GLOBAL EXPLORER is a U.S. Flagged, Jones Act qualified vessel, fully classed to ABS standards. With suitability for tasks ranging from power and fiber optic cable recovery/lay and burial between platforms to light subsea construction and survey, GLOBAL EXPLORER can be equipped to fulfill a variety of specific applications, dependent on the customer’s needs. Additionally, Ocean Services possesses arrangements with several companies allowing utilization of personnel and equipment for turnkey contracting.

GLOBAL EXPLORER’s design features are modeled after those of Bering Sea fishing trawlers. Coupled with her Alstom A-DPII system and Thrustmaster thrusters, this design promises optimal weather endurance. GLOBAL EXPLORER is equipped with a reinforced shelter deck capable of supporting ROV or dive equipment/operations. This shelter deck can be removed, if necessary for specific applications. Keel cooling has been configured so that a moonpool may be added if desired. A significant feature for diverse operations is GLOBAL EXPLORER’s lower hold space. Three large holds totaling 68,655 square feet may be utilized for operations such as pipelay, coil tubing lay, etc. Deadweight is approximately 2500 long tons.

GLOBAL EXPLORER provides berthing for 63 persons, with hardwood interiors and furnishings custom designed by Ocean Services’ in-house team, applying experience gained on several luxury expedition yacht conversions. If necessary, accommodations may be expanded to comfortably support up to 100 persons.

Ocean Services is a premiere provider of specialty vessels to the Gulf of Mexico, Alaska and international markets. For further information on GLOBAL EXPLORER, please contact Maria Headley at Tel: +206-547-6161 x 18 or mariah@pacgenesis.com.

Back To Top

The REMUS AUV was selected after being subjected to a full year of operational and environmental testing to ensure that the system was well suited for the Navy’s Very Shallow Water Mine Counter Measures (VSW-MCM) activities. Having proven itself in the field, REMUS will now be introduced throughout the Navy’s fleet.

The REMUS AUV, which is now marketed, manufactured and supported by Hydroid, Inc., is world renowned for its lightweight, compact construction, high quality data, and ease of operation.

Despite its small size, REMUS houses an impressive and powerful suite of standard sensors, as well as a series of on-board navigation devices. The vehicle automatically determines which navigation sensor is to be used to provide the best possible position estimate throughout the vehicle’s mission. This resulting high positioning accuracy allows REMUS to maintain track line following to a level of accuracy unrivaled by other means of data collection. REMUS operates using a Windows based laptop computer, and contains a highly intuitive user interface that appeals to a wide array of users. Built in tools allow the data to be accessed, plotted, and posted to the Internet within minutes of recovery.

For additional information, contact Ken Jordan at Hydroid, Inc. via Tel.+508-457-9191; e-mail: kjordan@hydroidinc.com; or visit http://www.hydroidinc.com.

Back To Top

Emu Ltd has recently moved into purpose-built offices near Southampton, UK, while maintaining laboratory facilities on nearby Hayling Island. A Hong Kong office has recently opened and a survey team complete with inshore vessel has been set up in Dubai to cover requirements in the Middle East. Established in 1997, Emu Ltd has a professional staff of 40 and has completed over 1000 projects worldwide to support port and harbour development, coastal engineering, offshore renewable energy, offshore oil and gas, the water industry and marine aggregate extraction.

More from: Kate Black, Emu Ltd, 1 Mill Court, The Sawmills, Durley, SO32 2EJ, UK. Tel: +44 (0) 1489 860050 Fax: +44 (0) 1489 860051 or email: kate.black@emulimited.com. VIsit http://www.emulimited.com

Called AquaLAB, four units have already been supplied: to Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory; to the University of East Anglia, UK; to Southampton Oceanography Centre, UK; and to the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (CEFAS), UK. AquaLAB samples dissolved gases such as CFC, SF6, CO2 and other tracers. It uses a new sampling technique developed by WS EnviroTech by which each sample is collected and stored in one of 50 titanium foil bags which, after rigorous testing, are verified as being completely gas tight.

AquaLAB may be deployed for extended periods of up to a year or more; or in profiling applications when attached to a standard conductivity/temperature/depth (CTD) rosette; or as a stand-alone sampling system using its own winch.

As well as its primary application of deep ocean water sampling AquaLAB may also be used for ultra-precise time-series salinity determination, chemical composition analysis and other key measurements which help develop a greater understanding of the deep ocean environment.

