The Americas account for 29% of the world's $747bn marine market (source: Westwood, Parsons, Rowley, Global Ocean Markets, January 2002). The Continent deserves an exhibition and conference in Marine Science and Ocean Technology of the stature of Oceanology International. Established in 2001, OI Americas made a promising debut in Miami, attracting 350 exhibitors and 3300 visitors - making the show the most successful exhibition dedicated to marine science ever held in the United States. The move to New Orleans takes the Show straight to the heart of the US offshore oil industry, close to survey, charting and mapping companies.

New Orleans also opens up OI Americas exhibitors to the emerging Latin American and Caribbean markets, but especially the emerging South American shipping and port- development sectors. Spearhead Exhibitions, who organise OI, are researching these markets in order to build on the initial successes of 2001. One of OI's key exhibitors said after OI Americas 200... "We were very pleased with the number of Latin American visitors and we hope that Spearhead can continue this trend and promote the event throughout the region."

Nearly 80% of Exhibitors from 2001 indicated that they were again considering taking part in OI Americas 2003. Many are taking advantage of an early-bird, discount rate open until 1st September 2002 to reserve the best sites. Benthos, Quester, Miros A/S and Maridan are among those already confirmed. Exhibitors from 2001 were impressed by the obvious potential for OI Americas to open up new markets:

"Chelsea Technologies has been a regular exhibitor in the USA for 20 years. OI Americas took this to a new level. Business opportunities in both North and South America have come as a direct result of being there," Richard Burt, Marketing Director, Chelsea Technologies Group, UK.

As our OI Exhibitors have found, the real value of participating in large trade shows lies in the opportunity for face-to-face sales and networking.

The Ernest N. Morial Convention provides a world-class venue in a vibrant city on Americas East Coast. The Centre is situated along the mighty Mississippi River within walking distance of the French Quarter, Jackson Square, the Aquarium of the Americas, and 30,000 first-class hotel rooms. The Centre boasts all the modern facilities demanded by our exhibitors, including a hi-tech Business Centre and fully-integrated Telecommunications. There are some 140 meeting rooms available on site.

A full programme of technical and scientific conferences and workshops will run alongside OI, co-ordinated by The Oceanography Society and the new Conference Chair, Dr Rick Spinrad of the Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy. Dr Spinard said:

"OI Americas 2001 was a seminal event, attracting some of the key technologists, policy makers and scientists from the American hemisphere - a trend-setter for future exhibitions in America. The diversity of interests and attendees made OI Americas 2001 an extraordinary and exciting event." Details on the Conference will be released in the Summer.

OI events always feature a strong social element. The organisers will host a series of receptions for visitors and exhibitors. Famed for Mardi Gras, and the spiritual home of Jazz music, New Orleans is one of the US' most vibrant cities and is renowned for its round-the-clock entertainment.

More from David Pierpoint, +44 (0) 20 8949 9879, david.pierpoint@spearhead.co.uk. Exhibition Sales Enquiries:Craig Moyes, +44 (0) 20 8949 9840, craig.moyes@spearhead.co.uk or Sheila Ramaiya, +44 (0) 20 8949 9820, sheila.ramaiya@spearhead.co.uk

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The Board of Directors of Geotrace is very pleased to announce the acquisition of Ensign Geophysics Limited. Ensign is an industry leader in seismic data processing and analysis services for the oil and gas industry.

Chief Operating Officer, Tim Terry stated that "the acquisition will add to the technologies of Geotrace while providing it with the geographic locations to expedite its expansion into the markets in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Ensign’s Processing Services Group, particularly its marine capability, and LFP Reservoir Services Division will complement and enhance the services already offered by Geotrace".

Geotrace Technologies is a leading provider of proprietary technologies aimed at reservoir imaging and description used to enhance the optiminization of petroleum reservoirs. It serves the worldwide petroleum industry.

Contact John Asma, Vice President and Houston Center Manager, Tel: +281-497-8440 X104, jasma@geotrace.com

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(April 5, 2002 - San Diego, CA)-- RD Instruments has recently received an order from Hydroid, Inc. for (10) RDI Workhorse Navigator based Doppler Velocity Logs/Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (DVL/ADCP's). The specially designed units are to be installed on REMUS Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) and will provide ADCP data, as well as fast and precise vehicle navigation updates.

