Author: Emily Boddy

December 2018 Newsletter from SUT Chief Executive Steve Hall

Dear members and friends of SUT – it’s been a very busy last six months for me and the Headquarters team as we work hard to raise SUT’s profile within the broad underwater technology sector. I’ve spent a lot of time on the road meeting members, promoting our Society with decision makers in government and international bodies (we’re an Observer Member of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and members of the UK government’s Marine Science Coordination Committee marine industries liaison group, the Underwater Sound Forum and Parliamentary & Science Committee for starters), interacting with academia and industry at conferences & trade shows, joining into the work of our committees and winning new friends and contacts in the sectors where we need to expand our activities to meet the challenges of a changing industry, and help provide solutions to new societal needs.

EMSEA 2018

Highlights have included presenting on how advanced marine autonomous systems can benefit the future deep-sea mining industry at the Underwater Mining Conference in Bergen in September, Chairing the Marine Autonomous Systems and Sensors workshops at Oceanology China in Qingdao, providing keynote speeches at the joint China-Brazil SUT technology conference in Beijing, and another at the European Marine Science Educator’s Association conference in Newcastle. At the start of December I was invited to present the prestigious Newth Lecture at the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Oban – an honour for me, and to SUT, reflecting that we are taken seriously as experts in underwater technology and especially in how the technology (and SUT!) is going to evolve to help humanity meet the immense challenges that lie ahead – the transition to low-carbon societies, the replacement of internal combustion engines with electric and hydrogen vehicles, the advent of advanced robotic military systems in the underwater arena, sustainable offshore aquaculture, renewable energy, carbon capture & storage, new sensors such as eDNA, and drugs & medicines from the sea – SUT has something to say in all of these fields, and we are already adapting with new Special Interest Groups being formed. We’ll be launching a new Sensors and Instrumentation Group, and a reformed Ocean Resources Group in early 2019, and are quietly building other new links based on our accumulated knowledge of marine autonomous systems.

Steve at the conference in Bergen with BRIDGES

In addition to the conferences and workshops mentioned above, I represented SUT at many other events including the Renewables UK Manchester conference, a Defence sector event in Glasgow, outreach to the next generation at the Young Marine Biologists Summit in London, and a number of talks at schools and colleges including a splendid opportunity at Dulwich College where I was able to see Shackleton’s legendary open boat the ‘James Caird’ afterwards. Members of SUT’s Education and Training Committee are active supporters of marine education alliances in Europe, North America and via UNESCO, helping to satisfy our need to be active as educators, to be good global citizens, and ensure the continuation of our charitable status.

Steve with Adrian Phillips

I’m working with our International Committee, Council and overseas members to see where SUT might grow in the future. Former SUT Council Member Adrian Phillips has done a sterling piece of work to drive up interest in getting SUT off the ground in the Middle East – a region where, surprisingly, we’ve never had a Branch – and at the ADIPEC meeting in the UAE in November we were delighted to see a strong attendance of potential local members, so plans are moving fast now to get SUT Middle East up and running – contact Adrian at [email protected] if you would like to be part of it. Atlantic Canada is another area showing strong interest in hosting a Branch so I’ve met with Paul Ryan and Neil Bose from Memorial University, Newfoundland while they were visiting Europe to discuss the details, as well as talking to senior staff at organisations and companies based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. If it all comes together, I’m hoping to launch an Atlantic Canada Branch of SUT in Q2 2019. We’re also seeing interest from Egypt and Portugal for development further down the line, so watch this space. Throughout the second half of 2018 the SUT West Africa branch has been busy building up numbers and activities under the oversight of our International Committee and HQ staff, with a view to resuming a full range of Branch activities.

Any largely voluntary Society is only able to function through the efforts and goodwill of those who take part in the life of our global network of Branches & student chapters, and without them we would soon cease to exist. We’ve been through a period of financial hardship over the last few years, and had to trim our sails accordingly, but we are gradually emerging into sunnier times. People are starting to attend our subsea awareness courses again across the world, and as old friends retire from industry a new generation of bright, enthusiastic young women and men are taking up the challenge of keeping SUT healthy and relevant.

