this region was hammeredparticularly hard over the last few years, many projects are coming back with a

vengeance, with billions pouring into new energy projects, both traditional oil & gasas well as renewable, and a long list of port and facility projects that all rely on thevarious talents of the subsea industry to bring them quickly and efficiently from startto finish. Look for a special series on these Middle East business opportunities start-ing in the next edition.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by anymeans mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the pub-lishers.

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MCT: First TidalEnergy Farm by ‘13UK tidal energy compa-ny, Marine CurrentTurbines, is targeting2013 to installScotland’s first tidalenergy farm. The com-pany, which designedand deployed theworld’s first commer-cial scale offshore tidalstream energy systemin Northern Ireland’sStrangford Lough, isinvestigating the feasi-bility of a tidal farm inKyle Rhea, a strait ofwater between the Isleof Skye and theScottish mainland.

Fugro Geos OffshoreWind ProjectsCollection metoceandata plays a vital roleat different phases ofoffshore wind farmprojects ranging fromearly feasibility studiesto engineering designand construction phas-es, as demonstratedby two recent con-tracts won by FugroGEOS, for UK Round 2and 3 projects.Seagreen Wind Energyhas recently awardedFugro GEOS a contractfor an oceanographicsurvey of the zone des-ignated for the Firth ofForth Round 3Offshore Wind Farm.Richard Liptrot, FugroGEOS ProjectManager, said “Thesurvey will includedeployment of waveand current meters atlocations throughoutthe zone over winter2010/11.”

United States Navy Chief of NavalOperations Admiral Gary Roughead hasbeen named “Seamaster of the Year” byMarine Technology Reporter.

“Admiral Roughead is driving a transfor-mation of the way in which the U.S. Navyconducts its business, and he has signaled hisdedication to the rapid advancement of sub-sea vehicle technology,” said GregTrauthwein, Editor and Associate Publisherof Marine Technology Reporter. AdmiralRoughead will accept the Seamaster Award ata special reception in his honor at the FourthAnnual OceanTech Expo (www.oceantech-expo.com), scheduled to be held May 17-19,2011 in at the Newport Yachting Center inNewport, Rhode Island. In addition,Admiral Roughead will share his views onthe future Navy needs regarding unmannedunderwater systems via an exclusive, in-depth interview with Marine TechnologyReporter – the world’s largest circulation b2b

publication serving the global subsea market– scheduled to be published in conjunctionwith the Seamaster Award.

www.seadiscovery.comwww.oceantechexpo

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Materials Systems Inc. (MSI) is supply-ing piezocomposite sonar sensors for use inthe upgraded Manatee Protection Systemat Florida’s Canaveral navigation lock. Thesystem is designed to help safeguardFlorida’s endangered manatees from seriousinjury or death.

The manatees travel through the canallock gates in search of food. Watercraft col-lisions are the leading human related causeof manatee deaths, but lock gate accidentsare second. Approximately 200 manateeshave been crushed by Florida lock gatessince 1974 because the turbid water oftenprevents gate operators from seeing themanatees. In 2000, the Army Corp ofEngineers funded development of a mana-

tee protection system. Scientists and engi-neers at Florida’s Harbor BranchOceanographic Institution (HBOI) devel-oped a system using a “ladder of soundbeams” between two lock gates — one out-fitted with sound emitters and the otherwith sound receivers — to detect the pres-ence of manatees during gate closure.Because of the large number of beams, thesystem is able to distinguish between man-atees and small fish.

When a manatee is detected, the systemstops the gate from closing and keeps itopen until the manatee passes throughsafely. Numerous manatees have beensaved by this system which is now installedon several locks throughout Florida.

MSI Helps Endangered Species

Seamaster Award

Admiral Roughead to be Honored

news


Technip Wins MajorGOM Subsea Deal Technip was awardeda contract by ChevronNorth AmericaExploration andProduction for thedevelopment of theJack & St-Malo fields,located in the WalkerRidge area of the Gulfof Mexico at a waterdepth of approximate-ly 7,000 ft. (2,100m).The contract coversthe engineering, fabri-cation and subseainstallation of morethan 53 miles (85 km)of 10.75-in. outerdiameter of flowlines,steel catenary risers,pipeline end termina-tions, manifolds, pumpstations and tie-inskids.

40G Upgrade toTrans-Pacific CableTyco ElectronicsSubseaCommunications(SubCom) was con-tracted to provide thefirst 40G upgrade in asystem more than9,500km in length.The use of SubCom’snext-generation G4SLTE enables theincrease of cross sec-tional capacity by100% to 1.92Tbpsper fiber pair, a newrecord for trans-Pacificdistance.www.SubCom.com

With a global presence and a huge portfo-lio of subsea equipment for subsea construc-tion support, important for Seatronics is acomplete range of products. In November2010, Seatronics placed an order for 13upgrades of their SeaBat 7125 ROV versionsto the new SeaBat 7125 ROV2 version.Included in the order is also an upgrade of 16SeaBat 8125 systems that will be upgraded tothe SeaBat 8125 Hybrid version. Besides theinvestment in high-end shallow and midwater range systems, Seatronics also focus onthe low-end shallow water market and canafter having purchased the RESONHydroBat Composite, also meet the require-ments from this customer segment. Theupgrade to the SeaBat 7125 ROV2 multi-beam system, will improve efficiency andusability for Seatronics customers. Especiallythe software package has been given fullattention and the new SeaBat 7125 ROV2comes with a new Pipeline Mode which givesan increased number of hits on a pipelineand ensures exact data that improves the data

post processing time considerably. An addi-tional included feature is the possibility tohave variable swath widths from 45 to 140degrees. Customers with the need for highdata density or increased along track densitywill benefit from Seatronics new investment.The new software version also allows forbeam uncertainty quantification, which sig-nificantly will enhance the processing andreporting speed. Upgrading to SeaBat 8125Hybrid includes a number of equidistantbeams up to 512 and variable swath.

www.reson.com

Seatronics Invests in Upgrades

Preventing the dangerous hazards whichmay arise from the use of electricity underwater are dealt with in ‘Code of Practice forthe Safe Use of Electricity Under Water’, apublication from the International MarineContractors Association (IMCA).

The Code covers all types of electricalequipment used by a diver — employed forhis benefit, either under his control, orunder the control of the diving supportteam.

“The Code deals with vital issues such asthe prevention of electric shock, and otherconcerns, including the degradation ofelectrical insulating material by heat, whichcan result in the emission of toxic or explo-

sive products, and hot surfaces or electricarcs from faulty equipment, or switchingdevices, that can ignite some gas mixturesand pollute the diver’s breathing gas sup-plies,” said IMCA’s Chief Executive, HughWilliams.

“This is an extremely important docu-ment; first published in 1985, and whichhas now been updated and reissued. It hasbeen prepared by a workgroup made up ofIMCA members and technical experts,including three of the workgroup involvedin the development of the original codewho were able to provide advice on back-ground issues.”

Email: imca@ imca-int.com

‘Safe Use of Electricity Underwater’


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There is a lot of plastic trash floating in the PacificOcean, but claims that the “Great Garbage Patch”between California and Japan is twice the size of Texas aregrossly exaggerated, according to an analysis by an OregonState University scientist. Further claims that the oceansare filled with more plastic than plankton, and that thepatch has been growing tenfold each decade since the1950s are equally misleading, pointed out Angelicque“Angel” White, an assistant professor of oceanography atOregon State.

“There is no doubt that the amount of plastic in theworld’s oceans is troubling, but this kind of exaggerationundermines the credibility of scientists,” White said. “Wehave data that allow us to make reasonable estimates; wedon’t need the hyperbole. Given the observed concentra-tion of plastic in the North Pacific, it is simply inaccurateto state that plastic outweighs plankton, or that we haveobserved an exponential increase in plastic.”

White has pored over published literature and partici-pated in one of the few expeditions solely aimed at under-standing the abundance of plastic debris and the associat-ed impact of plastic on microbial communities. Thatexpedition was part of research funded by the NationalScience Foundation through C-MORE, the Center forMicrobial Oceanography: Research and Education. The

studies have shown is that if you look at the actual area ofthe plastic itself, rather than the entire North Pacific sub-tropical gyre, the hypothetically “cohesive” plastic patch isactually less than 1 percent of the geographic size of Texas.

“The amount of plastic out there isn’t trivial,” Whitesaid. “But using the highest concentrations ever reportedby scientists produces a patch that is a small fraction of thestate of Texas, not twice the size.”

Another way to look at it, White said, is to compare theamount of plastic found to the amount of water in whichit was found. “If we were to filter the surface area of theocean equivalent to a football field in waters having thehighest concentration (of plastic) ever recorded,” she said,“the amount of plastic recovered would not even extend tothe 1-inch line.”

Recent research by scientists at the Woods HoleOceanographic Institution found that the amount of plas-tic, at least in the Atlantic Ocean, hasn’t increased sincethe mid-1980s – despite greater production and con-sumption of materials made from plastic, she pointed out.

“Are we doing a better job of preventing plastics fromgetting into the ocean?” White said. “Is more plastic sink-ing out of the surface waters? Or is it being more effi-ciently broken down? We just don’t know. But the data onhand simply do not suggest that ‘plastic patches’ haveincreased in size. This is certainly an unexpected conclu-sion, but it may in part reflect the high spatial and tem-poral variability of plastic concentrations in the ocean andthe limited number of samples that have been collected.”The hyperbole about plastic patches saturating the mediarankles White, who says such exaggeration can drive awedge between the public and the scientific community.One recent claim that the garbage patch is as deep as theGolden Gate Bridge is tall is completely unfounded, shesaid.

“Most plastics either sink or float,” White pointed out.“Plastic isn’t likely to be evenly distributed through thetop 100 feet of the water column.”

White says there is growing interest in removing plasticfrom the ocean, but such efforts will be costly, inefficient,and may have unforeseen consequences. It would be diffi-cult, for example, to “corral” and remove plastic particlesfrom ocean waters without inadvertently removing phyto-

Media overstates size of

The Oceanic “Garbage” Patch

Larger plastic pieces can harbor microbes, both beneficial and harmful, scientists have discovered.

www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 13

plankton, zooplankton, and small surface-dwelling aquat-ic creatures. The relationship between microbes and plas-tic is what drew White and her C-MORE colleagues totheir analysis in the first place. During a recent expedition,they discovered that photosynthetic microbes were thriv-ing on many plastic particles, in essence confirming thatplastic is prime real estate for certain microbes.

White also noted that while plastic may be beneficial tosome organisms, it can also be toxic. Specifically, it is well-known that plastic debris can adsorb toxins such as PCB.

“On one hand, these plastics may help remove toxinsfrom the water,” she said. “On the other hand, these sametoxin-laden particles may be ingested by fish and seabirds.Plastic clearly does not belong in the ocean.” Among otherfindings, which White believes should be part of the pub-lic dialogue on ocean trash:• Calculations show that the amount of energy it wouldtake to remove plastics from the ocean is roughly 250times the mass of the plastic itself;

• Plastic also covers the ocean floor, particularly off-shore of large population centers. A recent survey from thestate of California found that 3 percent of the southernCalifornia Bight’s ocean floor was covered with plastic –roughly half the amount of ocean floor covered by lostfishing gear in the same location. But little, overall, isknown about how much plastic has accumulated at thebottom of the ocean, and how far offshore this debris fieldextends;• It is a common misperception that you can see orquantify plastic from space. There are no tropical plasticislands out there and, in fact, most of the plastic isn’t evenvisible from the deck of a boat; • There are areas of the ocean largely unpolluted byplastic. A recent trawl White conducted in a remote sec-tion of water between Easter Island and Chile pulled in noplastic at all.

(Source: Angel White, Mark Floyd and the Oregon StateUniversity College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences)


The View from St. John’s

“Canada is one of the world’s leading maritime nations,with the world’s longest coastline and bordering three ofthe world’s oceans,” Jane Rutherford, Global PracticeLead, Ocean Technologies, Department of Foreign Affairsand International Trade (Canada), was quoted as saying inthe last issue of Marine Technology Reporter. “We knowthe sea. Our innovative marine technology products andservices are based on our experiences in one of the mostchallenging marine environments in the world.”

A case in point is a core radar processing technologyoriginally developed to detect sea ice and icebergs, whichis also being used for oil spill detection.

Manufactured and marketed by Rutter Inc. of St. John’s,the Sigma S6 Ice Navigator (Sigma S6 system) has beenutilized for more than 10 years to detect small chunks ofice offshore on the Grand Banks, Newfoundland for theoil industry. Standard ship’s radar is designed for collisionavoidance and is used to detect other ships and land andis not designed to detect sea ice and icebergs. The Sigma

S6 system connects to the ship’s radar, processes the fulldynamic range of the raw radar signal, and the advancedsignal processing generates a high-resolution image with256 video intensity levels, producing finer ice definition.

Captain John Broderick is the Commanding Officer ofthe Canadian Coast Guard’s CCGS Henry Larsen, a 320-ft-long, 6500-gt Arctic-class icebreaker that operates inthe Canadian Arctic and sub-Arctic regions. Navigating inthese waters can be demanding and dangerous for allships, he explains, even those with Icebreaker classifica-tion. Arctic ice regimes including thick first-year ice, oldor multi-year ice, ice islands and glacial features such asicebergs and bergy bits (glacier ice less than five metersabove the surface) can be hazardous to vessels. Safe navi-gation requires the ability to detect and differentiatebetween these features, as well as to determine floe size—often challenges for normal navigational radar systems.

Since 2006, the Sigma S6 system has been used onboardthe CCGS Henry Larsen. For the past four years Captain

Specialized Radar for

Ice and Oil-Spill DetectionBy Andrew Safer

Rutter's Sigma S6 IceNavigator: Imageshows pack ice in thevicinity of the vessel(center).