The REMUS is a low cost, light-weight AUV designed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) for environmental monitoring, mine counter measures, and hydrographic surveys. The REMUS technology has been licensed by WHOI to Hydroid, Inc., which now provides REMUS as a commercial product offering.

The recent Hydroid order consists of (2) four beam and (8) eight beam RDI Workhorse Navigator based DVL/ADCP's. The RDI DVLs provide a powerful combination of sensors in a compact package for ROV, AUV, or towed fish navigation and control. RDI's DVL/ADCP, designed specifically for the REMUS vehicle, provides acoustic Doppler current profiling (ADCP) capability, as well as measurement of 3-D bottom track, water-referenced vehicle velocity, and altitude.

RDI's Doppler velocity logs are currently installed on over 90 percent of the world's AUV's, and a steadily increasing number of ROV's and towed bodies. For more information contact Graham Lester at Tel. +858-693-1178 or via e-mail at glester@rdinstruments.com, or visit RDI's navigation website at http://www.dvlnav.com.

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MARION, MASSACHUSETTS--April 5, 2002 -- Sippican, Inc., a privately-held electronics systems manufacturer, announced today that it finalized the sale of substantially all of its assets and liabilities to The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm, and the senior management and directors of Sippican. Sippican’s management and employees will continue in their current positions.

Sippican, Inc. will retain its name and all of its lines of business. Sippican designs, manufactures, sells, and supports military, oceanographic and meteorologic electronic systems and subsystems for government and scientific markets, and for undersea warfare and electronic defense markets. Sippican also provides commercial electronic contract manufacturing services to original equipment manufacturers primarily in the telecommunications and high-end computer industries.

Bud Watts, a managing director of The Carlyle Group, said, "We are delighted to work with Sippican’s management team and employees, who have built a company that provides quality products and services to the U.S. government and foreign governments, scientific institutions and defense and aerospace companies. Our goal is to help the company supplement its steady internal growth through capital investment and strategic acquisitions in the defense industry.

Bill Walsh, Sippican, Inc.’s President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Our partnership with The Carlyle Group creates new opportunities for Sippican to grow and innovate. Importantly, because our current management team and employees will be responsible for the operations of the company going forward, our customers and partners can be assured that Sippican will continue to provide them with the same high quality products and services they expect."

Sippican, Inc., became an independent, privately-held company organized in Massachusetts in 1990. With a principal place of business in Marion, Massachusetts, Sippican also operates facilities in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; El Paso, Texas; and Juarez, Mexico. Sippican employs more than 400 professional, technical, and manufacturing personnel. For more information, please visit the Sippican, Inc. website at http://www.sippican.com.

The Carlyle Group is a global private equity firm with more than $13.2 billion under management. Carlyle’s mission is to generate extraordinary returns by employing a conservative, proven, and disciplined approach to investing. Carlyle invests in buy-outs, real estate, high-yield, and venture in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and Asia, focusing on aerospace and defense, consumer, industrial, energy, healthcare, technology, and telecommunications and media. Since 1987, the firm has invested $6.6 billion and achieved a realized internal rate of return of 37 percent. The Carlyle Group has more than 480 employees in 22 offices in 11 countries.

Contact: Donna O’Connor, Sippican, Inc., Tel: +508-748-1160 or, Chris Ullman, The Carlyle Group, Tel: +202-585-1443

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BARTLESVILLE, Okla., April 11, 2002 --- Polar Tankers, Inc. will unveil its third state-of-the-art Endeavour Class double-hulled tanker, the POLAR DISCOVERY, during a christening ceremony on Saturday, April 13, at 10 a.m. at the Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Avondale shipyard in New Orleans.

Phillips Petroleum Company [NYSE:P], parent of Polar Tankers, is building five Endeavour Class tankers. The contract cost of the POLAR DISCOVERY is valued at $168 million.

The Endeavour Class tankers, also known as the Millennium Class, are the first crude-oil carriers being built for the Alaska trade in compliance with the federal Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The first tanker, the POLAR ENDEAVOUR, arrived in Valdez, Alaska, on its maiden voyage in July 2001.

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International Industries Inc., of Annapolis, MD, US Distributor for STENMAR SONAVISION Ltd., has sold another RoxAnn GroundMaster Seabed Classification Systems to the US Geological Survey.
This system is to be used in environmental monitoring of the riverine areas covered by the USGS Biological Laboratory in Lacrosse Wisconsin. The sale was the result of extensive testing of the system in very shallow fresh waters in the area, looking for fresh water mussels such as the "famed and feared" Zebra Mussels. The ROXANN systems' ability to do this in less than 1 meter of water consistently was the main factor in the selection.