Our South-West England chapter

In the UK the South-West chapter of the London & Southern England branch is growing nicely, bringing new people and areas of interest to SUT from the lively cluster of science, technology and innovation centres in the Bristol-Exeter-Plymouth-Falmouth area. Their London-based colleagues are reaching out into the huge potential membership in the City who work in marine technology insurance, law and policy as well as traditional engineering and science areas, and the Branch held an excellent summer social evening on board the HQS Wellington – evidence that SUT membership is about having some fun as well as serious knowledge exchange and networking. A major challenge faced by LSE Branch is proving to be finding affordable venues for evening meetings in London – if any members have access to suitable facilities we’d very much like to hear from them, I’d far rather be using SUT funds for education, outreach and scholarships than paying high room charges for London venues. The London branch and HQ are also working with the organisers of MCE Deepwater Development to help host the 2019 meeting which takes place in London – see https://mcedd.com for more.

Steve in Beijing

In the United States the Houston Branch has rebranded as SUT-US, has opened new special interest groups, and is reaching out to the West Coast, playing a significant part in working with our good friends at Reed Exhibitions to help develop the conference session at Oceanology Americas San Diego next February (see www.oceanologyinternationalamericas.com) and they’ve also been busy planting a daughter branch in Merida, Mexico. Our US branch provide an excellent scholarship scheme too, raising considerable funds to help support students who will one day enter our industry. I was present for the awards of scholarships and SUT Fellowships in Houston in October, where I also had the chance to meet the excellent student Chapters at Rice, Houston and Texas A&M universities and meet Dr Fathi Ghorbel, chair of the Robotics & Automation Committee at Rice.

Bergen are becoming active again after a long period of quiescence, Singapore has new committee members ready to reach out to the region, Kuala Lumpur are holding a variety of events, and under Professor Frank Lim’s leadership the China Branch promises great things – I wouldn’t be surprised if in 10 years time they are the largest and most active part of SUT, though it does require some hard work over the next couple of years. Perth continue to inspire with their well-run branch, active schedule of activities, and busy group of early-career members. North of England have an enthusiastic, young member base that includes many from the renewables and mining sectors, and Aberdeen provide the solid core of UK activity through their hardworking committee and local SUT staff members. Our Rio branch needs some help as numbers have fallen off sharply there in recent years, but having met with their leadership at the SUT Joint China-Brazil workshop on Underwater Technology I’m confident that Rio will rise back up the rankings as Brazil emerges from recession.

Students at the ADIPEC meeting in the UAE

Our student members and early career professionals are the future of the Society and I’m pleased to see that the Student Chapters in the USA, and younger member groups ‘SUT Plus’ in the UK and ‘YES’ (Young Engineers and Scientists) in Australia are doing well. It’s an area we still need to develop across some parts of our international network, as not all of our Branches get fully involved with education, outreach and training yet. Whilst on the subject of training, we are actively exploring how to adapt our existing courses to better meet the needs of the renewables, mining and defence sectors, and in a major new chapter for SUT we are in detailed discussion with a potential provider about opening up access to global Professional Registration for those Members who require such accreditation – more from me on that in the New Year.

We are also considering launching a ‘patrons’ scheme in the New Year, modelled on those used by similar societies around the world – contact me directly if you would like to know more.

SUT is not a trade body, we are above all other things a marine Learned Society that exists to promote marine science and technology to the next generation, to the people already working in our sector, and to decision makers. We disseminate the things our members have learned, and the skills they have developed, through our network of meetings, conferences, other events and of course our peer-reviewed journal ‘Underwater Technology’. I’m told that the number of quality manuscripts submitted for review & publication is falling, so I would like to issue a request to our members and colleagues to consider sharing new knowledge through our journal wherever possible. It raises our profile, helps us deliver knowledge to Society at large, and as the United Nations community enters their Decade for Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (see https://en.unesco.org/ocean-decade) it helps place SUT at the heart of global ocean knowledge delivery. Our journal editor will be delighted to receive your submissions – see www.sut.org/publications/underwater-technology/ for more.