Broderick has been conducting an R&D project focusedon improving the safety and efficiency of ice navigation byenhanced detection. In the first phase, the Sigma S6 sys-tem was fitted to a standard X Band navigational radar. Inthe second phase, it was combined with a dedicated high-speed radar. In the third phase, planned for the 2011Arctic season, it will be used with enhanced scanning withdual polarization.

“Although considered a trial radar, very early on wefound ourselves relying on the capabilities of the Sigma S6system regularly to navigate around and through multi-year ice regimes.” Typically, the Henry Larsen is escortingvessels such as tankers that have standard radar. “We’ve got

somebody behind us with lesser capability, and we’re look-ing for the easiest route,” Captain Broderick explains.“We’re looking for the weak points (in the ice) and theleads (fields of floating ice). With the Sigma S6 system,there is a clearer definition of floe edges. The enhancedvisual of the ice regime gives clear floe definition and out-lines the water leads and weak points within the ice pack.While operating in old ice regimes, this definition wasparticularly useful in avoiding large floes in restricted vis-ibility. With practice and continuous use, our navigatorscould differentiate between floe size and often the ice type.It is important to know before entering an ice field, if theice floe is a consolidated mass more than a mile wide, or

Pictured is the CCGS Henry Larsen.


The View from St. John’s

just a collection of small floes that areeasier to navigate through.” The sec-ond phase of the R&D projectfocused on detecting bergy bits andgrowlers (less than 1 meter above thesurface). During his annual trip fromNewfoundland to the west coast ofGreenland in 2008, CaptainBroderick was able to detect thesmaller icebergs in low visibility. Atdistances up to two miles, he esti-mates a 20 to 25 percent improve-ment with the Sigma S6 system com-pared to standard radar—both interms of detection and its ability tohold the target over time. The SigmaS6 system has been installed on morethan a 100 ships and offshore plat-forms operating in the Russian,Canadian, and Norwegian Arctic andsub-Arctic regions, Baltic Sea, Alaska,Antarctica, and offshoreNewfoundland and Labrador.

The Norwegian CoastalAdministration has been using theSigma S6 system for ice operationssince 2007, and in 2008 they discov-ered that it can also be used to detecta small oil slick. The NorwegianClean Seas Association (NOFO) pro-ceeded to test Rutter’s Oil SpillDetection system over a three-yearperiod. In August 2010 NOFO certi-fied that the system meets these stan-dards for NOFO oil recovery vessels:“(1) The vessel must have an oil detec-tion system permanently installedthat gives automatic detection, and(2) Must be able to present area andposition determination of oil slick,operating history, speed and directionof the slick.” NOFO is currentlyoperating two of these systems on oilrecovery vessels. The system is alsodeployed on other oil spill recoveryvessels in Norwegian waters as well asa Statoil platform. “To date,” said


Byron Dawe, President, Business Development andInnovation, Rutter Technologies, a division of Rutter, Inc.“the Sigma S6 is one of only two systems in the world tobe given the green flag indicating it meets the stringentrequirements of vessels operating under jurisdiction of theNorwegian Clean Seas Association.”

Rutter Inc. partnered with Aptomar AS of Trondheim,Norway to increase the system’s functionality, and in June2010 the two companies launched the Integrated Oil SpillResponse and Management System. This system inte-grates Rutter’s S6 radar processor and display withAptomar’s infrared camera, real-time video, searchlightcapabilities, and chart-based display. The integrated sys-tem provides automatic oil spill detection and tracking,area, thickness and volume estimations as well as oil spilldrift prediction, detection of boom leakage and disposi-tion of the oil spill skimmer. The system can provide thisfunctionality during both day and night operations.

The Sigma S6 system detects a potential oil spill targetby detecting a reduced signal return where the wind-gen-erated capillary waves on the ocean’s surface are suppressed

due to the presence of oil. Once the oil spill is detected,the Sigma S6 system continues to track and exchange datawith the Aptomar system to validate the presence of oil.The resulting radar image is displayed and outlined in achart system.

The infrared camera is used to determine the area wherethe spill is thickest. All of the information can then be dis-tributed either onboard, ship-to-ship, or ship-to-shore.Edison Chouest Offshore LLC has purchased threeIntegrated Oil Spill Response and Management Systemsto be deployed on vessels operating in Brazil in support ofPetrobas. Rederi AB TransAtlantic has purchased a systemto be deployed off Norway on a vessel in support of Statoiloperations, and the Danish shipping company Esvagt isleasing two systems in support of Statoil operations off thecoast of Egypt.

“With the heightened awareness of environmental issuesand the opening up of the North,” said Dawe, “these typesof advances in radar processing and integration dramati-cally improve the efficiency and safety of operations,whether it be for oil spill or ice management.”

Rutter's Sigma S6 OilSpill Detection system:Outlined shapes show

oil spills actively beingtracked. Arrow pointing

east from green out-lined section shows drift

direction. Trianglesshow the location of

other vessels.

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Byron Dawe is one of the original founders of RutterTechnologies and has over 30 years diverse experience inthe marine technology business. Dawe is a foundingmember of the International ElectrotechnicalCommission, Technical Committee 80, Working Group11, which has been responsible for the development of thetesting standard for voyage data recorders. He is alsoactive in the International Maritime Organization and hasparticipated in the development of the VDR and S-VDRperformance standards through this organization. MTRrecently spend some time with Dawe to discuss Rutterand the evolution of the subsea technology industry.

You helped found Rutter Technologies; what was theimpetus to create this company?

While working at a non-governmental organization andtasked to find opportunities for Canadian companies, Icame across the opportunity for voyage data recorders(VDRs) or Black box for ships and recognized that a cou-ple of companies had all the technologies in place to sup-ply VDRs. These two small companies, SigmaEngineering and Consolidated Technologies, decided totake advantage of the emerging market opportunity, and Iwas offered to help run the business in manufacturing andmarketing VDRs.

How is the company most different from when you helpedcreate it? How is it still the same?

The company has grown considerably. RutterTechnologies was acquired by another group early in itslifecycle, because of its potential opportunity and becausethe company needed the capital to grow. Rutter Inc. hasnow grown into a diversified, publicly traded company onthe Canadian Toronto Stock Exchange. Our radar signalprocessing technology, which we acquired a few yearsback, has been sold into multiple markets, including secu-rity, ice navigation, oil spill detection, and even bird track-ing markets. We are still a recognized leader in the VDRbusiness, with approximately 4,000 systems being soldover the last 10 years, and still deliver a lot of VDRs.

How did you initially take an interest in the maritimeindustry?

I’ve always been involved in the marine industry from

the research and development perspective since early daysin the university. I did a lot of work on the problems withice management of the east coast of Canada and in theCanadian Arctic. I also did a lot of work for the UnitedStates and Canadian Coast Guards on Search and Rescue(SAR) detection technologies for SAR applications. Iguess the maritime industry was kind of in my blood, andthat’s why I ended up in the business.

How would you describe your management style?I treat our people with respect, and we work as a team.

I try to keep the team informed and insist on quality inour products as well as on bringing a professionalapproach to the business.

Please provide a brief overview of Rutter Technologiesand its position in the marketplace?

Rutter Technologies is growing to be a significant playerin the commercial marine industry worldwide. We havecaptured a substantial market share in the VDR business.

Five Minutes With ...

Rutter’s President, Business Development and Innovation

Byron Dawe


Right now we are getting a well established reputation forour radar signal processing and display technology. Rutterhas been a world leader in the shipboard ice detection andnavigation market with its Ice Navigator radar system.We are now achieving a leadership position in the oil spilldetection market.

Since helping to found Rutter, what do you count as yourgreatest accomplishment(s)?

We took Rutter in its infancy to making it a well-knownand respected company in the marine business. We werea small Canadian company growing from virtually noth-ing, and now we are well recognized by the industry. Ithink this is a significant accomplishment.

What do you count as your greatest challenges?Our greatest challenges have been finding the capital to

achieve what we wanted to do, maintaining the productsand services, and establishing a global network to supportour products and services.

Since Rutter was created, what do you count as the mostimportant industry trend that has helped to shape thecompany and its offering today?

Rutter was created to supply voyage data recorders forthe mandated commercial marine market. The require-ment of retrofitting VDRs to existing cargo vessels thatcame into place in 2007, along with the earlier fittingrequirement for passenger vessels, was probably the mostimportant industry trend at the time that helped shape thecompany and gave us the recognition in the market glob-ally. We did realize early on that this market would phaseout in a few years; so we made sure we had other tech-nologies to diversify the company and to allow us movinginto other markets. One of the more interesting trendsthat have recently occurred and impacted us was the off-shore industry moving into the Arctic. This has given usthe opportunity to provide our ice navigation technologyand is certainly having positive impact on our oil spilldetection radar business.

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Five Minutes With ...

How is Rutter investing today to ensure its viability tomorrow?

We are heavily investing in our R&D, especially onenhancing our radar technology, to ensure that we'redeveloping technologies available in different applicationsfor multiple markets.

How has the current global economic crisis affectedRutter’s business?

Certainly the global economic crisis over the past coupleyears has caused downturn in the marine industry and

affected all companies in the commercial marine business.The delays in fittings for simplified VDRs certainly

impacted Rutter's business significantly. However, ourradar line of products, which target diversified markets,had helped mitigate a lot of the impact.

Can you share with us your outlook on business for thecoming few years?

We see significant opportunities related to the openingup of the Arctic for radar based ice navigation systems.

T & T MARINE SALVAGE, INC.• MARINE SALVAGE • HEAVY LIFT • MARINE FIREFIGHTING • SPILL RESPONSE

• LIGHTERING • MARINE TOWING • LAUNCH • DIVING • ROVS 9723 Teichman RoadGalveston, TX 77554

www.tandtmarine.comopera�[email protected]+1 409-744-1222

24 HR EMERGENCY LINET&T Marine of Galveston, Texas has been providing Maritime Emergency Response Services since 1957.

We are a diverse organization consisting of six individual companies as well as an OPA 90 alliance.


We also see a substantial opportunity related to both ter-rorism and piracy in the use of our technology to securefacilities, ships, and such. Security has been a very signif-icant business in the world, including coast surveillance,port security, and shipboard security. Additionally, theenvironmental concerns and the recent Deep Horizonevent will certainly impact the technologies for oil spillremediation and management.

What do you consider to be the biggest challenges toyour company in terms of technical matters?

In terms of technical matters, our biggest challenge iskeeping our company technologically ahead in the areaswe're involved in. We are the leader in the radar based icenavigation and oil spill detection business. As the marketsquickly grow, we fully expect competition to come in.Our challenge is to continue enhancing our offerings tomaintain our leaderships in these areas of business.


We took Rutter in its infancy to making it a

well-known and respected company in the

marine business. We were a small

Canadian company growing from virtually

nothing, and now we are well recognized

by the industry. I think this is a significant

accomplishment.


As of February 22, 2011, vessels car-rying petroleum products in bulk willhave to have additional criteria cov-ered in their emergency responseplans. In an attempt to increase thesalvage and marine fire fighting capa-bilities in the U.S., vessels will soonneed to show proof of coverage indi-cating that the vessel’s operators havethe resources available to meet somevery stringent requirements (15 in all)in the event of an emergency, such asfire, grounding, collision, for everyU.S. port the vessel calls and for theareas of transit inside of 50 milesfrom the coastline. While these newSalvage and Marine Fire Fighting(SMFF) requirements directly impactpetroleum carriers, the Coast Guardknows that not just oil tankers haveunfortunate events (or carry oil) andthese requirements could be extendedto all vessels.

If a vessel or barge does not have theplans in place for the port it is calling,the vessel may be denied entry intothe COTP zone. Or it may be deniedmovement if the vessel does not havea plan for the port it is in. Items mak-ing up the list of the robust newrequirements include:• a pre-fire plan• marine fire fighting response• lightering• damage stability (the means toassess the condition of the vessel, aswell the subsequent effects of firefighting and damage control on thestability of the vessel)• identification of a salvage tug withsuitable characteristics (towing con-figuration, bollard pull, emergency

towing capacity in 40 knots of wind).Waivers can be requested to extendthe response time in which theresources must be able to get to thescene of an emergency. However therequirement to have the resourcesavailable will still stand. In otherwords, the waiver will allow your sal-vage tug more time to get to the ves-sel, but it won’t waive the require-ment to have a suitable tug available.Waivers are due by January 22, 2011.

Geographic specific waivers andAlternative Planning Criteria (APC),if granted, will allow for a deviationfrom the requirements. However, theCoast Guard will be looking to seethat equivalent levels of safety andpollution prevention/response aremet. Sector Juneau has such anAlternate Planning Criteria in place.The plan does not require specificidentified resources that may beunavailable due to the remoteness ofthe region. Instead, Sector Juneaurequires that no servicing or repairsthat affect propulsion occur whileunderway outside of 12 miles, otherthan emergencies, without prior noti-fication. Furthermore, no oil transferoperations are allowed outside of 12miles. The regulations allow foragreements with local, state, and fed-eral resources.

An example would be the use of thelocal fire department’s fire boats andpersonnel. The local Captain of thePort (COTP) will ultimately makethe call as to what equipment is used.For example, if your plan has a specif-ic tug listed, but there is a better suit-ed tug nearby, the COTP may use his

or her discretion as the SMFF plan isput into action.

Currently, there are no trained com-mercial marine firefighting teamsavailable in the State of Hawaii.Presently, plans must only account forthe port of Honolulu and 50 milesoutward (encompassing Oahu andpart of Molokai). Tank vessels operat-ing within 50 nautical miles ofHonolulu Harbor will be required tocontract with commercial marinefirefighting providers from the main-land and submit a temporary waiverrequest to the Sector HonoluluCOTP. The bottom line is that youmust have a plan and put some fore-thought into what could go wrongand what you are going to need.

Furthermore, you must either trainsomeone on the vessel or have some-one shore-side who can assess how toproceed with the plan of action, whenan emergency happens. This assess-ment must occur within the first hourfollowing a casualty and an on-sitesalvage assessment (or fire assessment)must occur within six hours for nearcoastal.