Delivery is expected in time for the spring field operations. The system can be used on very small vessels as they weigh less than 25 pounds and utilize standard laptop computers for command and control. The Groundmaster is a self-contained unit with its own Acoustic Transducer. A sister unit can be used with any standard single beam echo sounder, utilizing the first and second echo returns of that system. A multibeam version was recently ordered by Washington College in Chestertown, MD for use in shallow water Archeology as well as shell fish research.

The acquisition of these systems by the US Geological Service will certainly enhance the capabilities of the biological research for environmental protection and resurgence. The Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern Coastal areas have been using this research tool for some time. RoxAnn has come into the local and state arena as a strong economical tool for the marine research professional. The systems are also becoming a strong element in the biological lacustrine and riverine research arena, as is shown above.

More from International Industries Inc., 407 Innovation Drive David Taylor Research Center Annapolis, Maryland 21402 USA Tel +410-349-4080 Fax +410-349-9390

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Incredibly this tiny gadget retails for under $60 - bringing affordable digital photography to the mass market for the first time.

The groundbreaking camera can hold 20 images in "high" resolution mode (352x288) and 80 images in "low" resolution (176x144). Connected to a PC or Mac it will double as a webcam and can even capture up to 7 seconds of moving images. Firebox.com specializes in selling the very latest gadgets, games and 'hot' products. Michael Smith, Firebox.com CEO, said:

"We've been involved in several major product crazes over the last fewyears such as Furby, Tamagotchi and Razor Scooters but this looks like being the biggest yet. We've only been selling it for a few weeks butit's already become the fastest selling digital camera in the UK.

The l'espion digital camera is available from Firebox.com. Over 150 digital photos taken by customers with their l'espion digital cameras are currently online at the Firebox.com website at http://www.firebox.com.

Retail price: £39.95 (approx $60) and comes with 2MB internal memory, - 0.1 Megapixel, 16.7 million colours, Fixed focus lens, is PC/Mac compatible, battery, carry pouch and USB cable. As at April 2002, to the best of their knowledge, the l'espion digital camera was the smallest commercially available digital camera in the world. For full specifications and images, click here:

About Firebox.com Firebox specializes in selling and marketing the latest gadgets, games and 'hot' products. The company is based in the UK but has a warehouse in Boston, MA and ships worldwide. Contact Michael Smith, Firebox.com CEO Phone: +44 20 7924 9623 e-mail:michael.smith@firebox.com or visit the site at http://www.firebox.com or Chris Robinson, Head of Marketing Phone: +44 20 7924 9623 e-mail: christian.robinson@firebox.com.

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The Onboard Basic Safety Training Program consists of the following modules:
1) Onboard First Aid: Immediate Actions
2) Basic Fire Fighting
3) Personal Survival
4) Personal Safety & Social Responsibility,
5) Interactive Training Drilling & Assessment Compact Disk.

The training modules are based on the requirements set forth in Table VI of the STCW Code, as amended in 1995. Each module consists of an audio-visual training course, a "test" videocassette and a workbook that reinforces instructional content by utilizing still frames "captured" from the videotapes. The combination of image-rich videotape and print creates a powerful instructional system that results in high levels of content retention and aids crewmembers in maintaining the "competencies" required by the STCW Code. The interactive compact disk facilitates onboard training, drilling and assessment operations and associated record keeping as required by the ISM Code.

ONBOARD FIRST AID: IMMEDIATE ACTIONS
Parts 1 and 2 of this curriculum module feature medical professionals portraying shipboard personnel as they demonstrate the immediate actions required for stabilizing the condition of an ill or injured crewmember. Part 3 is the test cassette that allows the viewer to evaluate his or her understanding of the subject matter, as a means of boosting retention and measuring comprehension. Part 4 is the workbook which serves as a study guide that can be issued to crew personnel. Included in the workbook are test forms that can be used for scoring and certification of those who complete the program. Targeted at entry-level personnel, Onboard First Aid: Immediate Actions offers a cost-effective means of meeting onboard basic safety training requirements for elementary first aid.

