by Matthew Braga (Bloomberg) Until recently, oil and gas kept robots moving in more ways than one. Fossil fuel companies looking to speed up exploration, drilling, construction, and maintenance work turned to heavy-duty underwater drones known as remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, to keep their wells afloat. By last year the global market for ROV operations—mostly contract … [Read more...]
Aleron Subsea Wins ROV Supply Deal
Aberdeen-based Aleron Subsea, a company that specializes in the rental and sale of remotely operated subsea vehicles (ROVs) announced today it has won a £3.1 million deal to provide a pair of work-class ROVs to an undisclosed subsea contractor. The ROVs have Tether Management Systems, 150hp hydraulic power and are rated to 3000 meters, the company says. Mike Bisset, Aleron's … [Read more...]
Bibby Offshore Signs ROV Contract with Seascape
Bibby Offshore announced today its Singapore division signed a 1-year ROV services contract earlier this year with subsea contractor Seascape. Bibby has already mobilized their SMD ATOM work-class ROV aboard the Seascape-chartered DP2 dive support vessel Windermere. The ATOM is rated to 3000 meters, 100 horsepower and is an ultra-compact work class remotely-operated … [Read more...]
Sat Divers Are Now Becoming Even More Obsolete as BG Group Unveils Project Flatfish
For BG Group, inspecting their vast arrays of production equipment lying on the sea floor is proving to be an enormous financial burden, and they are certainly not alone in this issue either. Launched from dynamically positioned surface vessels while being operated and maintained by specialists, t's not an inexpensive undertaking. In the increasingly safety-conscious world … [Read more...]
Free-divers Search for 270-Ton Bell Resting Under 25 Feet of Mud
In 1608, a Portuguese warlord named Filipe de Brito e Nicote was causing trouble near Myanmar and attempted to steal the Great Bell of Dhammazedi from the Golden Pagoda in what is now, Yangon. This was no ordinary bell however. According to researchers, the bell weighed approximately 270-tons and is said to be the largest ever cast. de Brito was successful in getting it … [Read more...]