Steve presenting at the Mining conference in Bergen

As most of you will know we made a small surplus at the close of our last financial year, the first in a while, but we are still some way from being as financially healthy as we used to be. We need many more members, individual and corporate, and to continue to keep our costs as low as possible. That will mean that increasingly our publications will be electronic rather than printed, and we will be encouraging our committees and working groups to meet remotely where possible. My thanks to our staff who do an incredible job running a society with members in over 40 countries at such a low cost – it’s no small achievement. Thanks too to our Council and Committee Members, who enable SUT to function effectively by their volunteer effort.

I’d like to add a special Thank You to Peter Metcalf, who has just stood down as Chair of SUT Council – he’s helped steer us through difficult times and hard decisions. He was quite rightly awarded our Honorary Fellowship at the AGM on 3rd December, and I wish him well in his busy ‘retired’ life where Peter continues to serve as a School Governor and in other roles that will keep him fully occupied. Peter’s successor as Chair is David Saul, who I’m looking forward to working with as we take SUT forward in a complex, ever-changing world.

Finally may I take the opportunity to wish all of our Members, Fellows, friends and partners a blessed Christmas festival season, be that in the sunshine of Perth, or the snows of Norway and I very much look forward to working with you all in the New Year. I won’t get everything right, we have limited resources of time and finance, but SUT has access to boundless energy, enthusiasm and hard-won knowledge, which we will be able to harness to make the world – especially the global ocean – a better place.

Steve Hall December 2018

[email protected]

 

 

May 2018 Update from SUT CEO Steve Hall

Dear members, friends and supporters of the Society for Underwater Technology. This year is flashing past and it’s almost June so I’m well overdue to send you an update about what I’ve been up to, and how the HQ team, Branches, Council Members and Exec have all been busy delivering our mission to educate and inform people about underwater technology in a multitude of ways.

January started with a welcome visit to London by Nils Vaagen and Tom Eriksen from the SUT’s Norway Branch. We were able to discuss how we can work together to resume a programme of events, and rebuild the SUT’s activities in Norway in coming months and years. I’ll be present at the Underwater Technology Conference in Bergen from 12-14 June and HQ staff will help the branch set up in time as a legal entity within Norway, rather than be the only overseas branch that is still legally part of the UK operation.

Later in January I attended a busy Business Breakfast hosted by our Aberdeen Branch, who have worked hard to deliver a constant series of daytime and evening presentations throughout the year. I’d like to thank our expert volunteers for their work presenting Subsea Awareness Course, the most recent this May was very well received and the next one will be held in Aberdeen from 5th November. We welcomed Scottish Enterprise as new corporate members and I’m working with them on technology foresight matters to help ready Scottish policy makers and industry for the exciting new ocean-related technologies that are going to emerge over the next few years. I was delighted to see that our Aberdeen branch treasurer and SUT Fellow Tony Laing was appointed as the new Director of Research and Market Acceleration for the National Subsea Research Initiative.

We’ve been developing better links with SubseaUK and Decom North Sea, encouraging our members to engage with these organisations to share knowledge and experience, not to ‘reinvent the wheel’ and to help prepare industry for new opportunities becoming available offshore, and have a consistent message to policy makers and government.

SubseaUK’s SubseaExpo in February provided another opportunity to engage with our members, and I was honoured to attend the splendid dinner in the company of senior professionals from across the offshore sector. For me, not coming from an oil and gas background but rather the marine science, technology and policy world, events such as SubseaExpo, Offshore Europe & All-Energy help me to understand the concerns and challenges of the offshore energy sector, be they fossil fuel or renewable, which are quite different from the issues of concern to other parts of our broad membership.

SUT Perth branch staff and office bearers with Emily Boddy from HQ

In February and March our publications officer Emily Boddy spent seven weeks on secondment in our Perth Branch, in a highly beneficial learning and knowledge-exchange experience where she became an integral part of the SUT branch in Australia. Emily attended the three-day Australian Oil and Gas exhibition as well as most of the SUT meetings and events that occurred while she was there, meeting dozens of our Perth-based members and helping to strengthen the relationships across the global SUT family.