AquaLAB's design is based on five years’ experience gained with WS EnviroTech's Aqua Monitor which is operating on a number of biological monitoring projects worldwide. More from: UK: Mark Rawlinson T: +44 1420 511611 F: +44 1420 511356 email: mark.rawlinson@wsenvirotech.com or US: Jeanne Dorsey T: +1 757 549 8474 email: jeanne.dorsey@wsenvirotech.com

 Back To Top

The newest version of the popular GL-PROTM software by IGTI, Inc. offers many new powerful features and functions demanded by professional level users of real-time GPS/GIS/AVL applications including aircraft, vehicle, vessel navigation, field data collection, asset tracking and management and mobile communication applications. A primary component for any Asset-Tracking-and-Management-System (ATMS) requirement, GL-PROTM has been proven worldwide to work under those demanding conditions and real-time environments.

For more information on GL-PRO or other ATMS system components contact: IGTI, Inc. Asset Tracking and Management Systems and Services, 3760 Greenbriar Drive. Stafford, TX 77477 USA e-mail info@intgps.com or visit http://www.intgps.com. Call, Fax , E-mail or download today for a live demonstration: Tel: +866 494-4484 (Toll free USA) or Tel: +28) 494-4773 (Sales).

 Back To Top

Fledermaus is a powerful interactive 3D data visualization QC system used for swath bathymetry editing, QC, route planning and multi-type data set visualization. Fledermaus is in use with BP, Naval Oceanographic Office and NOAA to name a few.

Commenting on the announcement NetSurvey’s Managing Director, Duncan Mallace, said ‘This agreement will give Fledermaus clients European based sales and technical support as well as providing NetSurvey with an enhanced data processing service. Multibeam, sidescan and sub-bottom datasets are growing in size at a rate of knots and few software packages can cope, especially not in 3D. Fledermaus’ innovative technology allows the user to view and interact with huge datasets with considerable ease.’

For European enquiries please contact Duncan Mallace duncan@netsurvey.co.uk or worldwide, Lindsay Gee at IVS lgee@ivs.unb.ca or visit the IVS website at www.ivs.unb.ca. Contact NetSurvey Limited, The Office, Astell Farm. Claydon, Banbury. Oxon OX17 1ES UK Tel: +44 (0) 1295 690007 Fax: +44 (0) 1295 690881 Email: fledermaus@netsurvey.co.uk Web: http//www.multibeam.net

 Back To Top

MEDGAZ (Socidad para el Estudio y la Promocion del Gasoducto Argelia Europa, via Esparna, S.A.) is a company formed by CEPSA, Sonatrach, BP, Endesa, ENI/Snam, Gaz de France and Totalfinaelf, to study the transport of gas from Algeria to Europe. The pipeline system being studied will be able to transport natural gas, of prescribed specifications, at the rates of 8 to 16 BCM/year (BCM - Billion Cubic Meter). The pipeline on the Algerian side will have a landfall at Beni Saf and on the Spanish side landfall will be in the province of Almeria.

The survey used the most current seabed mapping technologies including the most modern multi-beam equipment mounted on an unmanned submarine named HUGIN 3000. This submarine, also called AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle), operates totally autonomously, without any physical connection to the parent ship, carrying out its 50-hour missions 40 meters above the seabed. It can, however, be instructed to revise its mission in real time by using acoustic communications from the mother ship when it is necessary. She is the only commercial survey AUV in the World capable of working in water depth to 3000 meters. HUGIN 3000 is owned by C & C Technologies of Lafayette, LA, USA and was used for the first time in Europe on the MEDGAZ survey. The survey was supervised by MEDGAZ engineers and accomplished all of their objectives. Information supplied by C & C’s AUV provided ample information to determine a suitable pipeline corridor crossing the Alboran Sea area on the Western Mediterranean in record-breaking water depths exceeding 2100 meters.

To find out more information on C & C’s AUV, please contact Jay Northcutt at (+1) 337-261-0660, visit C & C’s website at http://www.cctechnol.com, or send email to info@cctechnol.com.

 Back To Top

The conference will include technical sessions on the latest developments in hydrographic surveying, multibeam and side scan sonar, airborne coastal mapping and charting, data management, electronic charting and related topics as well as workshops and training sessions. Authors are invited to submit abstracts of 300 words or less for papers on these topics to the technical session co-ordinator, Mr. Max van Norden at vannordenm@navo.navy.mil by September 1, 2002. Notification of acceptance will be made by November 1, 2002 and the deadline for submission of papers will be February 1, 2003.

