Oceaneering International, Inc. announced that it has acquired the assets of Blue Ocean Technologies, LLC, a privately held provider of riserless light well intervention ("RLWI") services, for approximately $30 million in cash. Included in the acquisition are three RLWI systems, two of which are currently under construction, and are expected to be fully functional by mid-2017. Oceaneering expects to invest approximately $10 million to complete construction of the two RLWI systems.

A luxury resort on the south shore of St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands recently stabilized a 300-foot long seawater intake pipeline using SlingBag® from QUIKRETE® placed by Logan Diving & Salvage. Designed to feed the HVAC chillers on the resort, the existing underwater intake pipeline was less stable than expected when original installed and became a potential hazard to the natural habitat. Logan Diving & Salvage placed more than 9,400 60-pound rip rap burlap bags of 3-in-1 sand/cement delivered in nearly 170 SlingBags to successfully stabilize the intake pipeline.

Jenny Philip, senior manager, economic research for the Greater Houston Partnership, discussed the future of Houston’s energy workforce at WorkforceNEXT’s Fall Summit Oct. 20. Houston has lost 24,700 mining and logging jobs since the beginning of the industry downturn (December 2014).

Oceaneering International, Inc. announced that it is expanding its presence for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) survey services to the West African region.

As a valued industry stakeholder, your participation is vital to the outcome of this study. As you know, our communications offerings include UnderWater magazine, UnderWater Today e-newsletter, ADCI Advisory Notice, ADCI TV, our websites, ADCI Membership Directory, Online Buyers' Guide, conferences, social media offerings and more. The link to our survey can be found here and your responses will be kept in strict confidence. With your help, the association will gain a better understanding of how we are communicating with our members and stakeholders in today's constantly changing environment. Your participation in this survey will also help us identify a definitive set of best practices that will help us communicate with you even more efficiently than we have done so already. Again, the survey will take approximately 10 to 15 minutes to complete. I look forward to continuing to provide more value, more services and more benefits to you throughout the coming ADCI membership year! Taking the survey gives you a chance to win a $500 gift card!

U.I. 2017 is now accepting abstracts for presentations on Commercial Diving, Remotely Operated Vehicles, Manned Submersibles, Instruments and Sensors, Sonar and Acoustics, Ocean Engineering, Marine Salvage and Shipwrecks, AUV, ASV and UUV Technology. Presentations should describe novel methodologies and technologies that solve customer problems in today's cost-conscious environment. U.I. invites all contractors, manufacturers, engineers, clients, and all other industry stakeholders (both inland and offshore) to showcase your accomplishments, challenging projects, lessons learned, new gear, or innovative approaches to operations that address common customer issues in either the commercial diving or ROV track. Go to the Underwater Intervention website and upload your abstracts and papers. Deadline for submission is November 20, 2016

Scuba divers who take a plunge into ocean floors to study coral reefs can now take a break. An indigenously developed remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is taking up their role with more efficiency and accuracy and it’s expected to contribute significantly to the conservation and management of corals.

Aker Solutions agreed to buy 70 percent of Brazilian C.S.E. Mecânica e Instrumentação Ltda, building on a strategy to expand its services business in key international markets.

A new report from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) addresses four questions about the impact of submerged power cables on fish and invertebrates, the principal one being whether electromagnetic fields (EMF) from submerged power cables attract or repulse fish or invertebrates.

Marine engineers working on the Western Link project, a subsea power cable between Scotland and England, have found the wreck of a German U-boat while surveying the seabed off the coast of Wigtownshire.

Customized cable and rope specialist Cortland has appointed High Tech Diving and Safety Inc. to distribute its surface dive umbilicals, dive hoses and cables in the US market.

Hydraulic cutters and systems provider Allspeeds, the designers and manufacturers of Webtool, has developed a compact remotely operated vehicle (ROV) cut loop cutter for emergency activation of a blowout preventer (BOP). The Webtool cut loop cutter will sever the cutting loop to activate the BOP in the event other measures have failed.

EPA enforcement is becoming a more prevalent issue for vessels importing into the U.S. This has been in the regulations for a while but has rarely been enforced. Before a few weeks ago we had only been asked two or three times in 15 years for the EPA conformity of the engines in a boat. Within the last month U.S. Customs and Border Protection has started requesting this on a regular basis and in Miami, Customs is requiring the WPA 3520-21 Engine declaration form be submitted at the time the importation is filed or they will not accept the entry.