As official observer members of UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission I was invited to be part of their ‘SeaChange’ ocean literacy workshop, where I provided probably the only industry-sector voice. ‘Ocean Literacy’ is a growing movement within the international marine science education community and is a blanket term for how we train the public, industry, decision makers, educators and politicians to better understand how human activities affect the ocean, and how the ocean influences so many aspects of our lives from weather, commerce, access to energy and food, and the defence of our homelands. The theme will be taken again up in October when the European Marine Science Educators Association meet in Newcastle – hopefully an opportunity to engage with our branch there.

Steve presenting Presidents Award to Sonardyne Founder & Chairman John Partridge

Later in February I visited the headquarters of Sonardyne to present our Presidents Prize to founder John Partridge, in grateful recognition of his outstanding and sustained contribution to underwater technology. It was fascinating to be shown around their facilities, meet the staff, and very noticeable what a ‘happy ship’ Sonardyne is, with evidently high morale, a loyal workforce and a real sense of being part of a family of like-minded ocean technologists who want to make a difference.

The end of February brought me to Nicosia, Cyprus, where I attended the BRIDGES deepwater glider annual workshop. SUT is a partner in this EU-funded Horizon2020 project to deliver a deep (2400m), and ultra-deep (5000m) hybrid glider/AUV that is closely tailored to the specialist requirements of future industries such as deep-sea mining, as well as sustained observations and oceanographic monitoring. We’re providing advice on exploitation strategy, industry links and innovative uses of the glider, which begins sea trials soon.

For Science Week in March we partnered with Lloyds Register in London to provide a lecture for schools, departing from our comfort zone and presenting to under-10s rather than our previous teenage audience. Gary Momber did an excellent talk on marine archaeology and shipwrecks, and I provided one on underwater robots that may explore the moons of Jupiter and Saturn by the time the kids are in their workplace prime – hopefully an inspiring message for them.

Participants at BRIDGES workshop on deep gliders (Steve back row)

March also saw Oceanology International and the associated Catch the Next Wave conference take place at London’s ExCel – the SUT had a better-than-usual spot in the exhibitor’s hall where we were able to greet members old and new, and we also displayed a poster (and a tiny 3d-printed model) about the BRIDGES gliders, and for one day hosted a pair of marine licensing specialists from the Marine Management Organisation – the UK government’s agency for issuing permits for all manner of offshore activities within the 200 mile exclusive economic zone (with Marine Scotland doing the same north of the border). I’ve since attended a workshop with the MMO in Newcastle to explain how they are perceived by some parts of industry and to explore how SUT can help them to build a better relationship with contractors.

Catch the Next Wave was an amazing day, themed on underwater exploration – with film producer, diver and explorer James Cameron starting things off with a video welcome address to delegates, and a series of other very fine presenters including Rory Golden, Orla Doherty (producer of BBC Blue Planet 2) and Dr Michael Gernhardt – a NASA astronaut and former hard-hat diver who delighted us with footage from space showing how the techniques used in construction subsea were inspiring how astronauts and cosmonauts assemble and service the International Space Station. It was good for SUT to have our logo in the same space as the Explorers Club and the Shell Ocean Discovery X-Prize. Good too to meet Dr Rick Spinrad who was chairing part of the meeting alongside our president Professor Ralph Rayner. Rick is President-Elect of our sister Learned Society the Marine Technology Society, and we ensured that we had a deep discussion about how we can build a good relationship between our two societies in the coming years.

Since I joined the SUT one of the striking developments has been the growing success of South West chapter of the London and Southern England Branch. Brian Green, with Caroline Acton and Dr Ed Steele from the Met Office, have hit the ground running with a series of events and I expect that the Chapter will soon be a fully-fledged branch. Check out our events page for the next one, 14th June, on Floating Wind.

At the end of March I visited our SUT-US Branch in Houston for the launch of the new Underwater Robotics chapter at Rice University, meetings with industry (learned a lot at Oceaneering) and attendance at one of the excellent social events for members that Patsy, Araceli and the local volunteers are so good at arranging. ‘The Art of Whisky Tasting – version 2’ was kindly hosted by the Chopard Boutique who promised that 10% of proceeds of any sales to SUT members during that month would be donated to SUT-US, I’m all in favour of that! I was also delighted that the Welsh Whisky from the village of Penderyn near my home village was rated very highly by the assembled crowd, the distillery was most impressed when I told them they’re well-regarded in Texas. Our Houston colleagues are working hard on growing SUT’s presence in the Americas, with plenty of new activity beginning in Mexico, and engagement with the West Coast beginning too.

