KVH Industries Inc. has announced that Superior Marine Technical Services Incorporated, based in Houma Louisiana, has been designated as the KVH Warranty Service Center for their Marine Satellite Communications & Marine Satellite TV Products covering the Northern Gulf of Mexico.

Black Sea Oil & Gas (BSOG) has awarded a contract to Xodus Group for the front end engineering and design (FEED) of its offshore and onshore facilities for the development of Ana and Doina gas discoveries on XV Midia shallow block, offshore Romania (Midia Gas Development Project).

BISSO MARINE, a full service offshore and subsea infrastructure services contractor and member of the ADCI and IMCA, successfully completed a two-month saturation diving campaign in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. Using its 415' (126.4m) x 100' (30.4m) construction barge BISSO SUBSEA VISION, configured with a 12-man ABS Classed 1,000’ (300m) saturation system, BISSO MARINE performed a variety of subsea infrastructure services including several subsea abandonments in water depths ranging from 300’ (91m) to 723’ (220m).

James Fisher Subsea (JF Subsea), a division of James Fisher Marine Services (JFMS), has reduced inspection downtime to 2% for Shell UK, through use of asset-based remotely operated vehicles (ABROVs) on oil platform inspection programs in the North Sea.

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!

The Call for Papers for Underwater Intervention 2017 is being extended. Due to a series of unforeseen technical difficulties in the abstract portal, that have now been resolved, the UI 2017 Leadership Committee has determined to extend the deadline for submitting abstracts to December 16, 2016. Our technical sessions are of paramount importance, said Phil Newsum, executive director for the Association of Diving Contractors International (ADCI). They are what drive the entire event. We are determined to develop thoughtful, compelling content, which means ensuring we have a full range of abstracts to work from. The abstract portal will re-open for new submissions Friday, November 18, 2016 and will remain open through Friday December 16, 2016. To submit an abstract, simply go to the UI 2017 website (www.underwaterintervention.com), click on "Become a Speaker," and follow the prompts. Underwater Intervention 2017 is the world’s premier event commercial diving contractors, remotely operated vehicles, manned submersibles, and all other aspects of the underwater operations industry. Thousands of commercial divers, operators, contractors, engineers and safety professionals come together to connect with peers, exchange ideas, and evaluate supplier demonstrations. For more information on speaking, exhibiting or attending UI 2017, please contact the UI 2017 Show Management Team at ui@naylor.com or 703-259-6118.

The November/December issue of Underwater Magazine is online now. This issue features stories on industry topics ranging from Contaminated Water Diving, the CalPIA Marine Technology Training Center and a Slice of Diving History from the United States Navy. All of this and much more in the November/December issue of Underwater Magazine.

A team of international scientists has surveyed the Normandy coast to reveal how the greatest naval invasion in history unfolded. Utilising the latest technologies and the world’s most advanced software, the team surveyed 511 km2 of sea floor, producing an enormous 11TB of data.

In October of 2016 Investigator S. Murphy, of the Greene County Sheriffs’ Office investigations division completed the training and received certification in Underwater Crime Scene Investigations (UCI). UCI is a detailed and strenuous form of investigation that allows for forensic examination of a crime scene in water environments, often with limited or no visibility in water. The UCI course is conducted in water with low visibility and deteriorated environmental conditions. To qualify for the course you must be law enforcement affiliated and a seasoned diver with a minimum of an Advanced Open Water Certification, Military Diver Certification, or a Certified Commercial Diving Certification. UCI Association divers are recognized worldwide as the experts in underwater crime scene investigations.

A commercial diver may have discovered a lost decommissioned US nuclear bomb off the coast of Canada. Sean Smyrichinsky was diving for sea cucumbers near British Columbia when he discovered a large metal device that looked a bit like a flying saucer. The Canadian Department of National Defence (DND) believes it could be a "lost nuke" from a US B-36 bomber that crashed in the area in 1950.

The remains of tens of thousands of ships litter the floor of the Black Sea, their wreckage telling the stories of war, trade, and the risks of crossing a massive body of water. There are ships on the cold sea floor there that have never been seen before: vessels from the Ottoman and Byzantine empires, from Venetian and Genoan merchant colonies, from slave traders coming out of Central Asia, and more.

OceanServer Technology recently participated in the first ever Unmanned Warrior (UW) in Loch Alsh, Scotland. Part of Joint Warrior, the semi-annual, UK-led training exercise is designed to provide NATO and allied forces with a unique multi-warfare setting to prepare for global operations.

Two young engineers will soon be attempting a 250 kilometer crossing of the English channel in a pedal powered submarine. The two friends, Antoine Delafargue and Michael de Lagarde, are passionate about technical challenges, exploration, and sustainable management of natural resources. Their plan is to travel from Plymouth, England to Saint-Malo, France just a few meters above the sea floor in their human powered sub equipped with variety of observation instruments. The two pilots will provide propulsion through pedals attached to a crankshaft which is connected to a drive train that turns the sub’s propeller. The sealed hull is constructed of wood, fiberglass and a resin composite and has many of the features found on full a size submarine including ballast tanks, CO2 scrubbers, bow thrusters, and a sonar. The sub also has a number of safety features such as an emergency buoy and an acoustic pinger. The pinger will allow a surface vessel to track the sub throughout it’s journey.

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.