Page 51: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2011)

www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 51

Atlantic fleet. Capt. Score served most recently as commanding officer of NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, which conducted key research mis- sions during the BP Deepwater

Horizon oil spill response, including missions to detect subsurface oil and study marine life in the Gulf of

Mexico. Score relieves Rear Adm. (select) Michael S. Devany, who has served as the center’s commanding officer since June 2009.

Subsea 7’s New Pipelay

Vessel Mobilized

Subsea 7 announced that the Seven

Pacific – a dynamically positioned (DP), pipelay and construction ice- class vessel, designed for deepwater pipelay and offshore construction activities worldwide - has mobilized for its first project. The eighth new vessel to join Subsea 7’s fleet since 2007, Seven Pacific is capable of installing flexible pipes and umbili- cals in water depths of up to 3,000m.

Its first assignment is on the Block 18 project in Angola. "The Seven Pacific is a fantastic addition to one of the most modern, technologically advanced and capable fleets of subsea construction, pipelay and support vessels in the world,” said Stuart

Smith, Subsea 7, Vice President for

Technology and Asset Development. “With the capability to work in a wide range of worldwide locations, from the Arctic to Africa, we look for- ward to working with our clients on the various work scopes the Seven

Pacific will deliver for them in the coming years.” The vessel's pipelay equipment has a tension capacity of 260 tons and a 2,500-ton storage capacity for flexible pipe on the two underdeck carousels. There is also a built-in deepwater dual 3,000m- rated work-class ROV spread and a comprehensive survey system. A large deck area of 1,700 sq. m. has been incorporated into the Seven Pacific for equipment and reel storage. The ship has a 6.6kV diesel electric power generation system and is propelled by three azimuth thrusters with fixed pitch propellers in nozzles at the stern.

Subsea 7’s New Offshore

Renewables Division

Subsea 7 S.A. (NASDAQ-GS:

SUBC; Oslo Børs: SUBC) launched its offshore renewables division, transferring its seabed-to-surface expertise, capabilities and strong safe- ty and risk management processes and systems to specifically develop and execute work in this emerging market. Subsea 7 will provide project management, engineering and con- struction services to support offshore developments in the global renew- ables industry. The division, based in

Aberdeen, Scotland, will be led by

Bob Dunsmore, Vice President,

Renewables, Subsea 7. This new divi- sion also announced the signing of a

Memorandum of Understanding with Scottish and Southern Energy plc (SSE) under which Subsea 7 will form an alliance with SSE, Siemens plc, Siemens Transmission and

Distribution Limited, Burntisland

Fabrications Ltd and Atkins. The purpose of this alliance will be to work together in a collaborative arrangement in order to secure sub- stantial reduction in the cost of deliv- ered power from offshore wind farms.

Subsea 7 will be responsible for marine operations and offshore con- struction within the alliance.

Bluefin Robotics, Harvey-

Lynch Team in GOM

Bluefin Robotics announced a part- nership with Harvey-Lynch, a subsea equipment solutions provider in

Strafford, Texas. Harvey-Lynch will promote and sell Bluefin products in

Texas, Louisiana, Alabama,

Mississippi, and Florida with a focus on the Gulf of Mexico market. The agreement highlights the emergence and maturity of AUVs as a cost-effec- tive and capable tool. “The partnership with Bluefin is an ideal fit for us. Capitalizing on our previous AUV Gulf of Mexico experi- ence, Harvey-Lynch will address the critical needs of existing and new cus- tomers by serving as an extension of the Bluefin sales and support teams,” said Harvey-Lynch’s President, Phil

Howells. “The commercial AUV market is on the verge of significant further advancement and growth and we believe Bluefin is at the head of the pack.”

The partnership comes on the heels of Bluefin’s 2-year effort to expand its business domestically and interna- tionally into the commercial survey market. The company recently estab- lished a network of representatives and resellers to promote the applica- tion of AUVs and moved its facilities to a waterfront location that doubles its manufacturing and testing space in order to accommodate production. “We are very pleased to bring

Harvey-Lynch aboard. As subsea sys- tems experts they have a great under- standing of our Gulf of Mexico cus- tomers’ needs and the operational challenges that they face in the field,” said Michael Donovan, Director of

Sales and Marketing at Bluefin

Robotics.