Salvage

The New SMFF:

Coming to a COTP Zone Near YouBy Capt. Katharine Sweeney


Resolve, T&T BissoForm FiFi Coalition

T&T Bisso team delivering 6000gpm during offshore firefightingdeployment exercise.

Resolve Marine Group and T&TBisso announced a coalition forMarine Firefighting services in U.S.waters. The agreement combinesboth companies’ firefighting infra-structure to produce overlappingcoverage and higher volume fire-fighting capacity throughout theU.S. The coalition was created tohelp tank vessel operators fully com-ply with the new Oil Pollution Actof 1990 regulations that will beeffective on February 22, 2011.

The regulations require that alltanker and tank barge owners oper-ating in U.S. waters update theirexisting USCG-approved VesselResponse Plan (VRP) with a Salvageand Marine Firefighting (SMFF)plan. Tank vessel owners must certi-fy they have pre-contracted firefight-ing services, equipment, and trainedresponse personnel. During the pastthree years, both RESOLVE andT&T Bisso developed comprehen-sive in-house firefighting responsesystems which include newly pur-chased, custom-built equipment andnetworks of trained maritime fire-fighters to meet any vessel responseneeds.


What is your background?I graduated from the University of Washington and

went straight to work for Global. I do not have a divingbackground, so when I started in 1995, I worked on themarine environmental side of the house, although thecompany was much smaller than it is today, and everyonerelied on each other for help across the company servicelines. I got the opportunity to tend on projects, anddeveloped an appreciation for the work our divers per-formed. I eventually began to manage projects, and even-tually was promoted to the Environmental DivisionManager, and then to General Manager. When the twoprincipals took a step back from the day to day activitiesof the company, I was promoted to President at the end of2008.

How did you come to be involved in the Maritime Industry?

My family has always been involved in the maritimeindustry; my grandfather owned a marine diesel enginecompany in Seattle, my extended family has worked forvarious marine related companies, and my father worked

for Crowley Marine Services for 35 years, so I always hada healthy appreciation for working on the waterfront.When I was in college, I wrote my thesis on the impact ofthe Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and got a chance to inter-view professionals in the towboat business about casualtyresponse operations. For some reason, the idea of work-ing on a marine salvage or oil spill response resonated withme, and working at a commercial diving and salvage com-pany sounded a lot better than working at a consultingcompany, which was what all of my friends were doing.One of the original principals at Global gave me anopportunity, told me not to quit my other job, and toldme to be at the shop at 0700 every morning to see if theyhad work. Over the last 15 years, I have enjoyed theopportunity to work with great professionals, and to workfor a company that has such an amazing culture of pro-fessional pride.

Please give a brief description on Global Diving &Salvage, including physical assets, employees, etc.

Global was founded by seven original partners in 1979,and now is owned by two remaining partners, but sub-

Diving DeepMarine Technology Reporter recently spent some time with Devon Grennan, President of Global Diving &

Salvage, to get his views on the evolution of the diving industry, and challenges ahead.by Greg Trauthwein, Editor

Cheesman Dam images, clockwise starting righthand page:

• Barge moored over the work area.

• The Diving Bell Area is readied for deployment.

• A new spool being lowered into place.

• New gate beinglowered in place.

• Diver on stage at Cheesman Dam.


stantively run by the senior management and diversegroup of professionals both in the field and in theoffice. The company’s corporate offices are locatedin Seattle, WA, but we now have regional offices inAnchorage, AK; the San Francisco Bay area, CA; andHouston, TX to support our local operations inthose regions. We also work internationally whenthe right opportunity comes about. We have six coreservices lines: regional day to day diving services suchas underwater ship husbandry and diving support formarine construction operations; casualty responseproject management and operations both topsideand underwater; marine construction operations as aprime contractor; marine environmental supportoperations including small vessel operation; offshorediving support operations for the energy sector; andunmanned underwater operations with ROVs. Weare capable of supporting all of these service lines inall of the regions we operate.

We have built and operate four saturation divingsystems, and we have multiple mixed gas and surfacediving systems across the company offices. We alsohave seven inspection class ROVs and own a SAABSeaeye Cougar XT light work class ROV as well. Weown and operate a number of small dive support ves-sels. But perhaps the most important asset thatGlobal has are the professionals that work at thecompany. We have approximately 350 full time div-ing and marine professionals who have worked at thecompany for a long time, and who take great pride indoing a good job the first time. This culture wasinstilled in the company from the beginning, and wecarry it forward with our new personnel.


DB Performance Images, starting top:

• Dive station mounted aboard derrick barge.

• Topside package being loaded aboard barge.

• Upper portion of jack-up barge that was destroyedby hurricane, raised to the surface.


While it appears you have diverse operations, what doyou count as your core business?

Our core business is commercial diving, regardless ofdepth and type of service. Ship husbandry, underwatermarine construction support services, casualty responsemanagement, offshore support services, underwaterinspection and infrastructure repair and maintenance, etc.Due to the breadth and depth of our service lines, wefound that we have very few competitors who we competewith in all of the service lines we provide, with the differ-ent diving methods (surface supplied air, mixed gas, satu-ration) across the regions we areactively involved in. The otherservices such as ROV operationsand marine environmental servic-es are predominantly value addedservices that complement our corediving services, even though theyare stand alone profit centers now.

What do you count as the corestrengths of your company?• Culture: our company andemployees take great pride in whowe are, what we stand for, andhow we go about performing ourwork. Even though the companyhas been making great strides for-ward, we still make sure our deci-sions are sound for our employees, and that we can main-tain the perspective of providing a quality service to ourclients in a safe manner, regardless of the internal cost ofdoing so. This has been the way Global has gone aboutperforming our work since the beginning, and we willcontinue to keep that business model as we expand.

• Diversification of services: all of our service lines havedistinct market cycles, and we are well aware of how thevarious markets ebb and flow. The scope of services thatwe perform really allows us to be able to utilize and moveour personnel and equipment across various regions andservice lines, thereby keeping our equipment utilizationup, and keeping good people employed as well as devel-oping and increasing their personal skill sets and exposureto different types of work.

• Expertise: We are good at what we do, both in the fieldand in the office. We have a broad experience across the

service lines that complement one another well. These in-house capabilities provide us with a distinct advantage inresponding expediently to client’s needs.

• Opportunistic approach: We have always been cog-nizant of preparedness and planning, and looking ahead.We are healthy financially, and are very aggressive whenopportunities become available. This is an underlyingbusiness philosophy that has enabled us to grow andexpand in the fashion that we have to date. And one thatwe will continue to focus on into the future.

How has commercial divingchanged most significantly inyour career? For the good?

The continued focus towardsdiving safety is the best change Ihave seen. The efforts of theADCI to renew its efforts withthe recently publishedConsensus Standards, 6thEdition is another move in theright direction to pursue thehighest aims of diving safety.

For the bad?Not necessarily a diving indus-

try concern, but generally acrossthe maritime trade as a whole:

we are not building new generations of maritime person-nel for the known demand. New divers are highly moti-vated, but are generally not willing to put in the requisitetime to gain real experience. It could just be a genera-tional issue, but one which our industry will struggle withas competent, professional, and experienced diving needsescalate both domestically and internationally.

What, in your opinion, have been the two or three techni-cal advances that have been instrumental in makingcommercial diving more safe and efficient?

It is not necessarily a technical advance, but the morefrequent use of saturation diving as a method for execut-ing work for shallower depths. The life support redun-dancy, coupled with technical and regulatory advanceswith reclaim gas capability and use of hyperbaric rescuechambers, make it tremendously safe. And clients are see-ing that certain projects, depending on depth and antici-pated duration, can be as cost competitive as traditionalsurface gas diving, but with the reduction of multiple

New divers are highly motivated,

but are generally not willing to put

in the requisite time to gain real

experience. It could just be a gen-

erational issue, but one which our

industry will struggle with as com-

petent, professional, and experi-

enced diving needs escalate both

domestically and internationally.


decompressions on the divers.Another evolution in diving is the acceptance of under-

water construction techniques and constructability. Civilprojects with underwater impacts are more and more fre-quent, and project management and engineering firms arecoming forward to discuss how to rehabilitate, repair andin some cases, construct civil infrastructure directly withdiving companies. The concept of designing a projectaround performing the work in the wet is much morecommonplace then it was in past years.

How has the evolution of subsearobotics changed the nature ofyour business?

Subsea robotics definitely havea role, as the offshore energy mar-ket expands into ever deeperwater, beyond the reach of divers,and they provide an absolutelynecessary function. The techno-logical advances in the recentpast, coupled with the design oftooling and fixtures that are ROVoperable allow them to do amaz-ing things, they are the key toworking in deeper water (over1,000 feet). For work less than1,000 feet, we feel they play moreof a supportive role to traditionalcommercial diving services. Theyprovide the ability for owners orengineers to ‘see’ underwater. On projects, where there isa potential for entrapment, they can be utilized instead ofputting a diver in harm’s way, they also can get into spacesand locations a diver cannot. The can be used as a benefi-cial complement to the work a diver can perform.

What do you count as the biggest challenge to running asuccessful commercial diving business today?

The biggest challenge is to remain diversified in serviceslines while balancing the execution and quality needed tobe successful. We strive not to just be capable, but to bethe best at what we do. As we continue to grow and devel-op our regional operations, it is demanding to maintainthe same standard of care and quality that our clientsexpect. A concurrent issue that is challenging is the devel-opment of professional tradesman in diving and marine

construction. We are fortunate that we have experiencedpersonnel, but the industry as a whole will not keep upwith the future demand of skilled divers, constructors andtechnicians. Commercial diving specifically is a physical-ly demanding trade, and we need to build and retain pro-fessional trades to meet domestic and international needs.

What is on the horizon – in terms of competition, legisla-tion or technology – that you believe will change the wayyou do your business most in the coming decade?

I think the two issues that willimpact the industry the most inthe next decade will be advancesin unmanned intervention,namely in surveying and ROVs;and the impact of legislation andfederal and state funding to carryout those legislative directives.The use and accuracy of under-water technology keeps gettingbetter; we are excited as thesedevelopments further supportsthe capabilities of underwaterservices. In our marine construc-tion operations, we are constant-ly discussing the issue of con-structability, namely in underwa-ter construction techniques.Instrumentation and surveyingtools allow us to discuss quantita-tive methodologies with engi-

neering firms, and convince clients of what can (and insome cases, can’t) be accomplished underwater in a costefficient manner.

The majority of commercial diving work has a directrelationship with legislation, especially in our business.We perform platform removal and plug and abandonmentwork in the Gulf of Mexico, along with inspection androutine maintenance of pipelines and platforms; we main-tain and retrofit bridges, dams, and reservoirs; we manageand execute field operations for sunken wreck removals;we preventively boom marine fuel transfers. The list goeson and on; it was only recently that it dawned on me thata predominance of the work we perform in and out of thewater is in support of compliance with state and federalregulations, and that the funding is also closely tied togovernmental agencies in some form or another.

Another evolution in diving is the

acceptance of underwater con-

struction techniques and con-

structability. Civil projects with

underwater impacts are more and

more frequent, and project manage-

ment and engineering firms are

coming forward to discuss how to

rehabilitate, repair and in some

cases, construct civil infrastructure

directly with diving companies.


By Claudio PaschoaSince the discovery of light oil at the Tupi pre-salt field

in 2007 and other pre-salt fields discovered at the Santosand Espirito Santo Basins subsequently, there has beennational and global excitement over the possible extent ofBrazil´s pre-salt reserves.

It is important to get a big picture of the deepwater andpre-salt regions in Brazil, also looking at the major regula-tory and policy changes that will occur and understandthe effects that these will have on future investmentopportunities in the Brazilian pre-salt.

The international players that managed to acquire con-cession areas in the early bidding rounds pertaining topre-salt plots in the Santos Basin can be considered veryfortunate. The next bidding rounds will most probablynot be offering as many prime choices as before, since reg-ulations are set for major changes that will most probablyrestrict international involvement in the Brazilian pre-saltmarket, new regulations will also allow Petrobras to havea minimum participation of 30% capital stake on all newpre-salt blocks.

Brazil´s congress is negotiating four major bills whichwill significantly alter state policy towards the pre-saltreservoir regions and this will have a game changing effecton business related to these pre-salt regions. There areactually three regions in the Brazilian offshore that havebeen proven to contain large pre-salt reservoirs; SantosBasin, Campos Basin and Espirito Santo Basin.

Of these three basins, the Santos Basin is by far consid-ered to have the greatest reserves, and is also where theworld spotlight shines. The very recent discovery of theFranco reservoir, estimated to contain 4.5 billion barrelsand the Libra reservoir, estimated to contain 8 billion bar-rels has risen the stakes and there is still the possibility ofmore major (more than one billion barrel) discoveries inother new exploratory wells at the southern and easternportions of the Santos Basin.

The fact that ANP (National Petroleum Agency), whichhas oversight over all aspects of oil and gas E&P in Brazil,released its estimate of a total Brazilian pre-salt recoverypotential of a 80 billion barrels (many leading Braziliangeologists believe in over 100 million barrels), has only

increased excitement over the discovery possibilities andpotential of the pre-salt plays but also raised concern overPetrobras’ capacity to finance and undertake the pre-saltE&P. Recently, Petrobras finalized the world's largestshares offer, done mainly to finance the continued pre-saltE&P through its $130b investment plan from 2010 to2014. Petrobras announced that it raised approximately$67b. The share offer is vital to Petrobras’ plans to devel-op the offshore deepwater pre-salt plays and also continueits pre-salt exploratory program. As of this writing, thepre-salt map of Brazil is being re-drawn, with high poten-tial for new pre-salt discoveries between the northCampos Basin and south Espirito Santo Basin, along witha recent ANP disclosure that it is to receive, in the fourthquarter of 2010, the final seismic analysis fromCGGVeritas for areas in the south Santos Basin, off theState of São Paulo. According to the ANP, preliminaryseismic data analysis indicates a significant probability ofmajor reservoirs of light pre-salt oil to be uncorked in thissouthern deepwater province. Possibly with reserves as bigas Tupi and Libra.