Steve at UNESCO SeaChange workshop

On 4th April we held a Special Meeting of the Executive Committee of Council to go through strategy, growth and future focus for the Society. We agreed on a strapline ‘An International Learned Society for Marine Science and Technology’ that you’ll see gradually appearing on our website, presentations and publications, and as well as enthusiastically providing a Learned Society home for our long-standing members we will aim to grow in three more areas – aquaculture, renewables and defence. We have some engagement already in all of these, especially marine renewable energy, but Council and I will place more focus than has been the case in the past in growing our influence in these areas.

Later in April I had a busy week on the European mainland, co-chairing two sessions at the MCE Deepwater Development conference in Milan and then driving down to the University of Zadar on the Croatian coast, hosted by Dr Melita Mokos, to honour a long-standing promise to deliver lectures to students over two days on robotics, marine policy and marine spatial planning, discuss new course possibilities & collaborations with the SUT with the university leadership, and then to Zagreb to visit the excellent Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies, where I was hosted by Professor Zoran Vukić (who serves on the editorial board for our Journal) and Dr Antonio Vasilijević – they’re building some really innovative marine robotic systems there. The Croatian visits raised the SUT’s profile in the region, with discussion by my hosts and the Italians in Milan (as well as ongoing conversations in Greece & southern France) about whether SUT should consider having a Mediterranean Branch in future – something for our International Committee to consider.

Attendance at our evening meetings across the branches is growing, with excellent speakers and events encouraging members, guests and students to take time out to learn about new developments, technologies and to network too. My thanks to the events people across SUT for their tireless work, a lot of effort goes in to making these evening and lunchtime events go smoothly and we couldn’t do it without our loyal staff and the volunteers from the membership.

Volunteers really do make our Society tick along – I’ve been working with Sue John (Chair of the Education Committee) on an exciting new outreach project that we hope to be able to announce soon, and with former Council Member Adrian Phillips who is putting hours of volunteer effort in the Middle East to see if there are possibilities to get SUT off the ground in the Gulf States, and these efforts are bearing fruit with enquiries from ADIPEC about having an SUT presence there later this year – probably hitching a ride with one of our corporate members in the region.

Sue Barr receiving the Lennard-Senior Prize from Dr John Sharp

I’m liaising with our friends at Reed Exhibitions to promote and grow Oceanology Americas and Oceanology China, and I attended their All-Energy event in Glasgow earlier in May, where our Marine Renewables Energy Committee Chair Dr John Sharp was able to present the Lennard-Senior Prize to Sue Barr, awarded in recognition of her individual achievements in the field of marine renewable energy.

Some other news to finish off –
For those in southern UK there’s an excellent social evening coming up on 21st June on board HQS Wellington, and for Aberdeen on the same date a golf day – with equivalent events across the globe.

If you’re based in Europe you’ll know that the GDPR data regulations come into effect by the end of May, so please ensure that you’ve replied to Jane Hinton’s request for permission for SUT to stay in touch.

We’ll be launching a prestigious new Student Bursary Scheme in collaboration with Sonardyne shortly – watch this space for details and how to apply.

On 26th April Council voted to activate a new West Africa Branch, recognising the growth & importance of the region in offshore exploration and production.

Finally I’d like to thank Corelle Charles, who was part of the SUT staff team in Perth and has moved on to pastures new a few weeks ago, and welcome Patricia Slapp as the new events and marketing coordinator there; and a very special thanks to Paul Williams who has stood down as Chair of the Aberdeen branch due to a greatly increased workload in his day-job – we welcome the return of economic activity in our sector as we all benefit from it, and appreciate that sometimes it’s just not possible to wear multiple hats.

I’ll sign off for now and try not to leave it so long until the next update – have an enjoyable Northern hemisphere summer, and a pleasant Southern hemisphere winter.