Registration
The conference registration fee includes admission to technical sessions, commercial training, exhibit hall and evening receptions. You may pre-register on-line at the THSOA web site (http://www.thsoa.org) or on site during the conference.

Hydrographic Training
Commercial training sessions (with associated registration fees) on timely subjects are being planned for Monday, March 24 prior to the start of the conference. Other training sessions, at a reduced level, are to be held on a concurrent basis with the technical sessions.

Exhibits
Over 60 exhibitors of hydrographic survey equipment and services are expected to be on hand. Exhibits will be open from March 25 through March 27. For more information on exhibits contact Chic Ransone at Tel: +410-349-3940 or via e-mail at chicran@aol.com.

Accommodations
Blocks of rooms have been reserved at the Beau Rivage Resort and Casino in Biloxi, Mississippi at the rate of $89 per night, single or double occupancy with a $20 surcharge for additional guests per room. These rates do not include state and local taxes. Be sure to request the special rate for U.S. Hydro 2003. For reservations telephone +888-567-6667. For more information call +228-386-7111 or visit the Beau Rivage website at http://www.beaurivage.com.

Facilities
The technical sessions, workshops and exhibits will be held in the Camellia, Azalea and Magnolia Ballrooms. All events are on the same level of the hotel which will facilitate movement between the various venues. On-the-water demonstrations by providers of hydrographic survey equipment will be available at the Marina at Beau Rivage which is designed to accommodate seafaring craft from around the world from 30 foot sport fishing boats to 200 foot yachts. Dockage should be arranged with the Convention Sales office at Tel: +228-386-7171.

 Back To Top

Working with approximately 1.5 km of light armored telecommunications cable laid out by Tyco’s CSGS ‘Global Sentinel’, Sedna performed several exercises including: (1) Locating and tracking the cable with its Innovatum cable tracking system and HPR responder/transponder system; (2) Utilizing the hydraulic cable gripper and cable cutter to simulate an actual repair; and (3) Deepwater tests in 2850 meters involving operation of all onboard systems including the full range of the jetting swords, all pan and tilt units, both manipulators, the jet/dredge and the fire hose unit used for uncovering buried cable.

The Sedna / CRABSS system has now been demobilized, but will remain on 24/7 call out in Portland, Oregon prepared for emergency interventions as needed.

Sonsub, a Saipem Group company, is recognized as an established leader in the development and application of quality, cost-effective solutions for subsea environments. Specializing in subsea construction engineering and remote intervention, Sonsub maintains offices in the USA, United Kingdom, Norway, Italy and South East Asia. For more information, please contact Marco Sclocchi at Sonsub Inc., 15950 Park Row, Houston, TX 77084. Telephone: 281-552-5674. Fax: 281-552-5909. E-mail: marco.sclocchi@sonsub.com

 Back To Top

Although the focus of the company’s developments has been for their own systems, Hydrovision are happy to offer LARS as stand alone products for other ROVs and deep water deployment applications or to provide custom variations and designs to suit special requirements.

The project leader for this new activity is Chris Barclay who has recently joined Hydrovision and brings with him many years of experience in the design and project management of all types of marine winches and handling systems.

For more information and images about the Hydrovision LARS, visit http://www.hydrovision.co.uk

 Back To Top

Donna Marie joined Knudsen Engineering in 1989 and has played a significant role in software development of the 320 series echosounders. In her new position, Donna Marie will be responsible for technical development activities within the company.

For more information, contact: Judith Knudsen, VP Operations / Marketing, Knudsen Engineering Limited. 10 Industrial Road Perth, ON K7H 3P2. Canada or Tel: + 613 267-1165 ext 105 or e-mail: judith@knudsenengineering.com or visit http://www.knudsenengineering.com

 Back To Top

The effects of the offshore oil and gas industry on two Louisiana cities, New Iberia and Morgan City, and the families who live in them are investigated in a new socioeconomic report released today by the Minerals Management Service (MMS). The study, Social and Economic Impacts of OCS Activity on Individuals and Families, was produced by a team of social scientists from the University of Arizona’s Bureau of Applied Research in Anthropology and 14 teacher-researchers in both cities. Input was received from hundreds of local volunteers, and the findings are found in the two volumes that make up this study.

New Iberia and Morgan City are located in Southern Louisiana. Both are involved in diverse activities associated with the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas from the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). New Iberia is a sugarcane town that acquired an oil sector. Morgan City is a shrimping and commercial port on the Atchafalaya River that was strategically poised to become a prominent fabricating, service, and supply center for the oil and gas industry. The communities, with populations of 30,000 and 12,000, respectively, are amenable in size for ethnographic study which, in its broadest sense, endeavors to understand the social, political, economic, and cultural dynamics of communities.