Petrobras will invest around $130 billion over the nextfour years, hoping to almost double its oil output, toabout 3.9 million barrels a day by 2014.

Regulation ChangesThe four projects that constitute the new regulatory

model• Transfer to Petrobras of the O&G exploration andproduction activities in specific areas of the pre-salt layerthat are not subject to concessions, limited to the maxi-mum volume of 5 billion boe, this will be done for fund-ing purposes and has been voted and approved by theBrazilian congress;• Creation of a state owned company named Pré-SalPetroleo S.A (PPSA), which will have power to coordinateexploration in the pre-salt, participate in all pre-salt explo-ration partnerships and have veto rights over decisionsmade by independent companies exploring the pre-salt,this also has been voted and approved by the Braziliancongress;• Project that institutes the Social Fund (Fundo Social),

Investment and Regulations & the Future of

Brazil’s Pre-Salt


which also has been voted and approved by the Braziliancongress;• Project creating the shared production system, whichreplaces the concession model, still to be voted, but it iswidely considered that it will be approved by congress;

The main objectives of the new legislation is to raisefunding needed to finance pre-salt E&P and to exploit thepre-salt; guarantee Brazil´s socio-economic development;guarantee that the State is the primary recipient of new oilrevenues and Petrobras is the primary operator and at leastpartner at all fields; exert greater state influence on deci-sions on anything concerning the pre-salt, through thePPSA.

Petrobras will have a minimum 30% capital stake oneach pre-salt venture in future bidding rounds, starting atthe 11th round, to take place late 2010 or in early 2011.Petrobras will also be allowed to bid for larger blockshares, if it chooses.

Another change is that Petrobras will be the sole opera-tor of all the new pre-salt concessions and other areas con-sidered “strategic” by future determination of the govern-ment, also from the 11th bidding round on. With this,Petrobras, will be in charge of all the exploratory opera-

tions, which encompass drillingnew wells, extended well test-ing (EWT) and new geolog-ical studies to prove therange of the discoveries inall pre-salt areas.

The Brazilian governmenthas decided to shift to theadoption of production sharingagreements, instead of concessionagreements, as has been the norm for a long time. Theshared production system, which replaces the concessionmodel, introduces the Profit Oil concept, which repre-sents the total produced by a given field, deduced of thecosts and expenses associated with producing oil there.Another concept is the Cost Oil, which corresponds to thecosts and investments the contractor makes to undertakethe oil research and prospecting activities. This will alsocome into effect from the 11th bidding round onwards,but will affect all blocks, including pre-salt and post-salt.

The Government´s idea is to harness the bonanza ofBrazil’s pre-salt into a social fund, akin to what was donein Norway, in order to finance much needed social and

Petrobras will investaround $130 billion over

the next four years, hopingto almost double its oil out-

put, to about 3.9 millionbarrels a day by 2014.

Petrobras Financial Director is Almir Barbassa all smiles at the NYSE during the share offer.

(Pho

to:

Petr

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economic development projectsin the country, while not

infringing upon the rights ofother operators alreadyactive offshore. The socialfund is also one of the main

items in the new model. Thefund will primarily be used

for health, basic and higher edu-cation, along with scientific and

technological research.

Petrobras Share Offer Brazilian Government Buys More Petrobras Shares

The Brazilian government has increased its Petrobrasshares from 40% to around 48%, during the recentPetrobras shares offer, said Secretary of Finance, GuidoMantega, at the São Paulo Stock Exchange (Bovespa).The funds from the share offer will also reduce Petrobras'net debt-to-equity ratio, which has increased to nearly thecompany's self-imposed 35% limit. The capital influx willonce again allow Petrobras to raise more funds on theinternational debt markets, as the company will most

probably need even more money to invest in the growingpre-salt frontier.

“The operation was a great success, even beyond ourexpectations, at a moment of adverse conditions, as thereis still a world crisis. Adding up all the government part-ners, BNDES, the Sovereign (Social) fund and State, ourparticipation goes to approximately 48%,” said theSecretary of Finance. Brazil´s President Luiz Inácio “Lula”da Silva said, “The Petrobras share offer is a governmentsafeguard to avoid that the riches be lost in a labyrinth ofmisuse and equivocal interests”. President Lula alsoexclaimed that to the eyes and ears of the world, the wordBrazil is synonymous with the most promising develop-ment frontier in the twenty-first century.

While Brazil’s political and financial leadership hails themovement, political and corporate entities outside ofBrazil eye the moves with a more cautionary note, to see ifthe increased investment indicates a higher level of gov-ernment meddling with Petrobras administration and anoverall increase in government control over company busi-ness decisions.

On speaking of the reasons why the market supportedthe shares offer, Petrobras President José Sergio Gabrielli

The P-57 isequipped with

unprecedented technolo-gy for collection of 4D

seismic data, installed per-manently on the seabed. It

permits greater speedin obtaining seismic

data.

Subsea separation system at work in Brazil.

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said, “Petrobras is the oil company with the greatestgrowth potential for the coming years, in five years it willhave between 25 billion and 30 billion boe in reserves andhas 85% of its revenue from the Brazilian market, pro-cessing its oil in its own refineries and selling its productsinternally.”

Investment in Shipbuilding, Rig ConstructionPetrobras has already ordered 12 drilling rigs from inter-

national shipyards for delivery up to 2012. It will need atleast another 28 drilling rigs, planned to be built in Brazilfor delivery from 2013 - 2018. The first seven of thesecontracts have been set aside for a single shipyard, makingit possible for the tender winner to invest heavily enoughto increase its shipbuilding technology capabilities andintroduce a high level of automation, in order to achievean efficient production line and meet the deadlines, thushelping to make the shipyard competitive in the interna-tional market. 49 tankers (three product tankers of 45,000DWT in final round of bidding) have already beenordered by Transpetro to six different national shipyards,with deliveries scheduled from 2010 to 2015. Of these,only two have been delivered up to now.

Fourteen production rigs andFPSOs to be connected to184 oil wells, will be soonbe needed for the earlypre-salt production, froma total of 95 rigs Petrobrasis estimated to need by2020.

The current Brazilian fleet ofoffshore support vessels of all kindsis estimated to increase around 59% by 2015, reaching atotal of 422 vessels. Of the current fleet of vessels, 85% areon contract to Petrobras. This increase may even eventu-ally be higher as Petrobras alone is expected to need todouble its fleet, because of the distances involved in thepre-salt E&P.

Plans also call for a hybrid FPSO production line at theRio Grande shipyard in Rio Grande do Sul, for the pro-duction of a first installment of eight nationally builtFPSOs for the pre-salt. The plan is to develop construc-tion methods based on repetition, creating an efficient andhighly automated production line for the FPSO hulls andtopsides, with advanced finishing capabilities and high

Petrobrasordered 12 drilling

rigs from shipyards fordelivery up to 2012. It willneed at least another 28,

planned to be built inBrazil for delivery from

2013 - 2018.

Petrobras President Sergio Gabrielli speaking about the pre-salt development plans.

(Pho

to:

Petr

obra

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level of quality control. The only system that will differ ineach FPSO will be the CO² removal system, which will bedependent on oilfield characteristics. The Rio GrandeShipyard is going through a renovation which has alreadyseen it build a large drydock and other new key facilitiesat its location in the city of Rio Grande, in the southern-most state of Rio Grande do Sul. The P-57 FPSO, whichwas christened at the Brasfels shipyard in Angra dos Reisin Rio de Janeiro on October 7, 2010, will be the modelfor the FPSO production line at Rio Grande.

The P-57 production system is equipped with unprece-dented technology for collection of seismic data in 4D,installed permanently on the seabed. This technology per-mits greater speed in obtaining seismic data, as well asimproving the quality of reservoir interpretation, conse-quently enhancing production efficiency. The unit willalso adopt an innovative method of oil recovery from thereservoir to the FPSO, through the use of a subsea cen-trifugal pumping system.

“The cost of building platforms (production) in Brazil isalready a little bit less than international market prices,”said the Executive Engineering Manager for Petrobras,Perdo José Barusco Filho. Highlighting that the P-57 was

build at the Brasfels shipyard in Rio with 68% local con-tent, and that this had no influence on the unit´s price,which added up to $1,2 billion, including conversion.The ship hull for P-57 was converted at the Keppel ship-yard in Singapore and the next two FPSOs that will bebuild are also having their hulls converted in Singapore asthere is still no yard deemed specialized enough for thistask in Brazil. The old Inhaúma shipyard in Rio, whichhas been leased for 20 years to Petrobras will be config-ured for this task.

Increased O&G Research InvestmentsAt the same time, Petrobras has partnered with the

Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) andSchlumberger to open a $10-million research center. Thestate of the art facility will be built alongside the COPPE“Ocean Lab,” and will be dedicated to the development oflocal technologies for offshore exploration.

This new facility will focus on developing geosciencessoftware, new technologies for producing and characteriz-ing reservoirs in the pre-salt, and building a 4D geophys-ical processing and interpretation center. Research proj-ects are planned in electromagnetic characterization, seis-

New P-57 FPSO will be the model for future pre-salt units


mic data analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance technology,and H²S electrochemical sensors, with six more projectscurrently being evaluated. The center will allow Petrobrasto develop experimental infrastructure with the advantagethat the local suppliers will be present from the beginningof the research project, and therefore better able to supplythe technology once it is qualified.

Emphasis will also be given to research partnerships withother leading universities, such as the São Paulo University(USP), among others.

Petrobras´ own research institute CENPES has recentlyundergone a major expansion, now occupying more than300,000 sq. m., making it one of the largest centers ofapplied research in the world. There will be various labo-ratories designed to meet the technological demands ofPetrobras’ business areas, in particular, the laboratories ofBiotechnology, Environment and Gas & Energy standout. The expansion will also include modern laboratoriesdedicated exclusively to meeting the demands of the pre-salt projects.

Major Investments in LogisticsPetrobras will invest in three new ports and three new

airports, which should all be operational between 2014and 2016 for pre-salt logistics support. According to thecompany´s schedule, the new São Tomé airport in Rio deJaneiro and the new Ubu port in Espirito Santo should belaunched by 2014. Plans call for a new airport and a newport to be operational in Santos, São Paulo by 2015, witha new airport in Itaguaí, Rio de Janeiro and a new port inItajaí, Santa Catarina expected by 2016.

Logistics hubs will also be implemented in order totransport workers, produce and equipment to and frompre-salt E&P units at the Santos Basin, many of which arelocated around 186 miles from the coast. Petrobras plansto use these hubs as distribution centers for all the pre-saltoperations at the Santos Basin. Some of these hubs mayactually be located offshore, roughly between the coastand the pre-salt plays. According Araújo, “This willincrease safety at the platforms and reduce costs.”

New O&G refineries are also planned in order to makethe downstream sector more efficient in coping with thenew production influx from the pre-salt and in distribut-ing the refined products to the national market and toports for export.

From a small refinery in the state of Bahia in 1953,

(Pho

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Petr

obra

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Seadrill latest generation deepwater driller West Eminence arriving in Rio.

Petrobras expanded its refining park to 15 units (11 in Brazil and 4 abroad), it is alsobuilding new conversion plants to produce high-quality, low sulfur content fuels, the newconversion plants will help to add value to the heavy domestic oil, which mainly comesfrom the Campos Basin. Of the four new refineries, one may be dedicated to export ofrefined oil products. The investment planned for Petrobras´s downstream area up to 2014is $78.6 billion, 50% of which will be used to enhance the refining facilities and their effi-ciency.

Subsea O&G separation is also being tested and may be used in some pre-salt projects.A new concept FLNG is also being studied and is actually going through a FEED process.Inside sources and also some recent Petrobras management disclosures indicate the proj-ect is considered feasible and a final decision may be made by the end of the year. The ideais to build a huge ship or convert a VLCC or Chinamax hull. The FLNG moored overthe well or system of wells, will receive gas that can be extracted from the oil by a subseaseparator or aboard the FLNG, then frozen to liquefied natural gas (LNG) and offloadedto LNG tankers right there for delivery. With this the downstream will start right over thewells, greatly reducing logistics problems and overall cost. The FLNG is expected to costaround $5b.

Final CommentsPetrobras celebrated its 57th anniversary on October 3, 2010, and it ranks as second

largest supermajor O&G operator in the world. In 2006, Brazil achieved self-sufficiencyin O&G production, and soon thereafter Petrobras became a global energy leader. Aleader in deepwater and pre-salt O&G exploration, an important and growing O&G,Biofuels and Environmental research sponsor and is now possibly the world´s biggest inmarket value.

The exploratory success in the Brazilian pre-salt has been impressive: Petrobras main-tained an 87% drilling success rate and Shell has recently uncovered another pre-salt play.Although this success rate is not expected to continue at this pace, there is still a largepotential for pre-salt discoveries in Brazil.

The major challenge really lies in the logistics for O&G transport from the plays to therefineries on the coast, as helicopters are about at the limit of their fuel capacity whengoing to the furthest plays. The bottlenecks caused by the local content policy is complexas there is need for efficient and modern shipbuilding structure, which will be necessaryin order to deliver the large volume of tankers, FPSOs, drill ships and rigs that are in suchgreat demand and also need to comply with local content policies during construction andoperation of the vessels and units.

It is important to note that most players involved with the pre-salt E&P are collaborat-ing with each other, at least to a certain extent, not only to develop technologies but alsoto make the tricky deepwater drilling and recovery safer. ANP is also playing an impor-tant role there, by bringing on more stringent regulations and hopefully more consistentinspections. History will note a different deepwater O&G exploration and productionmentality before and after the Deepwater Horizon tragedy at the GOM, lest we forget.


