IKM Consultants secures an extended 1-year Framework Agreement for Hire of Personnel with Wintershall Norge AS.

On September 18-21, 2017, the OCEANS North America conference will be hosted in Alaska for the first time ever! On behalf of the Marine Technology Society and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society, the OCEANS ’17 Anchorage Local Organizing Committee (LOC) is honored to invite your participation in this prestigious event.

DCNS, the parent company of OpenHydro and the European leader in naval defence, has announced the creation of DCNS Energies a new marine energy business which will be fully financed by a fund managed by Bpifrance and supported by Technip and BNP Paribas development groups.

Forum Energy Technologies, Inc. revealed today that it has designed, manufactured, tested and delivered its 350th rotational torque (RT) torque machine to TAM International, a globally recognised downhole inflatable packer leader. The torque machine, or bucking unit as it is commonly referred, was manufactured at the Forum AMC facility in Aberdeen, UK. This represents the sixth unit that TAM has purchased from Forum in three years, and is a testament to TAM’s growth plans, as well as their trust in Forum’s equipment and global support network. The machine will be used to make up or breakout downhole completion and drilling tools with premium threaded connections.

Teledyne SeaBotix, a world leading manufacturer of underwater observation class Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) was recently awarded a multi-million dollar operational capability upgrade contract with the Department of Defense through distributor, Atlantic Diving Supply (ADS).

Teledyne Webb Research announces release of the APF-11 controller and firmware as the new core of the well-known Autonomous Profiling Explorer (APEX). With nearly 8,000 floats deployed during the past 16 years, APEX has long been the workhorse of the hugely successful Argo Program monitoring temperature and salinity in the upper 2000 meters of the world’s oceans. Teledyne engineers designed the new controller and firmware to ensure APEX continues that role for years to come.

ROV Planet would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Ashtead Technology has announced the acquisition of Abu Dhabi based TES Survey Equipment Services LLC for an undisclosed sum. The acquisition will enable the leading independent provider of subsea equipment and services to the offshore oil and gas industry to significantly increase its customer service offering in the Middle East, a region which has strong growth potential for Ashtead.

Schmidt Ocean Institute’s new underwater vehicle SuBastian completes its first expedition discovering new hydrothermal vent sites and possible new species in the Mariana Back-Arc, an extreme deep-ocean environment. APRA HARBOR, GUAM – A team of leading geologists, chemists, and biologists aboard research vessel Falkor have just finished surveying the largely unexplored Mariana Back-Arc for life at depths greater than 13,000 feet. Dr. David Butterfield, JISAO, University of Washington, and Dr. William Chadwick, NOAA-PMEL and Oregon State University, led the group to the Back-Arc; returning for the second phase of a two-part exploration of the region. In 2015, the team of scientists located new hydrothermal vents in the Back-Arc region, including evidence of recent lava flows. This year, the team returned to these vent systems with the new remotely operated vehicle (ROV), SuBastian, to characterize their water chemistry and biodiversity. The new results fill a gap in knowledge about the biogeography of these unique deep-sea ecosystems and has implications for how tectonic setting influences the composition of chemosynthetic animal communities worldwide.

In September 2016 the privately owned Norwegian EPC Contractor Imenco AS launched a new division Imenco Corrosion Technology to concentrate on the promotion of its field proven anode systems globally to the offshore renewable energy sector and into late life assets in the oil and gas industry. Imenco Corrosion Technology deliver ROV installable solutions that are cost effective as they have short installation time, are technically sound, both mechanically strong and maintain a long term electrical continuity, and are simple to install. The clamps can be installed by ROV pilots or divers without any specialist training. With offices in Norway, Aberdeen in UK, Lafayette in USA and in Singapore, Imenco Corrosion Technology will aim to provide all the major offshore wind, tidal energy, marine energy along with oil and gas companies’ sacrificial anode equipment to protect their subsea structures at new build stages or as a retrofit solution.