Steve
Steve Hall, May 2018 [email protected]

Perth – Welcome to Trish Slapp

Just to let everyone know that Patricia (Trish) Slapp has officially started with us today as our new Events & Marketing Coordinator. Trish hails from Perth, though had 12 years events experience in London, has been involved in several marketing campaigns with her active wear business and is currently studying graphic design.

Welcome Trish to the SUT team.

 

Postcard from Tasmania – Scott’s life after SUT Phoenix

Greetings Perthlings. It has now been over 6 months since I left WA to take on a new challenge as a Structural Engineer with GHD in Hobart. Prior to taking this role with GHD I was interim chair of the SUT Phoenix committee, an experience which helped me through a difficult period in my life.

Firstly I would like to reflect on my experiences here in Tasmania. I arrived in mid-winter which is significantly different to the ‘winter’s’ in WA. There was snow on the mountain and frost in the ground. Tasmania is very different to WA, more undulating and mountainous; more akin to my native Scotland. It is breathtakingly beautiful in the same way the coastline of WA is.

I cannot begin to express my gratitude to GHD for providing me with this opportunity. During the process of relocating they were hugely supporting and offered a generous package which enabled us to relocate our goods, car and even cats interstate. This has enabled my family to settle into life in Tasmania and we have embraced the delights the island has to offer.

The work in itself has been a significant departure from my time in the oil and gas industry. I was primarily a Subsea Engineer who specialised in Subsea Structural Design throughout my time working in Perth. As you might imagine there is limited opportunity to apply my experience in subsea design in Tasmania. The projects I have worked on here have been diverse and varied and that in itself has been challenging but rewarding. The primary area I have been working in is industrial infrastructure there are synergies with the oil and gas industry. One of the sites I have been involved in is a metal smelting facility which is over 100 years old and has enormous maintenance challenges.

I feel that being involved in the SUT Phoenix committee contributed to my being in a positive and confident frame of mind when it came being interviewed by GHD. Being part of SUT Phoenix provided me with a purpose and kept me engaged while I was otherwise unemployed. Taking the role of chair increased the level of responsibility and provided me with the opportunity to meet and speak with individuals and groups I would not have otherwise.

I am aware that it seems incongruous or even ironic that being part of a special interest group associated with furthering the interests of those in the underwater and subsea industries led to my leaving that sector but you have to take opportunities as and when they are presented. I would encourage those in SUT Phoenix to participate as much as they can; it gives you purpose, engagement and you get the opportunity to meet interesting people and make new connections.

In summary I thank the SUT for giving me the opportunity to be involved with Phoenix and to those currently struggling with the downturn I understand the worst is over and things are improving. I do not envisage the boom of yesteryear but a more sustainable industry revolving around maintenance of the existing and recently operation fields with new projects arising out of the need to backfill and maintain production on existing facilities. All the best to all for the future.

Wish you were here!

Scott Sneddon

SUT Perth – Continuing to Support our Young Engineers and Scientists

SUT are dedicated to promoting and supporting students, young engineers and scientists through various initiates and events. Their aim is to:

  • Create awareness of the subsea/underwater industry amongst young engineers and scientists
  • Develop young engineers and scientists within the subsea/underwater industry
  • Provide networking opportunities to build relationships amongst young engineers and scientists within the subsea/underwater industry.
  • Introduce education groups to SUT (high school and/or universities), encouraging them to join the subsea/underwater industry

They achieve this by:

The SUT could not do this without the generous support of their annual YES! supporters: Quadrant Energy and Woodside Energy.

The SUT April Evening Technical Meeting is dedicated to university students as a platform to show case their capabilities to the industry and give an insight into the future via their presentations (thanks also to event sponsors: Curtin University).

Please visit the SUT website for further information, their YES! Initiatives or simply to check out the events calendar.

Contact Branch Manager: Jennifer Maninin at [email protected] to see how you too can contribute.

Actual article published on AOG 2018 website, click here to view.

Events & Marketing Coordinator – Opportunity to work at SUT Perth

After 8 years with the SUT Perth Branch Corelle will be saying goodbye to the SUT and starting her next chapter. Corelle is a hard worker and good friend to us at the SUT and she will be missed greatly.

What this means though is that the Perth SUT Office are pleased to announce that there is now a part-time Events & Marketing Coordinator position available (28hours/week). Come and join the admin team, working with Jen, Fiona and Marketa in assisting our volunteers and members, ensuring the success of our beloved SUT Perth Branch.