(Pho

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By Edward LundquistTwo naval officers and little build-it-yourself underwa-

ter robot are helping create a new generation of scientistsand engineers. Ensigns Natalya Aoki and Patrick Cooper,recent graduates of the United States Naval Academy inAnnapolis, Md., say the “SeaPerch” remotely operatedunderwater vehicle (ROV) can teach valuable lessons—from grade school to grad school.

Aoki, from Seattle, Wash., graduated with a degree inastronautical engineering, a track of the aerospace engi-neering program, with a minor in Russian. She will begoing to the Navy’s Flight School for training. Coopergraduated with a degree in ocean engineering. ThePortage, Mich., native will be going to the Navy’s NuclearPower School for training and eventually serve in theSubmarine Force.

As part of the “Science Technology Engineering andMathematics,” or STEM, outreach program at the NavalAcademy, Aoki and Cooper helped train teachers—andeven made an instructional video—to build and incorpo-rate SeaPerch ROVs in their classrooms.

“SeaPerch is an underwater robot made of everydaymaterials such as PVC pipes, DC motors, propellers andshaft adapters, wires, film canisters and toilet bowl wax.The three motors allow it to maneuver up and down, andleft and right,” says Aoki. “We use it as a teaching tool toconvey principles such as buoyancy, stability, electricity,and electrical and mechanical engineering.”

Aoki and Cooper teamed with students at LafayetteCollege in Easton, Pa, who were taking a course called“Envisioning Environmental Science,” taught Prof.Arthur Kney, associate professor of civil and environmen-tal engineering and Prof. David Husic, professor of chem-istry, to teach science fundamentals to elementary schoolstudents.

According to Kney, “the course is focused on armingstudents with academically sound tools that will preparethem to better understand our globally-connected envi-

ronment, to prepare them to be better stewards of theenvironment, and to develop the necessary knowledgebase to assess and respond to the impact of the globalenvironmental issues that accompany a 21st centurylifestyle.”

Envisioning Environmental Science was an interdiscipli-nary examination of environmental science by exploringNew Zealand. The 22 Lafayette college students sharedwhat they learned with the elementary school studentsfrom Martinsburg, Pa. Through webcasts, the Lafayettestudents could explain such topics as wetland and waterquality, climate change, green building, and Maori cultureto the elementary school students back in Pennsylvania.

“SeaPerch was a part of the connection between the ele-mentary school in Pennsylvania and the class at LafayetteCollege,” says Cooper. “Natalya and I went to the ele-mentary school and held a workshop with high-schoolstudents and teachers so that they would be prepared tobuild the SeaPerch with the elementary kids.”

Lafayette students who were taking the interim coursejoined with the Martinsburg students, as well as studentsfrom several Easton middle schools, in learning to buildand operate SeaPerch underwater robots at the NavalAcademy in Annapolis.

“By using SeaPerch, we had a central education piecethat all of the students worked on. We the used this com-mon SeaPerch experience to thread together the variousscience and engineering activities to teach science as wellas demonstrate engineering applications that tie to the sci-ence,” says Kney.

Because of their involvement in helping the Lafayettestudents with SeaPerch, the two naval officers were invit-ed to accompany them to New Zealand.

According to Aoki, the premise of the trip was for thestudents of the Envisioning Environmental Engineeringcourse to get hands on experience with what they werelearning and share it via real time video chats back to the3rd graders they were working with in Pennsylvania.

Naval officers helps young people learn science and engineering

With SeaPerch, Students

Dive into Science


Learning by teaching“I like to use the idea of students teaching students,”

says Kney. “You don’t really learn something until youteach it. Teaching to younger kids is fun for college stu-dents because of the interest level, excitement and wonderthey bring to the table. It is a win-win-win situation. Ourcollege kids get a new perspective with regard to what theyare learning and it helps them better understand what it isthey are learning. In the end we can help teachers withscience and engineering.”

The college students in New Zealand communicated toelementary school students back home through blogs andemails.

“We went to a geothermal park, climbed a glacier, stayedwith the Maori people for a few days and learned abouttheir culture, swam with Hector's dolphins, hiked andlearned about the rivers and pollution.” Aoki says.

The Lafayette students were in different focus groups,

and we incorporated SeaPerch in their scientific activities.For example, the Water Quality group conducted watertesting using one of the SeaPerch ROVs that the elemen-tary school students built, with multimedia elements sentback to the elementary school,” says Cooper.

“Whenever we got the chance, we put a SeaPerch in thewater and took video to send back to the elementary stu-dents,” Aoki says.

She says the most gratifying aspect of SeaPerch is seeingyoung students build a SeaPerch from just everyday partsand end up with an underwater robot that they can takecomplete ownership of.

Aoki enjoys soldering the parts of the SeaPerch controlbox. “The hardest aspect is washing toilet bowl wax off ofyour hands or fixing a switch that has not been solderedproperly. But,” she says, “There is endless fun in just play-ing with the SeaPerch in the water.”

Cooper agrees. “The most difficult aspect of SeaPerch is

Ens. Natalya Aoki (left) discusses the SeaPerch underwater robot with Ens. Patrick Cooper and Prof. Angie Moran atthe U.S. Naval Academy. The photo was taken when Aoki and Cooper were attending the academy are participatingin an educational outreach program for young people in science, technology, engineering and math.


putting down the controller so thatother people can play with it.”

More than a toyCooper says SeaPerch is more than a

toy. He enjoys watching the childrenhaving fun with something that theyactually built with their own hands.“They may have thought they couldn’tdo something so complicated on theirown.”

“The most fun part is helping stu-dent’s think of a name for their Perch,”Cooper says. “It is always good to bereminded of the creativity and imagina-tion that children have.”

Where young students may at first seetheir robot as a final product, they soonrealize it can do many other things.SeaPerch can be adapted to be faster ormore maneuverable, or equipped toretrieve objects or collect samples. Itbecomes a learning aid for problemsolving.

According to Traci L. Shoemaker, areading specialist at the Martinsburgelementary school, students have differ-ent abilities and interests, so it’s a chal-lenge to reach every student. TheSeaPerch project, which teamed herelementary school students with thelocal high school mentors, theLafayette College students, and theNaval Academy Midshipmen, connect-ed with them on a variety of levels.

“For many of my girls, they lovedhaving the undivided attention of ‘cool’older students, and seeing theminvolved in a project that required theuse of power tools and wiring madethem realize that this kind of scienceprojects is something they really cando. For boys, the power tools them-selves were an allure. Any chance theyhad to use the drill, the soldering iron,or screw driver, showed them thatmaybe everything you learn in school is

STEM: Root of our FutureScience, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education is

important for our Navy and our nationThe story about Ensigns Natalya Aoki and Patrick Cooper is an

important story on several levels.These two officers turned a diminutive, build-it-yourself underwater

robot into a powerful impact on young people. The SeaPerch remotelyoperated vehicle (ROV) might look like a toy, but it is being used byeducators from grade school to grad school to teach some of the funda-mentals of science and technology.

By working with college, high school and elementary students, theyrepresented the U.S. Naval Academy and the Navy in setting a mar-velous example, while opening up a new world of discovery for theseyoung people. Science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM)education is an important issue for the Navy and the nation. We needto reach young students at an early age, inspire them toward careers inscience, technology, engineering, and math, support them as they getinto college and graduate school, and provide them with careers that willbe there waiting for them when they graduate.

According to the National Science Foundation, about 2.5 million highschool students graduate each year. About 2 million of them go to col-lege. Fewer than half of those—about 900,000— begin to major in sci-ence, technology, engineering, and math subjects, and fewer than half ofthose actually graduate with bachelor’s degrees in those technical sub-jects. A fraction--about 186,000—actually go on to obtain advanceddegrees. That’s a pretty steep pyramid.

Supporting STEM is important for our country, but the Navy also hasa vested interest in ensuring we can draw from a talent pool of good sci-entists and engineers to support the highly technical requirements of theFleet, today and into the future. We also need the best and brightest tobecome science, technology and math teachers, to perpetuate the edu-cation of smart and innovative scientists and engineers.

By helping students to build their own SeaPerch underwater vehiclefrom kits, this program helps them learn about concepts in electricity,displacement, propulsion, buoyancy and stability, all while having fun.By adapting their SeaPerch to retrieve objects, avoid obstacles, collectsamples or go faster, the students learn about problem solving.

Admittedly, this effort is hard to measure. For the young students inparticular, we measure success by how many young people we can wecan reach.

Ens. Aoki will be attending the Navy’s Flight School before reportingfor duty with the Navy’s Air Forces. Ens. Cooper is attending NuclearPower School and will enter the Submarine Force. Thanks to them, weare reaching young people in a meaningful and positive way.

Nevin Carr, Rear Admiral, U.S. NavyChief of Naval Research


not centered around writing and reading, the subjects thatcome a little harder for them. My top students realized allthe answers weren’t in black and white. They needed tothink through problems, like why their motor wasn'tworking. Sometimes they would find the problem was aweak wire connection to the motor; or maybe they didn'tfollow directions as well as they thought they did. In theend, the look on the young faces when the motors workedand the SeaPerch was able to move through the water waspriceless,” Shoemaker says.

Shoemaker appreciated the help she received from Aokiand Cooper. “I am not a mechanic and have no claim toany knowledge of how to build mechanical things, soattempting to lead a project such as this was a bit intimi-dating at first. Having the training from Natalya andPatrick helped me gain confidence to build a complexpiece of equipment with eight and nine year olds.”

“The Navy people who brought the SeaPerch kits wereviewed as superheroes,” Shoemaker says. “They did agreat job explaining what the project was all about andalso what the Naval Academy was like. The students real-ly enjoyed the workshops they attended at the NavalAcademy and loved the challenges of ‘driving’ theirSeaPerch in the tanks.”

“Kids just naturally gravitate to the Midshipmen,” saysProf. Angela Moran, who teaches mechanical engineeringat the Naval Academy. “Patrick and Natalya are terrificambassadors for the SeaPerch program. They were able toconvey the concepts at just the right level but impress thekids with all the possible ways ROVs are utilized.”

“I think the program has served them well in return,”Moran says. “They have seen the benefits of their own

education and had a chance to learn through teaching.”With a current shortfall of American engineers and sci-

entists, Aoki says it’s crucial to excite young students in thescience, technology, engineering, and math disciplines.“SeaPerch addresses this issue quite well and also works asa great team building exercise.”

STEM education is an important issue for the Navy andthe nation, says Rear Adm. Nevin Carr, Chief of NavalResearch. “We need to reach young students at an earlierage, get them inspired to careers in science, technology,engineering, and math, support them as they get into col-lege and graduate school, and provide them with careersthat will be there waiting for them when they come outthe other end.”

“SeaPerch is a wonderful tool to make STEM fun andinteresting, and we also used it to bridge the gap betweena Pennsylvania school and scientific testing in NewZealand,” Cooper says. “Ultimately we were teaching themerits of SeaPerch in motivating students to be involvedwith STEM. By bringing along the Sea Perch that wasbuilt by the elementary students, they felt like they had ahand in contributing to the scientific testing” says Cooper.

Captain Edward Lundquist, USN (Ret.) is a sciencewriter with MCR, based in Arlington, Virginia.

What is SeaPerch?SeaPerch is an innovative underwater robotics program that trains teachers to teach their students how to build an

underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) in an in-school or out-of-school setting. Building a SeaPerch willteach basic skills in ship and submarine design and encourages students to explore naval architecture and marine andocean engineering concepts. Students will also learn very important engineering and design skills and will be exposedto all the exciting careers that are possible in Naval Engineering, Naval Architecture, and Ocean and MarineEngineering, just to name a few. Most of all, the SeaPerch project is designed to be fun while also building team-work and inspiring young minds. SeaPerch is a program of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers,sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Educators interested in finding out how SeaPerch can make a differencefor their classroom curriculum, after-school program, summer camp and extra-curricular activities should visit

www.seaperch.org.


A number of US Navy dive teamsare putting underwater metal detec-tors to work in their search and recov-ery operations. These teams includeMobile Diving and Salvage Unit 1,Explosive Ordnance Disposal Mobile

Units 4 & 11, UnderwaterConstruction Team 2, and the SEALDelivery Vehicle team (SDV-1) inPearl City, Hawaii. They use detec-tors for a variety of tasks such aslocating explosive devices and

weapons, finding anchors and chains,tracking pipelines and cables, andsearching for tools that are droppedfrom ships and piers.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation(FBI) is also using underwater detec-tors in their search operations. TheBureau’s divers are often called toassist state and local law enforcementagencies in their search for a weaponthrown in a waterway. Criminalsmistakenly believe if they dispose of agun or knife in the water, it will belost forever. FBI dive teams provethem wrong time and again by recov-ering the weapons, even when they’reburied deep in mud. In one case theteam managed to find all the pieces ofa hand gun that was completely disas-sembled before being tossed into ariver.

ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco, andFirearms) is another bureau usingthese high tech tools. Their ExplosiveTraining Branch (ETB) recentlyadded a detector to their arsenal.ETB conducts programs for local,state, and federal law enforcementagencies to teach identification andlocation of explosives, and how toproperly handle and dispose of them.With the threat of a terrorist attackon any front, officers need to knowhow to search for, and locate, explo-sive devices that are attached to ships,

Case Study

Feds, Military Use Underwater Metal Detectors

Military divers increasingly useUnderwater Metal Detectors.

bridges, piers, and other underwaterstructures. U.S. Army Corps ofEngineers (USACE) use these instru-ments to locate metal objects whendoing site inspections for environ-mental clean ups, like the one recent-ly conducted at the formerHammond Bombing and GunneryRange in Louisiana. The Corps’HTRW (Hazardous, Toxic, andRadiological Waste) branch recentlypicked up a couple of underwaterdetectors to assist in their restorationoperations at former defense sites.

