The exponential growth of offshore wind power will be the main driver of a nine-fold increase in demand for ocean space by the middle of the century, according to DNV’s Ocean’s Future to 2050. The report forecasts that by midcentury, offshore wind will require ocean space which is the equivalent to the landmass of Italy. The growth will be particularly pronounced in regions with long coastlines and presently have low penetration of offshore wind. Demand for ocean space is set to grow 50-fold in the Indian Subcontinent and 30-fold in North America.

Across the Atlantic Ocean, a large current carries seawater from Africa into the Sargasso Sea and all the way to the Caribbean. The biogeochemical processes that take place along the way have hardly been researched so far. An international team led by GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel therefore crosses the Atlantic on the expedition SO287-CONNECT with the German research vessel SONNE, taking thousands of measurements – also to clarify how these processes are linked to climate change. In addition, they will also investigate how much plastic waste and shipping traffic pollute the Atlantic.

TSC Subsea, a global specialist in remotely deployed subsea NDT inspections for the energy industry, is to open new facilities in Perth, Australia, in the first quarter of 2022 to support ongoing company growth in key regions around the world.

International subsea equipment rental and solutions specialist Ashtead Technology has further strengthened its rental fleet with a significant investment in iXblue subsea navigation systems. The investment includes the addition of further Rovins and Rovins Nano inertial navigation systems as well as Octans attitude and heading reference systems which are now available to rent throughout the company’s nine international technology and service hubs.

Engineers from the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) have headed out to the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica with renowned autonomous underwater vehicle, Boaty McBoatface, to help understand what is causing ice loss from the glacier and better predict how its deterioration could contribute to sea level rise.

Global Oceans and Saildrone have signed a strategic MOU to develop new opportunities for deploying Saildrone’s fleet of autonomous uncrewed surface vehicles (USVs), including for deep seabed mapping to 7,000 meters, to support research and exploration projects operated from Global Oceans’ MARV ship platforms (Modular Adaptive Research Vessels).

ROVOP are delighted to share that two of their Triton XLX ROVs have recently mobilised onboard the Surf Allamanda, for their client Mermaid Subsea.

SEA-KIT International, an award-winning pioneer in the Uncrewed Surface Vessel sector, has announced plans to build another of its X-class, 12m USVs as a fleet vessel for launch in 2022.

Greensea Systems, creator of OPENSEA®, the universal open architecture software platform for the marine industry, has announced the creation of a dedicated user interface team. This team will be instrumental in making Workspace, its flagship user interface, more streamlined and operator focused.

Previously hindered by inaccurate historical as-built information, PWR Reactor Head Thermal Sleeves have experienced failure modes that have prompted utilities to take mitigating actions.

Prysmian Group, world leader in the energy and telecom cable systems industry, has been awarded a framework contract worth around €1.71 billion by Terna Rete Italia S.p.A., a company fully owned by Terna S.p.A., the Italian electricity grid operator (TSO). The framework contract includes the Tyrrhenian Link project, envisaging the design, supply, submarine and land installation, and commissioning of a total of over 1,500 km of submarine cables to support the power exchange among Sardinia, Sicily and Campania, thus reinforcing the Mediterranean energy hub.

Reach Subsea ASA, a provider of subsea services globally, today announced that the Company has entered an agreement with Equinor Ventures AS to acquire OCTIO AS, a provider of monitoring solutions for hydrocarbon producing fields and CO2 storage reservoirs.

The Hydrographic Office of the Polish Navy has purchased iXblue DriX Uncrewed Surface Vehicle (USV) through the company’s local partner THESTA. The USV will be advancing the Polish Navy hydrographic capabilities.

Angola sees Africa’s first offshore oil platform decommissioning underway as EQS (Environment Quality Services) successfully deploys their Saab Seaeye Falcon for determining safer upcoming decommissioning operations.

Gran Canaria is on track for more novel green energy in the future. A contract has been signed to progress the deployment of the first full-scale hybrid floating wind and wave platform, at the PLOCAN test facilities off the coast of the Canary Islands.

Skandi Neptune and team recently arrived in Rio de Janeiro after successfully completing the first stage of the campaign in Jubarte field, Campos Basin, with Shearwater.

Boskalis has signed a partnership agreement with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP), a leading global fund manager focused on renewable energy investments, together with three internationally renowned companies, to bid for the development of the energy island in the Danish North Sea. The signing of this agreement marks a significant step towards realising the world's first energy island, a project conceptualised by CIP and a crucial project in unlocking the rapid and unprecedented build-out of global offshore renewable energy to fight climate change. The Danish Energy Agency is currently in dialogue with potential bidders for the energy island tender, which is expected to be launched by Q3 2022.

Subsea 7 has been working collaboratively with AGR Well Management, Baker Hughes, COSL Drilling Europe AS and Worley, as part of a supply chain alliance, to deliver CNOOC Petroleum Europe Limited’s (CPEL) Buzzard Phase II (BPII) development, which commenced production on Monday 22 November.