Click here to view full advert with position description.

Closing date: Friday, 16th March 2018.

21st Century Subsea Data Gathering

There’s a perception that not enough use is made of the data collected as part of offshore oil and gas operators’ subsea integrity management programs. What is collected is also limited in scope and quality. But, that could all be set to change. Data collection and use – from measurement and imaging tools, to the equipment used to carry them and the systems used to process the data collected – is entering a new era.

These issues were central to the joint Society of Underwater Technology, International Marine Contractors Association and The Hydrographic Society of Scotland seminar, The Leading Edge of Value-Based Subsea Inspection, held in Aberdeen late 2017.

It’s good timing. There’s a growing need for efficient inspection systems, to help operators understand the condition of their subsea infrastructure and therefore efficiently maintain it.

In the UK North Sea alone, for example, BP has 4500km of pipeline, 80 riser systems, 270 subsea trees, 92 manifolds, and a plethora of umbilicals, “which we need to understand,” Scott Higgins, BP, told the joint seminar. Inspections have been done the same way for 30 years, but, this is changing, he says, in terms of the inspection technology used, what information is gathered and when.

There’s an increasing focus on having an integrated planning process for inspections, he says, bringing together various departments and specialists, from subject matter experts and surveyors to environmental, riser and pipeline people, as well as structure and hulls people, etc., all working together to see what information is needed and when.

“This is about increasing the efficiency of data collection,” Higgins says. “Why we want it, what we need it for. Historically, we relied on a good deal of information from Work Class remote operated vehicles (ROVs). How many years of video we have would scare you. But, what do we actually need? What sensors do we want? What vehicles? Can we use integrated laser/imaging, field gradient cathodic protection inspection systems, alternative fast ROVs or autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV)?”

According to Global Marine Technology Trends 2030, a report by Lloyds and Qinietiq, by 2020, more of this work will be using unmanned platforms, including those deployed from shore, as well as resident vehicles, with more focus on what is data needed, faster interpretation and machine learning, says Scott. Indeed, just recently, Saudi Aramco announced a new AUV designed for offshore platform debris, pipeline and other surveys, which would be deployed from shore.

A range of other solutions were also discussed at the joint seminar. A large focus was on data gathering tools and live data processing.

Co-registering

Subsea laser scanning and photogrammetry techniques have been making major in-roads in the industry, with claims such techniques can offer high levels of measurement accuracy. The attraction of some of these systems is that they’re being offered without having to baseline surveys – i.e. put in markers or a system of beacons, to establish measurement reference points.

Within a short period of time, Cathx has become a household name in subsea imaging. The firm was founded by Adrian Boyle, its CEO, in 2009. It uses photogrammetry, but combines stills images with laser lines and is now developing machine vision systems to automate analysis of the collected data, e.g. automated eventing and measurement.

The firm built its own camera which takes 2 millisecond exposure images (i.e. 30 HD stills a second) in conjunction with pulsed lighting, so there are no blurs (i.e. from moving particles in water) on images and surveys can be done faster (i.e. instead of an ROV surveying a pipeline at 0.5knots it can be done at 5knots, with the ability to extract HD stills with 0.8-1.5mm resolution), even at <5m from the pipeline, says Boyle. The images are then built into 2D mosaics.

Cathx then uses other data (co-registering) to build and add accuracy to its models – i.e. laser line data, from which point clouds can be built, and time-stamp data. Because the position of the object is known relative to the ROV, navigation correction can be calculated.

An AUV data acquisition package would comprise strobe lights, UHD and HD high resolution cameras, taking pictures at seven frames per second for UHD and up to 30 for HD, with the laser and lighting synchronized, allowing for 4knot co-registered data acquisition speed, says Boyle. Using dual cameras, imaging the same scene, can further allow post-acquisition calibration for environmental factors (salinity etc.).

Dual source data acquisition is the basis for automation, but it requires real-time data integrity checks, and 3D laser data plus co-registered image data, says Boyle.