The study found that offshore oil and gas activity is the source of many kinds of workplaces and patterns in which many different lifestyles develop. Workers and their families have indicated that the nature and extent of OCS-related effects vary according to industry sector and position within the sector and the company. Factors that influence effects include the stability and vulnerability of employment in the sector, wages and opportunities for advancement, work schedule patterns, and safety. Within and among sectors, company responses to industry fluctuations, restructuring, and other changes in the oil and gas industry differ considerably, and these responses contribute to the impacts felt by workers and families.

The results of this research are reported in two companion volumes. Volume I surveys the effect of OCS activities on workers in diverse sectors of the industry, on individuals and families, and on communities. Volume II, Case Studies, looks at the communities of New Iberia and Morgan City, the multigenerational attitudes towards work in the oil and gas industry, and recent changes in two transportation sectors, trucking and offshore supply vessels.

This report is available on compact disc for $15.00. A limited number of paper copies (the set of both volumes costs $30.00) are available from the Gulf of Mexico OCS Region office of the Minerals Management Service by asking for OCS Study MMS 2002-022 and MMS 2002-023. The office is located at 1201 Elmwood Park Blvd. in suburban New Orleans. Telephone requests may be placed at 1-800-200-GULF (local 736-2519). Credit card orders are accepted. The report will also be available from the National Technical Information Service in the near future. Reference copies will placed in selected Federal Depository libraries.

MMS is the federal agency in the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages the nation's oil, natural gas and other mineral resources on the outer continental shelf in federal offshore waters. The agency also collects, accounts for and disburses mineral revenues from federal and Indian leases. These revenues totaled nearly $10 billion in 2001 and more than $120 billion since the agency was created in 1982. Annually, nearly $1 billion from those revenues go into the Land and Water Conservation Fund for the acquisition and development of state and federal park and recreation lands. MMS’s website address is http://www.mms.gov

 Back To Top

Contents contain full details including ownership/management, builder and launch date, conversion yard and conversion date, classification, specifications, capacities, propulsion, accommodation and a wide range of additional relevant operating data is included for the following classes of vessels:-

Accommodation units - Cable lay ships - Derrick crane barges/ships - Derrick/lay barges - Dredgers/rock dumpers - Heavy lift vessels - Multi purpose support vessels/Diving support vessels - Pipe lay/pipe bury barges - Pontoon barges - Transportation deck barges - Well stimulation vessels.

SPECIAL OFFER - CONSTRUCTION VESSELS OF THE WORLD ON-LINE

Order your copy of the book by 31 August 2002 and for ONLY an additional £50/$79/€75 access the above data over the internet in any place, at any time and anywhere!
PRICE: Book only - £245/$416/€405
Product order no: CVW/06
Book and online access - £295/$495/€480
Product order no: CVW/06/OL

For both products please add postage and packing (surface) - £10 within UK, £15 overseas. For airmail delivery costs please contact OPL direct.

To order your books please call, fax or e-mail us now on the following numbers:- Tel. +44 (0) 1531 634563 Fax +44 (0) 1531 634239 E-mail: sales@oilpubs.com. For details of our full range of products visit our website at http://www.oilpubs.com

 Back To Top

In July 2002, Pisys and IRIS Technology were delighted to witness their 1st jointly developed product being successfully introduced to the harsh offshore environment. Their integrated inspection system was inspired by the companies’ Joint Technological Initiative (JTI) to develop next generation solutions for the offshore inspection industry.

Subsea 7, a global service provider in the fields of subsea engineering and construction, was the first offshore contractor to exploit this innovative product.

Pisys software products, Scope and RTVS (Real Time Video Suite), operate seamlessly together with IRIS hardware to provide a component-based data collection and retrieval system, enabling accurate data collection and management for subsea structure inspection and integrity management.

The integrated suite of system modules permits the operator to perform multiple functions, including inspection-planning; video-overlaying, ‘frame-grabbing’ from the ROV camera and database-archiving of images, data and text.

Ray Allen, Director of Pisys commented: ‘We are delighted to realise the potential of this product offering with the assistance and feedback from such a forward-looking and innovative company as Subsea 7.’

