Page 38: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2012)

Atlantic Canada Supplement38 MTRMarch 2012 Discovering Atlantic Canada NEWFOUNDLAND World-Class Facilities Boost Ocean Technology Companies? Research & Development By Andrew Safer Whether they?re helping oil companies engineer solutions to the challenges posed by deepwater exploration and production,  nding new ways to increase ef ciency and reduce fuel consumption for inshore  shermen, or developing a system for harnessing wave power, ocean technology companies, as in the examples below, are making use of the extensive network of specialized facilities located in and around St. John?s. Following are examples of how some of these facilities are being used by local ocean technology companies.In conducting applied research and technology validation experiments in hydrodynamics and Arctic engineering, Oceanic Consulting Corporation provides national and international industry clients access to a range of facilities at the NRC Institute for Ocean Technology (NRC-IOT), the Ocean Engineering Research Centre at Memorial University, and the Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University. Thirteen of Oceanic?s 45-member team work out of of ces in NRC-IOT where they conduct maneuvering, seakeeping, resistance, propulsion, mooring analysis, icebreaking, ice-ship and ice-structure interaction, Vortex- Induced-Motion (VIM), and Vortex-Induced-Vibration (VIV) research on behalf of international clients. The VIM and VIV projects are focused on mitigating the wobble effect of ocean currents on the vertical cylinders that make up the risers and spars used on offshore oil and gas projects. ?Oceanic takes the unique capabilities that are here in this building and resident in the people in their company, and they sell that to the world,? says Noel Murphy, NRC- IOT?s business manager. ?They?re traveling around the world, fairly aggressively seeking out new markets and new clients, and bringing them back here.? Oceanic subcontracts NRC-IOT to both run the facilities and assist with a portion of that work, typically in the areas of control systems and dynamic positioning systems for ships and offshore structures. Oceanic?s team also uses the Ocean Engineering Research Centre?s 58-meter wave/ towing tank, housed in the Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science on Memorial University?s main campus, for projects involving small craft (vessels up to 150 feet; the models are up to 7.5 feet) and small-scale VIV work. Oceanic Consulting Corporation research on ice loads on an FPSO from a Þ rst-year ice ridge, in the ice tank at NRC-IOT MTR2 Canada Supplement 32-48.indd 38MTR2 Canada Supplement 32-48.indd 382/22/2012 3:09:12 PM2/22/2012 3:09:12 PM