BASIC FIRE FIGHTING
Parts 1, 2 and 3 of this module represent an audio-visual refresher course in shipboard fire prevention and control. Part 4 is the test cassette and Part 5 is the pictorial workbook. The live fire scenes were photographed at the Washington State Fire Training Center and feature professional fire fighters. The fire drills were conducted aboard vessels ranging from fishing boats to oil tankers and container ships.

PERSONAL SURVIVAL
Like the other components of the Onboard Basic Safety Training Program, this module is based on Table VI of the revised STCW Code. Photographed aboard vessels ranging from sea-going tugs to oil tankers and container ships, it represents an audio-visual refresher course in coping with emergencies like man overboard and abandon ship. It consists of content cassettes, a test cassette and the pictorial workbook.

PERSONAL SAFETY & SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
Produced for the Ship Operations Cooperative Program (SOCP) Committee, this module illustrates safe working practices, effective human relationships, fundamentals of communication and chain of command, emergency procedures and pollution prevention. It utilizes dramatized scenarios that produce emotionally based comprehension of the subject matter. It consists of two content cassettes, a test cassette and the workbook.

INTERACTIVE TRAINING DRILLING & ASSESSMENT COMPACT DISK
This product facilitates onboard training, drilling & assessment and associated record keeping. Vessel managers have access to a secure area of the database that offers step-by-step guidelines for conducting onboard drilling, training & assessment operations. The database maintains a history of these operations and quickly generates crew participation and performance reports for auditors or port state control authorities. Crewmembers have access to a restricted area of the database that tests their comprehension of the Onboard Basic Safety Training curriculum presented in the companion.

Iinstructional modules. It documents their test scores and certificates their participation in onboard training, drilling & assessment. The Onboard Basic Safety Training Program has been written and produced by John Sabella & Associates, Inc. of Seattle, Washington. It is distributed by Walport USA of South Toms River, N.J. For further, contact John Sabella & Associates, Inc., 805 W. Emerson St., Seattle, Washington 98119. Tel: +206-281-8626. Fax: +206-217-0899. Toll Free: 1-888-719-4099. Email: info@johnsabella.com. Web: http://www.johnsabella.com

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"Following the completion of Gulf of Mexico project work for ExxonMobil, Kerr-McGee and Mariner Energy in extended sea trials, the Q4000 will be formally placed into service and mobilized offshore Brazil to establish customer recognition in this important deepwater market," said Owen Kratz, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We are pleased that the Q4000 has been completed on time and within her $180 million budget, an achievement many did not think possible given the vessel's unique design and the fact that CDI had never built a semi-submersible."

Features include a Huisman-designed, three-sided tower capable of lifting 600 tons. The vessel's 350-ton crane is the world's first with sufficient capacity to deliver loads to 10,000 feet. The Q4000 also has a unique column- stabilized design that combines dynamically positioned station-keeping with a large deck space (15,000 square feet), significant deck load capacity (3,400 tons) and high transit speed (12 knots). The vessel, which Cal Dive commissioned in 1999, was built at the AMFELS, Inc., shipyard in Brownsville, Texas. (A high-resolution photo of the Q4000 is available: by clicking here)

Y.Y. Chow, General Manager of the AMFELS shipyard, noted, "AMFELS is very proud to have delivered the Q4000 on schedule. The vessel represents a new generation prototype design for multi-role field development projects in deepwater basins around the world. The Q4000 is a testimony to the quality workmanship and project management capabilities of AMFELS. We were pleased that the sea trials prior to delivery were completed in record time for a DP-3 semi-submersible."

The Q4000 was financed under the Title XI Program of the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD). Upon delivery, it was documented under the laws of the United States and became subject to a first preferred ship mortgage in favor of the United States of America. Over the years, MARAD, whose Title XI program promotes U.S. shipbuilding and U.S. onboard labor, has been instrumental in helping U.S. companies develop new state-of-the-art, water- borne projects, including containerization and roll-on, roll-off vessels.

Cal Dive International, Inc., headquartered in Houston, TX, is an energy service company specializing in well operations and subsea construction. CDI operates a fleet of technically advanced marine construction vessels and robotics, and conducts salvage operations in the Gulf of Mexico.

For more information contact Jim Nelson, Vice Chairman, 281-618-0400, or visit http://www.caldive.com. SOURCE Cal Dive International, Inc.

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