ROV services company, Rovco, has secured Innovate UK funding which will enable the firm to carry out extensive research and development activity and perform a full feasibility study into the advancement of underwater 3D modelling technology. Once developed into a real-time inspection system this technology has the potential to revolutionise the way energy companies manage and inspect their subsea assets, potentially saving hundreds of millions of pounds in subsea inspection costs each year. The project will be 70% supported by Innovate UK and the remaining 30% will be funded by Rovco. The newly-formed company will be seeking further equity investment in the 2nd quarter 2017 as it looks to engage with subsea companies, software developers and universities across the country to become collaborative partners in the firm’s latest venture.

JW Fishers Mfg., a company specializing in the design and manufacture of underwater search equipment for almost 50 years, is introducing a new underwater metal detector for 2017. The SAR-1 Search and Recovery metal detector was developed as a result of significant customer feedback and extensive product testing. This new detector was specially designed for use by public safety dive teams, law enforcement agencies and military units that need to locate metal objects in poor visibility underwater environments. The SAR-1 alterts the operator to the presence of metal by vibration which is transmitted through the handle. Even in zero visibility, the user can feel the intense vibration conducted through the detector’s handle and into the diver’s arm. In addition to vibration, the detector also has a high intensity LED display which is directly in front of the diver’s face and easy to see in all but the worst conditions.

Corporate governance has been a topical subject in the commercial world for many years. Now the association world is catching up. One that has seized it with enthusiasm is the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) with the result that from New Year’s Day 2017 IMCA will have in place a new legal structure, a new operational structure, and new governance arrangements for running its committee structure. The new legal structure sees the formation of a new holding company limited by guarantee, the board of which becomes the governing body of the association, replacing the Council and Overall Management Committee.

After the most successful Ocean Business show ever in April 2015, with almost 5000 visitors from around the world, it is no surprise that the next show in Southampton on 4-6 April 2017 is sold-out, with five months still to go! Despite the industry's economic downturn, companies have booked stand space at a quicker rate than ever before and the organisers are expecting a record number of visitors. Versha Carter, Group Director for Ocean Business, believes this is because companies recognise the importance of diversifying into new markets and building new relationships, and Ocean Business offers opportunities for this at a relatively low cost.

IKM Consultants secures a 3-year Framework Agreement for Hire of Personnel with Aker BP. IKM Consultants AS is pleased to announce they have been awarded a Framework Agreement for Provision of Temporary Manpower to Aker BP for the period of 1st December 2016 – 31st December 2019, with two (2) extension options each of one (1) year duration. The contract includes delivery of personnel within the following categories: Multi Technical, Supply Chain Management, Economy and Administration. IKM Consultants AS have had a long standing, and good supplier relationship with the two merged companies, BP and Det norske, and Aker BP is a very important and valued Client. The newly awarded Framework Agreement replaces IKM Consultants AS’s current Framework Agreements with Det norske.

NORBIT have appointed Mairi Law as Director of Sales and Marketing to support their growing regional client base. Peter Eriksen from NORBIT comments, “We are delighted that Mairi has joined the team to support the growing number of NORBIT clients in the UK and Eire. She has extensive experience in the sales of multibeam systems, and understands what is important to clients as they wish the latest generation of sonar technology from a trusted partner”.

C-Kore Systems has been awarded another contract by PTTEP Australasia to supply them with four C-Kore Subsea Monitoring tools for an offshore operation in Australian waters. PTTEP has used the C-Kore devices on multiple deployments, and found “Offshore testing can be significantly simplified with this meter, and overall schedule reduced. This in turn would save substantial costs during offshore inspection and fault finding campaigns. The result of the test by the new technique is more reliable, consistent and cost effective method to confirm insulation resistance in a subsea cable system.”

Greetings, You are receiving this email as an ROV professional. My name is Bob Christ with SeaTrepid International and I am the ROV Track Chairman for the 2017 Underwater Intervention Conference in New Orleans dated February 21-23, 2017 at the Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.