BACKGROUND
Pisys specialises in the development of sophisticated technical software. The Aberdeen-based company has divisions within the Offshore, Education, Consulting, Media, Medical and Business Solutions sectors. They are managed locally by divisional directors and have access to the full resources of Pisys. IRIS Technology specialises in digital video, data acquisition, data compression and data telemetry. IRIS Technology’s leading products and key technologies are currently developed to satisfy the needs of four main markets: the Offshore Subsea, Automotive, Medical and Military industries. The company’s Commercial division is located in Aberdeen, Scotland and its Technical division is situated in Lancaster, England. Visit http://www.iris-technology.co.uk.

 Back To Top

Hosted in Norfolk, Virginia, USA, September 3rd - 6th at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, CARIS 2002 will emphasize solutions across many of the most relevant issues in the marine and hydrographic industry.

Among those topics to be addressed during the Conference are Inland Electronic Nautical Chart (ENC) production, Additional Military Layer (AML) production, Article 76, hydrographic database production environments and online chart distribution.

Five concurrent two-day hands-on Educational Sessions are scheduled on September 3rd-4th and registration in each is nearing capacity. These are: ENC, DNC®, VMAP and AML Data Production; Bathymetric and Sonar Data Processing and Production; Hydrographic Database; Law of the Sea; and Ports and Harbours.

The conference proper follows on September 4th and 5th. Those papers selected for presentation are of esteemed caliber. Among these are: Use of CARIS GIS and LOTS for Reclaiming Arctic Bathymetric Data at the Canadian Hydrographic Service, NOAA's use of HPD and ChartServer to Produce and Serve ENC's to the Public, Early experiences with CARIS during the first major laser survey in the Middle East, and Establishing the Infrastructure for Article 76 and Beyond: A Holistic Approach.

"This year's Conference is shaping up to be our best attendance yet" says Jeff Sharpe, CARIS 2002 Conference Co-Chair, "with registrations pouring in from all over including: Austria, Canada, Chile, Denmark, India, Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, Portugal, Spain, United Kingdom, and USA among others."

Providing software solutions to hydrographic and marine organizations since 1979, CARIS understands the daily operations, technological needs and challenges faced by their extensive maritime clientele. Today more than 40 national hydrographic offices and charting authorities use CARIS software in their chart production systems.

The deadline for CARIS 2002 registration is August 19, 2002. To view the program or learn more about CARIS 2002 please visit http://www.caris.com. Inquireise may also be sent to caris2002@caris.com.

 Back To Top

Working in the Bay of Campeche on Pemex’s pipelines, the work will be performed in seven campaigns consisting of inspection, survey and CP monitoring on a total of 623 submarine crossings, 266 submarine interconnections and 5040 km of submarine pipeline, including risers. In addition to the 75 HP Workclass ROV, Sonsub is also supplying a dual boom pipeline inspection suite including dual head profilers, a bathymetry unit, and other inspection capabilities.

For more information, please contact Kevin Wynne at Sonsub Inc., 15950 Park Row, Houston, TX 77084. Telephone: 281-552-5664. Fax: 281-552-5909. E-mail: kevin.wynne@sonsub.com

Sonsub Awarded MTS Compass Industrial Award
Houston, (August 5, 2002): Sonsub Inc. has been selected as this year’s recipient of the Marine Technology Society’s (MTS) Compass Industrial Award for outstanding contributions to the advancement of the science and engineering of oceanography and marine technology. Award selection is based on the total contribution of a company to this field, which includes new marine technology design and manufacturing, the introduction of new concepts and techniques, and demonstration of outstanding leadership. It is conferred by Amos Bussmann Compass Publications and will be presented to Bruce Gilman, Sonsub Inc. President & CEO, at the MTS awards luncheon in October at the Oceans 2002 MTS/IEEE conference in Biloxi, MS.

Sonsub, a Saipem Group company, is recognized as an established leader in the development and application of quality, cost-effective solutions for subsea environments. Specializing in subsea construction engineering and remote intervention, Sonsub maintains offices in the USA, United Kingdom, Norway, Italy and South East Asia. For more information, please contact Marco Sclocchi at Sonsub Inc., 15950 Park Row, Houston, TX 77084. Telephone: 281-552-5674. Fax: 281-552-5909. E-mail: marco.sclocchi@sonsub.com

 Back To Top

Heerema hired C & C for surface and subsurface positioning on the CV Balder and AHT President Hubert while installing nine suction piles and the SPAR hull. Surface positioning was completed with the aid of C-Nav?, C & C’s new worldwide DGPS service. A Long/Ultra Short Baseline (LUSBL) network was used to perform the subsurface positioning. For more information please send email to info@cctechnol.com

 Back To Top

 Back To Top