The detector of choice for all ofthese teams is JW Fishers Pulse 8X, acommercial grade machine designedfor industrial and military operations.Robert Chacon, head of the FBI’sCalifornia group, calls the detector’srugged construction “practically bul-letproof”. The Bureau’s dive units inNew York, California, Florida, andWashington DC are all using thesemachines for their underwater searchoperations. Each team has purchaseda quantity of these high performancelocators along with interchangeablecoils. Six different coils can beattached to the electronics unit whichgives the detector tremendous versa-tility. It can be used on land, divingto depths of 200 feet, or deployedfrom a boat.

The National Marine FisheriesServices, a branch of NOAA, pickedup a detector for their MilfordLaboratory in Connecticut. Thefacility conducts research on cultur-ing fish and shellfish, developmentmethods for commercial use, stockenhancement, and restoration. Theyjoin scientists from as far away asHong Kong and Australia using

underwater metal detectors for theirmarine resource management pro-grams. The Department ofAgriculture, Fisheries, andConservation in Hong Kong areusing a Pulse 8X with a probe coil tofind metal plates buried in the beachthat mark the location of sea turtlenests. Department spokesman KSCheung says, “In the past we usedsome cheap detectors, but their per-formance was poor. Our colleaguesat Taiwan University were doing thesame work using the Fisher modeland reported excellent results; theyconvinced us to switch detectors.” InAustralia, Dr. Tasman Crowe, a scien-tist with the Centre for InternationalAgriculture and Research is using his8X to monitor shellfish populations.

He studies the movements of marinesnail colonies by detecting smallmetal tags affixed to their shells andtracking their movement over time.

Other federal government agenciesusing this detection gear are the USBorder Patrol, US Forestry Serviceand the US EnvironmentalProtection Agency. Each of theseagencies has a different use for theirdetector. It helps the Border Patrolsearch for weapons that are disposedof, and sometimes hidden in, riversand water holes. It aids the ForestService in locating chains implantedin river banks to secure soil and vege-tation, and it assists the EPA in locat-ing drums of hazardous waste that aredisposed of in our nation’s waterways.

www.jwfishers.com



people & companies

Bolton Joins OMM Offshore Marine Management

(OMM) strengthened its position inoperation and maintenance with therecruitment of industry specialist,Stephen Bolton to the newly createdposition of Director of Operationsand Maintenance.

Scripps ScientistHonored

Scripps Institution ofOceanography at UC San Diegomarine ecologist Ed Parnell has beenhonored with the 2010 RogerRevelle Award from the San DiegoOceans Foundation. The award,named after former Scripps director,climate science pioneer and UC SanDiego founder Roger Revelle, annu-ally recognizes a San Diegan who"has made a significant contributionto man's ability to coexist with themarine environment."

YSI Promotes EllisonRob Ellison has been promoted to

Director of Business Developmentfor YSI Inc. He will work with thecompany’s R&D teams to commer-cialize new technologies for thewater quality market. Rob has servedas the Marketing & BusinessDevelopment Manager of YSI’sEnvironmental Monitoring Systemsbusiness since 2005.

Cosalt Appoints NewNorwegian Head

Cosalt Offshore, a provider of lift-ing, tooling and marine services tothe oil and gas industry, appointedRunar Blakstad as the new ManagingDirector of its Norway division.

Blakstad was most recentlyManaging Director of Sir Fish inStavanger where he has restructuredthe business and turned it aroundinto a profitable venture. He takesover the role at Cosalt Offshore inNorway from Jack Braten who estab-lished the original Myhre Maritimebusiness and saw it through the tran-sition to Cosalt ownership.

InterMoor Names LandrySubsea Ops Manager

I n t e r M o o rnamed RossLandry SubseaO p e r a t i o n sM a n a g e r .Working out ofI n t e r M o o r ’ sLafayette, La.,subsea facility,Landry will manage all activitiesrelated to subsea operations includ-ing but not limited to abrasive cut-ting services, heave compensationservices and all facility-based proj-ects. Landry has served as TechnicalManager and Assistant OperationsManager for InterMoor’s subseafacility. He has been responsible forrecruiting offshore personnel, imple-menting a preventative maintenanceprogram to minimize operationaldowntime and for supervising thedesign modification of offshoreequipment to improve reliability.

Capt. Score TakesCommand

NOAA Capt. David A. Scoreassumed command of the agency’sMarine Operations Center-Atlanticin Norfolk, Va., which manages theday-to-day operations of the nineresearch and survey ships in NOAA’s

Marport Appoints Dr. PintoChief Sonar ScientistMarport DeepS e aTechnologiesappointed Dr.Marc Pinto asChief SonarScientist. Hewill beemployed full-time with Marport’s French sub-sidiary located in Lorient, France.Dr. Pinto graduated from the EcoleNationale des Ponts et Chaussees,Paris in 1983. He received hisPh.D. in Solid State Physics fromthe University of Paris in 1991.From 1985 to 1993 he worked as aresearch engineer for Thomson-CSF, specializing in the applicationof numerical techniques to mag-netic recording. In 1993 he joinedThomson-Sintra (now ThalesUnderwater Systems) as Head ofthe Signal Processing Group, spe-cializing in research of sonars formaritime mine countermeasuresand airborne anti-submarine war-fare. In 1997 he joined the NATOUndersea Research Center, LaSpezia, Italy where he served asHead of the MineCountermeasures Group and con-ducted research into SyntheticAperture Sonar systems for hunt-ing maritime mines. In 2004 hewas appointed Head of theExpeditionary MineCountermeasures and PortProtection Department where heoversaw research for AUV-basedminehunting, maritime minecountermeasures and harbordefense.


Atlantic fleet. Capt. Score servedmost recently as commanding officerof NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter,which conducted key research mis-sions during the BP DeepwaterHorizon oil spill response, includingmissions to detect subsurface oil andstudy marine life in the Gulf ofMexico. Score relieves Rear Adm.(select) Michael S. Devany, who hasserved as the center’s commandingofficer since June 2009.

Subsea 7’s New PipelayVessel Mobilized

Subsea 7 announced that the SevenPacific – a dynamically positioned(DP), pipelay and construction ice-class vessel, designed for deepwaterpipelay and offshore constructionactivities worldwide - has mobilizedfor its first project. The eighth newvessel to join Subsea 7’s fleet since2007, Seven Pacific is capable ofinstalling flexible pipes and umbili-cals in water depths of up to 3,000m.Its first assignment is on the Block 18project in Angola. "The Seven Pacificis a fantastic addition to one of themost modern, technologicallyadvanced and capable fleets of subseaconstruction, pipelay and supportvessels in the world,” said StuartSmith, Subsea 7, Vice President forTechnology and Asset Development.“With the capability to work in awide range of worldwide locations,from the Arctic to Africa, we look for-ward to working with our clients onthe various work scopes the SevenPacific will deliver for them in thecoming years.” The vessel's pipelayequipment has a tension capacity of260 tons and a 2,500-ton storagecapacity for flexible pipe on the twounderdeck carousels. There is also a

built-in deepwater dual 3,000m-rated work-class ROV spread and acomprehensive survey system. A largedeck area of 1,700 sq. m. has beenincorporated into the Seven Pacificfor equipment and reel storage. Theship has a 6.6kV diesel electric powergeneration system and is propelled bythree azimuth thrusters with fixedpitch propellers in nozzles at thestern.

Subsea 7’s New OffshoreRenewables Division

Subsea 7 S.A. (NASDAQ-GS:SUBC; Oslo Børs: SUBC) launchedits offshore renewables division,transferring its seabed-to-surfaceexpertise, capabilities and strong safe-ty and risk management processesand systems to specifically developand execute work in this emergingmarket. Subsea 7 will provide projectmanagement, engineering and con-struction services to support offshoredevelopments in the global renew-ables industry. The division, based inAberdeen, Scotland, will be led byBob Dunsmore, Vice President,Renewables, Subsea 7. This new divi-sion also announced the signing of aMemorandum of Understandingwith Scottish and Southern Energyplc (SSE) under which Subsea 7 willform an alliance with SSE, Siemensplc, Siemens Transmission andDistribution Limited, BurntislandFabrications Ltd and Atkins. Thepurpose of this alliance will be towork together in a collaborativearrangement in order to secure sub-stantial reduction in the cost of deliv-ered power from offshore wind farms.Subsea 7 will be responsible formarine operations and offshore con-struction within the alliance.

Bluefin Robotics, Harvey-Lynch Team in GOM

Bluefin Robotics announced a part-nership with Harvey-Lynch, a subseaequipment solutions provider inStrafford, Texas. Harvey-Lynch willpromote and sell Bluefin products inTexas, Louisiana, Alabama,Mississippi, and Florida with a focuson the Gulf of Mexico market. Theagreement highlights the emergenceand maturity of AUVs as a cost-effec-tive and capable tool.

“The partnership with Bluefin is anideal fit for us. Capitalizing on ourprevious AUV Gulf of Mexico experi-ence, Harvey-Lynch will address thecritical needs of existing and new cus-tomers by serving as an extension ofthe Bluefin sales and support teams,”said Harvey-Lynch’s President, PhilHowells. “The commercial AUVmarket is on the verge of significantfurther advancement and growth andwe believe Bluefin is at the head ofthe pack.”

The partnership comes on the heelsof Bluefin’s 2-year effort to expand itsbusiness domestically and interna-tionally into the commercial surveymarket. The company recently estab-lished a network of representativesand resellers to promote the applica-tion of AUVs and moved its facilitiesto a waterfront location that doublesits manufacturing and testing spacein order to accommodate production.

“We are very pleased to bringHarvey-Lynch aboard. As subsea sys-tems experts they have a great under-standing of our Gulf of Mexico cus-tomers’ needs and the operationalchallenges that they face in the field,”said Michael Donovan, Director ofSales and Marketing at BluefinRobotics.

people & companies

Tekdata, SEA Succeedin Subsea Wiring Project

Tekdata Interconnections com-pleted custom wiring for an under-water analysis pod designed to oper-ate up to 100 m depth, enabling itscustomer, defense contractorSystems Engineering andAssessment Ltd (SEA), to deliver thecompleted pod within tight con-straints on time and cost. SEA choseTekdata for its expertise in areassuch as hermetic feed-through con-nectors, high-performance sealing,signal grounding, thermal design,and specialist wiring skills to achieverobust and reliable interconnectionswithin the confines of the pod’scompact, lightweight chassis.Engaged to complete integrationand assembly of the pod, SEA hadbeen supplied with a number ofsubsystems, such as a potted trans-ducer array that had been tested atdepth of only two meters and wassupplied without full documenta-tion. To connect this array to thepod, Tekdata identified the exactinterconnect arrangement using x-ray analysis and subsequently devel-oped a corresponding feed-through.Five-level sealing prevents wateringress at extreme depths and cre-ates a robust waterproof connectionable to withstand any individualfailure mode.

CARIS Offers DNC CARIS is introducing a solution

to the problems of convertingDigital Nautical Charts (DNC’s) toElectronic Nautical Charts (ENC’s)and vice versa. CARIS, with S-57Composer 2.2, now offers a DNCPlug-in available through an option-

al license. The DNC Plug-in has aunique capability of automaticallyconverting, with a reported first-pass success rate of 80%, DNC toENC and vice versa. “Not only dowe believe that this capability isunique, but we have designed it tobe simple to use. A couple of simplesteps are all that is required,” saidCameron McLeay, product managerfor S-57 Composer.

Email: info@ caris.com

Technip Wins Key DealTechnip won a lump sum contract

by Enbridge Offshore FacilitiesL.L.C. (Enbridge) for the develop-ment of the Walker Ridge gas gath-ering system in the Gulf of Mexico,at a water depth of 7,000 ft. (2,130m). This award reinforces Technip’sleading position in the Gulf ofMexico ultra deepwater market. Itcovers the engineering, fabricationand installation of 160 miles(270km) of steel catenary risers andpipelines as well as the installationof subsea equipments.

Technip's operating center inHouston, Texas will perform theoverall project management.

Marport Spins OffRobotics Division

Marport Deep Sea TechnologiesInc., said its Board of Directors hasunanimously approved a decision tospin off its underwater robotics divi-sion. The division will be transferredto a new wholly-owned subsidiarycompany called Marine RoboticsInc.

"Over the past two years, our busi-ness has strengthened considerably,”said Karl Kenny, Marport’s

P&O Maritime Services Entering the PowerCable Install Market

P&O Maritime Services, ownerand operator of specialist scienceand cargo vessels, has entered thepower cable installation marketwith its vessel “CS EuropeanSupporter.” The company hassigned a long-term agreement withUK-headquartered subsea cablespecialists, Offshore MarineManagement (OMM), for the pro-vision of a suite of capabilities to bemarketed with the entrant cableinstallation vessel. The EuropeanSupporter is due to enter theEuropean and international powercable market in March 2011 afterundergoing a major conversionfrom a submarine fiber optic vesselto a state-of-the-art power cableinstallation and trenching vessel.The 106m, DPII vessel will beequipped with modern cableinstallation equipment, work-classROV, ROV trencher and surveyspread. All ancillary cable equip-ment and cable lay deck operationsare enclosed, allowing for a 24-hour all weather working area. Afurther extensive open workingdeck is atop which will be used formattressing operations. The vessel will boast DPII capabil-ity along with cable coiling armswithin her three tanks.



President & CEO. “We have made animportant acquisition, invested innew products, secured new financingand implemented successful manu-facturing, innovation and strategicrestructuring processes. As a result weare well-positioned for the future.”

“We are pleased with the emergenceof Marine Robotics Inc. as an inde-pendent developer of UnmannedMaritime Vehicles and Systems. Ourinnovative efforts in developingaward-winning underwater roboticstechnology have resulted in the devel-opment of a highly motivated andtalented organization. We expect thatthis new company will be better ableto focus on the needs of its own cus-tomers and markets. This should leadto robust growth, enhanced prof-itability and increased value for ourshareholders.”

