Page 52: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2011)

• Improved In-Water Target Detection • Automatic Bottom Detection • Improved Shallow Water/Short Range Performance • Support for C-Map Vector Charts

FarSounder has also upgraded its chart plotting capa- bilities and now offers support for C-Map vector charts by Jeppesen-Marine. www.farsounder.com

GE Expands O&G Portfolio

GE announced that its Oil & Gas business entered into an agreement to acquire the Well Support division of John Wood Group PLC for approximately $2.8b. The transaction, which the Board of Wood Group intends to unanimously recommend to its shareholders, is expected to close later in 2011, subject to shareholders’ approval and customary closing conditions. With 3,800 employ- ees, more than 20 manufacturing and multiple service centers worldwide, Wood Group's Well Support division is comprised of three business platforms: ESP (electric submersible pumps), Pressure Control (surface wellhead and flow control systems) and Logging Services (wireline logging). www.ge.com/oilandgas

RBR Appoint SALT as Represenatives

RBR appointed Sea and Land Technologies (SALT) as the exclusive representative for RBR in the ASEAN eco- nomic area. This area includes: Indonesia, Malaysia, the

Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Burma (Myanmar), Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.

Specialist Subsea Services Acquires

Geoscience Consultancy

Specialist Subsea Services (S3), provider of ROV and survey services to the international energy industry, acquired geoscience consultancy Caledonian Geotech as part of its strategic growth plans. Caledonian Geotech, based in Dundee and formed in 1980, provides services including the practical application of geology, land and marine geophysics, hydrography, engineering and oceanography to onshore and nearshore development and maintenance projects. Its operations complement the ROV, survey, geotechnical and data management services of S3, headquartered in Aberdeen and with operations at international energy industry hubs.

SeeByte Expands Engineering Team

SeeByte welcomed Pedro Patron, Joerg Baumgartl and Sorin Suciu to its expanding team of engineers.

Dr. Patron joins SeeByte from the Ocean Systems

Laboratory at Heriot Watt University, where for the past six years he has held the role of Research

Scientist. Pedro dedicated his time there to investigat- ing methods for increasing the autonomy of

Unmanned Underwater Vehicles (UUV). Pedro has had previous experience in working with SeeByte on a part-time basis, focusing on the early stages of

SeeTrack Autotracker, one of SeeByte’s current under- water solutions.

Dr. Joerg Baumgartl most recently spent three years as a research fellow at St Andrews University where he worked within the field of bio-photonics relating to novel optical trapping and imaging techniques for medical and biological purposes. Joerg attained his

Doctorate in Physics whilst studying in Germany before moving to Scotland to continue his career.

Sorin Suciu is a senior software engineer with exten- sive experience in the financial sector. He has worked for JP Morgan on a broad range of software and IT related tasks since 2003 and will bring this experience to the SeeByte team.

Dr. Scott Reed, Head of Engineering at SeeByte said “I’m exceptionally pleased to welcome Pedro, Joerg and Sorin to our Engineering team. Their skills and experience make them key attributes to the company’s engineering capabilities, and I’m sure they will com- plement the dynamic of our already effective team.” www.seebyte.com 52 MTR March 2011 people & companies