Satlantic Joins Sea-Bird,WET Labs

The Sea-Bird Ocean MeasurementGroup and Satlantic Inc. announcedthat Satlantic is joining Sea-BirdElectronics and WET Labs in theSea-Bird Ocean MeasurementGroup. “Satlantic’s technology andproducts are a natural fit and willallow us to better offer complete solu-tions to our customers’ measurement

needs” Sea-Bird’s President NorgeLarson stated in making theannouncement. “Satlantic joiningSea-Bird and WET Labs is combin-ing the best in biogeochemical andphysical oceanographic sensors.”

“We have worked closely with theSatlantic team for many years,” saidCasey Moore, President of WETLabs. “Our common customer baseuses optics to measure and under-stand the ocean. That commonalityhas grown over the years as we haveworked together in developing instru-ments and long-term monitoring sys-tems. Our clients have seen the fruitsof our joint efforts and we look for-ward to continuing, enhancing, andexpanding those relationships.”

Aker Solutions Splits into3 Separate Companies

International oil services, engineer-ing and construction company AkerSolutions has decided to cultivate itscore businesses by creating three sep-arate companies. The new strategicdirection, which will be announced atthe company's capital markets day inOslo today, is the conclusion of astrategy process initiated by theBoard in second quarter 2009. "Wehave listened carefully to feedbackfrom our customers and investors and

analyzed how we should position our-selves to meet their expectations,"says Øyvind Eriksen, executive chair-man of Aker Solutions. "Their feed-back is consistent. Our companyenjoys strong positions in severalmarket segments. However, to furtheraccelerate our growth, we should bemore focused, more flexible in ourapproach to customer specificrequirements, and much more trans-parent," he said.

Leading on from this, the next stepis to cultivate the current AkerSolutions business into three separatecompanies:

YSI EcoMapper AUVsThe University of Southern

California (USC) in Los Angeles, CA,recently placed an order for a YSIEcoMapper AutonomousUnderwater Vehicle (AUV). USCwill use the vehicle’s water qualitysensors, 6-beam Doppler VelocityLog (DVL), side-scan sonar, andacoustic modem to help its teamresearch the roles of behavioral andphysiological processes in algal bloominitiation and maintenance. TheUniversity of California, Davis hasalso purchased an EcoMapperequipped with an Extended Payload(EP) package, side-scan sonar, water

Marport Secures Private Equity FinancingMarport Deep Sea Technologies secured an equity investment led by Hasting Equity Partners, LLC and Admiralty

Partners, Inc. Boenning & Scattergood, Inc., a U.S. based investment banking firm, served as financial advisor toMarport. “This capital raise, at a time of great challenge and uncertainty in the financial markets, is a true testamentto the tremendous potential of our Software Defined Sonar technology and products,” said Karl Kenny, Marport’sPresident and CEO. “This new equity provides Marport with the financial resources it needs to execute its growthstrategy and continue to deliver innovative sonar products. Having the support of Hastings and Admiralty combinedwith their extensive network in the United States defense market will allow us the opportunity to accelerate ourexpansion efforts in that area.” In connection with the financing, MacRae will join Marport’s Board of Directors asChairman, replacing Derrick Rowe who will remain on the Board.


quality sensors, and a 6-beam DVL.The AUV will be used to study thebathymetry and water quality of theFall River. UC Davis researchers alsoplan to study aquatic vegetation withthe system in the future.

Aker Solutions SignsCNOOC Subsea Contract

Aker Solutions signed a subsea con-tract with the state-owned oil compa-ny China National Offshore OilCorporation (CNOOC) to supply asubsea production system for theYacheng 13-4 gas field. The $20mcontract was signed at an officialsigning ceremony at Zhanjiang,China, and is significant as it is thefirst subsea production system con-tract Aker Solutions has signed withCNOOC. The field development islocated in the north of South ChinaSea, approximately 72 km southwestof Sanya City, Hainan Province ofthe People's Republic of China. Thefield's water depth is approximately90m. Scope of work covers engineer-ing, manufacturing and delivery ofthree subsea wellhead systems, threegas producing subsea trees, controlsystems, subsea distribution systemand installation support services.Deliveries are expected to begin inthe third quarter of 2011.

Breakthrough SubseaDeal for Aker Solutions

Aker Solutions secured a contractto supply heating systems for thesubsea pipelines that Technip willdeliver and install for the Goliat fieldin the Barents Sea. Direct electricalheating (DEH) of pipelines is a tech-nique used to avoid hydrate and waxformation in pipelines used for trans-port of oil between the manifolds on

the seabed to the offshore facility.Heating up the pipeline will preventit from becoming blocked due tohydrate formation during shut-downperiods thereby minimizing the useof chemicals and optimizing the shutdown periods.

Rapp Hydema Wins Deal Great Lakes Shipyard awarded

Rapp Hydema NW the deckmachinery packages for two U.S.Geological Survey research vesselsnow under construction. Rapp’saward includes a pair of trawl winch-es, a centerline winch, side-samplingwinches port and starboard, and adual net reel, for each vessel. Rappwill be providing its state-of-the artPTS Pentagon Canbus system forwinch control and monitoring, aswell a Rapp Syd gillnet lifter for eachboat. The centerline and side-sam-pling winches will be slip-ring capa-ble. Joe Starck, President of GreatLakes Shipyard, said that he had beenaware of Rapp machinery aboard theR/V Spencer Baird, a MichiganDepartment of Fish and Wildlife ves-sel. It also works the Great Lakesregion and undertakes quite similarmissions, including lake trout sur-veys. “While some of the operatingassumptions are different here, thereare enough commonalities that wefelt Rapp was the right choice. Andwe had learned of Rapp’s recentUNOLS and NOAA work,” he said.

Statoil, Siemens Ink Tech Partnership

Statoil and Siemens signed a tech-nology development cooperationagreement. The partnership will ini-tially embrace wind power, subseatechnology, electrical engineering

people & companies

DeepOcean Wins Deal

On December 23, 2010 Statoilawarded DeepOcean a survey andpipeline construction support con-tract. The contract has a firm dura-tion of 3 months plus 3 monthlyoptions. The work is planned tostart during February 2011 in sup-port of Statoil's offshore pipelineinstallation activities at the Marulkand Smørbukk North East fielddevelopments. The scope of workincludes a variety of survey andconstruction support activities cov-ering pre-lay survey of pipelineroutes, lay support and touch-down monitoring during pipelay,installation of turnpoints and start-up anchors as well as pipelineflushing and pigging operations.

DeepOcean will charter in thenew build vessel Volstad Surveyorfor this work, specially designed forROV and survey support servicesas well as light construction work.The vessel was built at FreireShipyard in Spain and was deliv-ered to Volstad Shipping in May2010. Volstad Surveyor with maindimensions 85m x 18m, is fittedwith a 70t AHC offshore crane,ROV hangar, moon-pool, helicop-ter deck and has an accommoda-tion for 72 persons. VolstadSurveyor is owned by VolstadShipping AS.


technology and energy efficiencymeasures. Cooperation between thecompanies facilitates the develop-ment of future path-breaking tech-nology. Based on complementaryuser needs and technological oppor-tunities we aim at developing techno-logical solutions that contribute tomore environmentally friendly, effec-tive production. ”This is a strategical-ly important agreement for Statoil,”says Halfdan Knudsen, senior vicepresident for process and refiningtechnology in Statoil. Siemens is animportant Statoil supplier within sev-eral areas, and the two companiesalready cooperate in the technologydevelopment area.

Bluefin AUV With SAS Bluefin Robotics tested and

demonstrated an AUV with a fullyintegrated commercially availablesynthetic aperture sonar (SAS). ThePROSAS Surveyor, manufactured byApplied Signal Technology, Inc.(AST), provides a 1x1-in. resolutionout to a 200-m range. The Bluefin-12 AUV combines this SAS data withnavigation accuracy usually betterthan 0.1% of distance traveled toprovide an advanced capability formany undersea applications.

The AST PROSAS Surveyor wasintegrated into the standard Bluefin-12 AUV for the purpose of a rapidproof-of-concept demonstration.Bluefin required only nine months todesign, test and deliver the vehiclewith the new payload, proving theefficacy and flexibility of Bluefin’smodular design. In its current SASconfiguration, the Bluefin-12 canoperate for up to 12 hours at 200 mdepth.

SeeByte Wins DoD Deal SeeByte won a $8.9m modification

to previously awarded contract(N00174-09-D-0001) to exerciseoption two for Common OperatorInterface command and control soft-ware for Navy explosive ordnancedisposal teams. The software applica-tion is used for mission planning,equipment data transfer, mission exe-cution tracking, post mission analy-sis, and data reporting by Navyexplosive ordnance disposal mobileunits, mobile diving and salvageunits, and research and developmentactivities. Work will be performed inEdinburgh, Scotland, and is expectedto be completed by December 2013.Contract funds will not expire at theend of the current fiscal year. TheNaval Surface Warfare Centre, IndianHead, Md., is the contracting activi-ty.

Bowtech Wins ContractBowtech Products was chosen by

SMD and it’s customer, iTech, tosupply all the cameras, lights andstrobes on twenty (with options forup to a further ten) ROV’s.

This is the largest single order forcameras and lights ever received byBowtech. Mike Winstanley, SalesDirector at Bowtech, said “We aredelighted at winning such a large andprestigious international order. It’stestament to the design excellenceand build quality of our products andestablishes Bowtech Products as amajor supplier of vision systems toone of the world’s largest ROV oper-ators and manufacturers”

Email: bowtech@ bowtech.co.ukhttp://www.bowtech.co.uk

Strategic Alliance PutsRetlif On West CoastRetlif Testing Laboratories, anindependent leader in EMC andEnvironmental testing since 1978,has announced a strategic alliancewith Acme Testing (Acme,Washington). The arrangementbrings Retlif ’s wide array ofadvanced ElectromagneticCompatibility (EMC) andEnvironmental Simulation (ESS)testing as well as extensive engi-neering capabilities to the PacificNorthwest, specifically the PugetSound area. The expansion in com-bined capacity and capabilitiesenables Retlif and Acme to servicethe rising demand from commer-cial maritime, commercial avia-tion, homeland security anddefense industry sectors. TheRetlif-Acme alliance offers in-house EMI, Electromagnetic Pulse(EMP), power line fluctuation, andmagnetic effects testing, in addi-tion to EMC site surveys andEMC final compatibility testing.Combined ESS offerings includein-house full classic shock testingcapabilities, as well as Ballistic andPyrotechnic shock, vibration test-ing up to 20,000 lbf, salt fog, incli-nation, temperature, humidity andmany more capabilities. In addi-tion, Retlif and Acme also offervibration site surveys and acousticnoise site surveys. In addition toRetlif headquarters (Ronkonkoma,NY), other Retlif locations includeNew Hampshire, Pennsylvania,North Carolina, and WashingtonD.C.

www.retlif.com


products

Teledyne Gateway BuoyTeledyne Benthos released its new

Teledyne Gateway Buoy, designed toprovide real-time data monitoring ofsubsea sensors from a remote shorestation. The new gateway buoydesigned to be useful for a range ofapplications and incorporates theTeledyne Benthos ATM-886modem. In addition, the buoy istwo-man deployable, uses recharge-able batteries and has a deployment life of up to twomonths using Freewave transmission to a shore station.

http://www.benthos.com

VisualWorks 9.0 VisualSoft launched

VisualWorks 9.0, anupgrade to its existingPipeline and StructuralInspection Survey Suite.VisualWorks 9.0 intro-duces unique workscope support tools and a new inte-grated 3D Structural Viewer across the entire range ofonline and offline products: Visual3D-Inspector addsinspection workscope planning and progress tracking

seamlessly integrated with digital video acquisition con-trols and anomaly logging. 3-D Structural Viewer loadselectronic drawings and provides two-way linking of com-ponents in asset models with the real video and all associ-ated survey and inspection data for better visualizationduring analysis and reporting.

www.visualsoft.ltd.uk

Specialist SV Sensors OSIL/AML supplied a set of specialist SV sensors, cali-

brated to 2000 m/s, as part of the instrumentation pack-age for use in water-filled cavity survey and well loggingapplications. In order to survey a well or cavity it is nec-essary to use a specially designed vertical sonar instru-ment. The vertical sonar instrument was designed arounda standard 4-in. bore to enable easy access to the majorityof situations. The sonar is capable of surveying subter-ranean caverns, sub-sea caverns and wells.

PAVS-150

Phased Array Velocity SensorTeledyne RD Instruments (RDI) released its new 150 kHz Phased

Array Velocity Sensor (PAVS) for extended range navigation applica-tions. The PAVS150 is reportedly the industry’s first 1000 m depthrated compact Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) designed to provide pre-cision velocity data at up to 500 m of altitude above the seafloor.Designed with the Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) in mind,the PAVS150 is compact enough to be packaged into vehicles assmall as 12.75 in. (32.39 cm) in diameter. In addition to UUV appli-cations, PAVS150’s space saving design meets the payload restric-tions onboard manned and unmanned submersibles. The PAVS150is available in both an inline and a right angle configuration toaccommodate the needs of a variety of applications, and can also bemodified to meet customized packaging requirements.

www.rdinstruments.com/pavs.html


First Sale of SONIC2024Swathe Services sales division

announced its first UK sale of theSONIC 2024 wideband high resolu-tion shallow water multibeamechosounder. Within a matter ofdays of announcing the inclusion ofthe SONIC2024 in their rental poolof survey equipment the companyimmediately supplied two systemsfor hire with a major UK surveycompany, on a contract that has nowextended beyond three months. Thecomplete SONIC 2024 systemincludeds the Valeport MiniSVS.

BlueView High-Res “Gap-Filling” SonarBlueView delivered a new sonar to Hydroid as part of an

Atlas Elektronik UK project for the UK Ministry OfDefense. The Capability Concept Demonstrator (CCD)

project, conducted on behalf of the Defense Equipmentand Support Programs and Technology Group, isdesigned to enable the MoD to understand the capabili-ties that recent commercial and military UUV technolo-gy maturity could bring to future MCM operations. Thenew 2.25 MHz sonar (MB2250) was integrated into aHydroid REMUS 100 UUV section to provide high res-olution 2D and 3D imagery for side scan gap-filling andtarget identification in the region directly below the UUVtypically associated with side scan coverage gaps. TheAtlas Elektronik UK Classiphi software fuses theBlueView gap-filling sonar data with the side scan sonardata gathered by the REMUS 100 to provide seamlessimagery across the entire swath.

www.blueview.com

USN Acquires MCM SoftwareThe U.S. Military acquired six upgraded licenses of the

latest underwater situational awareness technology forsupporting Clearance Diving and Mine Countermeasures(MCM) Forces. The software known as SeeTrack Military

Fluorometer Integrated on Micro-ROVVideoRay and Turner Designs announced the integration

of the Turner Designs C3 Submersible Fluorometer withVideoRay’s observation Remotely Operated Vehicle. TheTurner Designs C3 is specified by the USCG in theSMART protocol for detecting the presence of oil. The C3Submersible Fluorometer is designed to incorporate up tothree optical sensors, temperature and depth. Sensors canbe selected to detect Crude Oil, Refined Fuels, CDOM, invivo Chlorophyll a, blue green algae, rhodamine WT dye,fluorescein dye, and optical brighteners. Turbidity sensorsare also available. The VideoRay is an ROV system forunderwater scientific research, and is used by Gulf Coastresearchers at the University of Southern Mississippi,University of West Florida, Louisiana State University,Florida State University, and others. Its small size, power-ful thrusters, advanced camera and recording capabilities,and wide range of sonars, positioning systems, and attach-ments and sensors make it ideal for research use.

E-Mail: sales@ turnerdesigns.com Web: info@ videoray.com

Wireless Comms for Marine Instruments OSIL launched a new point-to-point wirelesscommunications system, developed to overcomethe issues associated with traditional GSMmodems and VHF/UHF radio communications.The system, which uses GPRS technology, main-tains an open, bi-directional wireless connectionvia a pair of coded modems. This is designed toallow users to connect seamlessly to a platformin the field for real-time remote monitoring ofthe data, as readings are transmitted and dis-played on a PC continuously. Email: sales@ osil.co.uk

New BlueView 2D Imaging Sonar BlueView re-engineered its P Series ImagingSonar platform to create two new models thatmeet the stringent requirements for deepwaterROV operations. The new P Series DeepwaterSystems deliver incredible detailed imagery andaccurate point-to-point measurement in a com-pact, economically priced 2D imaging sonar.Able to operate at depths of 3,000 m (9,842 ft.)the new deepwater systems enhance real-timeROV navigation, obstacle avoidance, operationsmonitoring, inspections, and object detectioneven in low and zero visibility conditions. www.blueview.com

New Materials Help Improve TransducersMorgan Technical Ceramics launched a newrange of piezoceramic composite materials whichdramatically improve the performance of ultra-sound and sonar transducers used in medical,biometric, military and industrial applications.As a result of using the transducers, image reso-lutions are higher and significant advances canbe made to 4-D ultrasound. The new piezoce-ramic is used to make 1-3 transducer and 2-2transducer plates which give high performance infrequencies ranging from 200KHz to 4MHz.Finely pitched composite configurations act withlower acoustic impedance than traditional mono-lithic components, providing better imaging res-olution.www.morgantechnicalceramics.com

products


or COIN (Common Operator Interface Navy – specificallytailored for the US Navy EOD), was developed by Scottish-based software company, SeeByte. The newest version comeswith two modules: Performance Analysis Training Tool(PATT) and Automated Target Recognition (ATR) usingComputer-Aided Detection & Computer-AidedClassification (CAD/CAC) components.

www.seebyte.com

Seawater Corrosion-Resistant LVDT Macro Sensors designed a seawater corrosion-resistant,

high-pressure, spring-loaded LVDT for use in a 5,000 psipressure-balanced, oil-filled container. Designed from 316SSand Inconel 625 for pressure and corrosion resistance. A keyelement of the LVDT design is its zero leakage pressure seal-ing, verified by helium mass spectrometer leak testing.

The LVDT also offers repeatability, regardless of offsetsdue to pressure and/or temperature, which is of paramountimportance to ensure that when the chokes are nearly closed,flow is entirely shut off. Failure to completely close thechoke could result in an environmental disaster.

Recognizing that LVDTs are inherently high-reliabilitydevices, a Macro Sensors developed compatible 4-20maloop-powered electronics, with high-reliability to meet the20-year lifetime requirement. A 4-20mA I/O also minimizesany noise over long transmission lines.

Email: positionsensors@ macrosensors.com www.macrosensors.com/subsea_marine_lvdts.html

DEFENDER III Sonar Processing DEFENDER III is a com-

plete wide band sonar signalprocessing, detection, track-ing and classification, fusionand display unit developedand manufactured byKongsberg Defense Systemsfor use with KongsbergMesotech Ltd. DiverDetection Sonars, DDS9000/1. The MSI software isunique in applying datafusion capabilities to diverdetection.

Buoys Survive Hurricane Season Several AXYS

Technologies Inc. (AXYS)metocean buoys deployedin seas plagued withextreme weather have sur-vived an exceptionallyrough hurricane seasonthis year. Hurricane Karlwas the most destructivehurricane of the 2010Atlantic hurricane season. It crossed the Caribbean andhit the AXYS 3 meter buoy deployed off the East coast ofMexico on September 14. Data from the buoy shows amajor pressure drop followed by 10m waves with 11 sec-ond period and winds averaging 30m/s with gusts up to40m/s. The AXYS buoy performed for the duration of thisstorm, continuing to report data in real-time via satellitetelemetry to the end user.

www.axystechnologies.com

SOSI Debuts ECO SheaveSound Ocean Systems released the ECO Sheave, an over

boarding sheave designed for use with 1/8 inch electro-mechanical cable or wire rope (0.125 in. [3.2mm] nomi-nal diameter). The ECO sheave is constructed of stainlesssteel (316L) and has an eight-inch Delrin sheave with per-manently oiled bronze bearing. It’s an accessory for SOSI’sECO Winch product line and has a working load limit of

500 lbs. (227 kg), suitable for small to medium-sizedoceanographic or environmental sampling instruments.

www.soundocean.com

Extending the Panther ROV RangeA new powerful ROV was launched by Saab Seaeye. The

Panther XT Plus, rated for operation to a depth of1500m, is the latest addition to the Panther range − andwith two systems already sold for delivery in the first quar-ter of 2011 this latest version is generating considerableinterest in the ROV market. The new ROV gives opera-tors about double the horizontal thruster power comparedwith the Panther XT, which makes it the most powerfulROV in its class, according to the manufacturer. TheROV is fitted with 10 thrusters to ensure its speed, agilityand capability to hold steady in strong cross currents.

www.seaeye.com

New 66 SeriesSEACON (europe) Ltd. released a new range of underwater electrical dry-

mate connectors to complement the existing 55 Series. The new 66 Series ofreverse gender connectors enable power to be applied to the bulkhead con-nector yet still be safe to use. Manufactured utilizing tried and tested meth-ods and materials this new range also incorporates shorter locking sleeves toensure easier mating capability. The 66 Series is currently available in twoshell sizes; 16 and 20 with two configurations (8#16/13#16), however moreconfigurations will be added to the range if required.

Email sales@ seaconeurope.comwww.seaconeurope.com



WWee ccaann ttaakkee tthhee pprreessssuurree..

SSuubbsseeaa IInnssttrruummeennttaattiioonn HHoouussiinnggss aanndd JJuunnccttiioonn BBooxxeess

9521 N. Technology Drive, # C1 Fountain Hills, AZ 85268

480-837-0100 • 480-718-7723 [email protected] • www.prevco.com

9521 N. Technology Drive, # C1 Fountain Hills, AZ 85268

480-837-0100 • 480-718-7723 [email protected] • www.prevco.com

MTR MARKETPLACE • PRODUCT & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DIRECTORY


Log onto SeaDiscovery.com to explore these new job openings.SURVEYOR/INSPECTOR - MARINE INDUSTRIAL TECH-

NOLOGY

Job Location: Norway, BergenVerify Europe is part of the Verify Group of companies; a glob-al group of businesses that has provided supplier quality man-agement and product verification services to the aerospace,

defence and marine industries for over 35 years. Using ournetwork of local independent contracted field operatives, weperform third party activities including audits/surveys, sourceinspections, supplier surveillance, special project resourcingand technical support services.Our requirements can range from single day supplier audits or

single item inspections, to ongoing supplier surveillance andengineering/quality support. Please see our website,www.vscnet.com, for more information on our group of com-panies.We currently have a number of requirements for survey, qualitycontrol, quality assurance and inspection personnel to supportdelivery on a global marine supplier inspection project. Wewould be extremely interested in hearing from anyone with anyor all of the below skills:

•3 years marine experience •3 years inspection experience•Ability to interpret engineering drawings •Understanding of classification societies

We have permanent opportunities for key personnel who willhave a full-time availability to support the delivery of this pro-gram as well as contract/project staff who can supplementindividual requirements on an ad hoc basis. If you meet theabove criteria and would be interested in a preliminary discus-sion, please contact James Coote on +44 8456 432 501 orat [email protected] anticipate a number of on-going requirements throughoutNorway and Scandinavia. As such, we’d welcome the opportu-nity to hear from anyone with a source inspection, mechanicalinspection, quality control, quality assurance, quality inspec-tion, supplier surveillance or component inspection within themarine industrial technology field.

James CooteVerify Europe1 Turpyn CourtWoughton on the GreenMilton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK6 3BWUnited KingdomPhone: +44 8456432501Fax: +44 8456432502Email: [email protected]: http://www.vscnet.com

ELECTRICAL CAD DESIGNER

Job Location: USA, MI Kingsford- Develop conceptual and detail design of product per speci-fied requirements and direction of lead and project engineers- Prepare 2D and 3D lay-outs, assembly drawings, and detaildrawings on CAD or drawing board when required- Coordinate and check drawings prepared by drafting group- Travel to manufacturing facilities to assist production efforts- Prepare and process software data- Develop requirements for and specify purchased components- Customer interface/meetings- Participate in design reviews and other assigned activities- Direct checking of all drawings prepared for use on project- need someone with prior experience with heavy machinery,overhead cranes, etc

Matthew SchergThe SITE GroupN92 W17420 Appleton AveMenomonee Falls, WI 53051USAPhone: (262) 345-9933 x111Fax: (262) 345-9934Email: [email protected]

OVERSEAS EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY

Job Location: USA, NC RaleighAre you interested in getting your dream job in a foreign coun-try? If you are kindly send your resume immediately to ourhead of Human Resources through this email address:[email protected] peckersXchangables limitedEmail: [email protected]

MTR MARKETPLACE • PRODUCT & PROFESSIONAL SERVICES DIRECTORY


Advertiser’s IndexFor Fast, Free Information from Advertisers visit www.maritimeequipment.com/mt

Page Company Website Phone#

19 . . . . .Balmoral Offshore Engineering . . . . . . . . . .www.balmoraloffshore.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 (0) 1224 859000

3 . . . . .Birns, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.birns.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.888.Birns.88

11 . . . . .Cavidyne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cavidyne.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(352) 275-5319

1 . . . . .Channel Technologies Group . . . . . . . . . . . .www.channeltechgroup.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(805) 683-1431

16 . . . . .C-Nav . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.CnavGNSS.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(337) 210-0000

C4 . . . . .Forum Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.f-e-t.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Please visit us online

23 . . . . .Global Diving and Salvage, Inc. . . . . . . . . . .www.gdiving.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 441-3483

9 . . . . .iRobot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.irobot.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(919) 405-3993

21 . . . . .JW Fishers Mfg Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.jwfishers.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(508) 822-7330

13 . . . . .Kongsberg Maritime LTD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.km.kongsberg.com/cameras . . . . . . . . . . . . . .011 44 1224 226500

4 . . . . .LYYN AB . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.lyyn.com/craig . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Please visit us online

23 . . . . .Markey Machinery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.markeymachinery.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(800) 637-3430

60 . . . . .Ocean Business . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.oceanbusiness.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Please visit us online

34-35 . .OceanTechExpo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.oceantechexpo.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(561) 732-4368

19 . . . . .Outland Technology Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.outlandtech.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(985) 847-1104

4 . . . . .RJE International . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.rjeint.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(949) 727-9399

5 . . . . .Saab Seaeye . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.seaeye.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Please visit us online

7 . . . . .SeaBotix Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.SeaBotix.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(619) 450-4000

11 . . . . .Seacon Europe LTD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.seaconeurope.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .011 44 1493652733

16 . . . . .Shark Marine Technologies Inc. . . . . . . . . . .www.sharkmarine.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(905) 687-6672

49 . . . . .Sidus Solutions LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.sidus-solutions.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(866) 978-1276

15 . . . . .Sound Metrics Technologies, Inc. . . . . . . . . .www.soundmetrics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Please visit us online

9 . . . . .Subconn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.subconn.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(781) 829-4440

20 . . . . .T&T Salvage Marine, Inc. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.TandTmarine.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(409) 744-1222

60 . . . . .UDT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .udt-europe.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 (0) 207370 8636

C2 . . . . .VideoRay LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.videoray.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(610) 458-3000


incredible images

SS Kathleen

Gooey!Global Diving & Salvage worked tosalvage the SS Kathleen. Picturedis from the initial survey, whichshows oil seeping from an overhead space.

(Sou

rce:

Glo

bal D

ivin

g &

Sal

vage

)

january/february 2011 techn ol gy byron dawe, rutter five

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