In 2018, the firm is going to be developing automated eventing using these technologies. This will allow large volumes of data to be reduced to events, quickly. This will, through range-based statistical analysis of 3D laser data, produce images and 3D data that can be reviewed efficiently because it’s based on the laser data (not memory-heavy photographic files). Once an event is picked up in the laser data, the corresponding photographic image can be found easily, because the data is co-registered using the time stamps.

Boyle says cross sectional geometrical analysis, freespans and circularity will be possible with 3D machine vision techniques, and are being tested in Q1 this year. This will include building a library of types of event that should be automatically detected, which will be combined to enable machine learning.

Comex

Comex presented its ORUS 3D system. It’s a subsea optical system for measuring and then creating high-resolution 3D models of subsea structures, without the need for an inertial navigation system. Bertrand Chemisky, Director of Innovation at Comex, says the system uses triangulation to create a 3D reconstruction.

The system comprises an integrated beam of tri-focal sensors, with four wide beam LED flash units, plus a data acquisition and processing unit, which fits on to an ROV for free-flying data acquisition and initial processing. Scanning works at a >40cm from structures, with the best resolution reconstruction from 1-2m from the object, says Chemisky. Thousands of images are taken, using strobe flashes, resulting in several millions of points in a square meter, the firm says.

The data goes through an initial processing real-time on the ROV to assess location and quality, before on site (on-board the support vessel) processing, to further quality check the data collected and create an initial scaled 3D model to cm accuracy. Final processing of the data, which collected as point cloud data, will then be carried out to reconstruct the site or object in a 3D model to mm accuracy.

Comex claims up to sub millimetric precision, with 0.1mm resolution images, depending on the survey, i.e. for a spool metrology survey, accuracy will drop over longer distances. Still, Chemisky says over 64m, with seven hours processing, just 2.4cm deviation was seen. For a 27m long survey, for a jumper metrology, survey data was processed over five hours to 1.8cm accuracy. An anchor inspection off Marseille, France, took 20 minutes processing to gain millimeter accuracy, thanks to being close to the chain.

Further algorithm optimization is ongoing, to improve reliability and validate repeatability, says Chemisky. The system is going through qualification with Bureau Veritas.

ASV

A small but fast-growing firm in subsea data collection space is ASV Global. It had built 95, up to 13m-long autonomous surface vehicles (ASVs), as at early November 2017.

ASV has been working on the Autonomous Surface and Sub-Surface Survey System (ASSS) project, in which long endurance ASVs provide locational and communication and control support for a side scan sonar survey AUV (in trials, the National Oceanography Centre’s Autosub long range AUV has been used), via optical communications systems, with both able to be deployed from shore.

As an extension to this project, the firm is also working on a concept for an Autonomous Pipeline Survey system, which would use the technology developed in the ASSSS program used for pipeline surveys, completely removing the need for manned ships to be involved in pipeline survey. But, they want to take this a step further and instead of just gathering side scan sonar data, create a system that could offer automated eventing, i.e. when it spots a fault or specific target, it sends an alert, real-time, which can then be acted on – instead of having to have someone assess the survey data. ASV is looking to set out a road map for what needs to be done to make this happen the gauge operator interest.

ASV is also involved in the ARISE (Autonomous Robotic intervention System for Extreme Environments) project, which is looking to put a remote operated work class ROV on an unmanned vessel. “To put an ROV in the water still needs a big ship. How do we take that from being on a big ship to a little boat with new people on board?” says Cowles. A number of tests have been done and it’s no easy task, he says. So, ASV is starting small, adding an observation class ROV to a C-Worker 7 (a 7m-long unmanned vessel). It will use it to trail things like inspecting a mooring chain, testing latency, communications and autonomy. “There are challenges around communication, latency, bandwidth, how to control both vehicles together, stopping the tether getting caught in a prop,” says Cowles. “The goal is to build a 12m boat with a work class ROV on board. That reality is still a couple of years away.”

More to come

This is an emerging field. It’s giving the industry tools that it could only have dreamed of in the 1970s, when photos were taken by divers on film and had to be developed on board. “Now photogrammetry can be done on the fly,” says Peter Blake, subsea systems manager, Chevron Energy Technology, at the

event. In the past, the industry has been good at gathering data but not so much gaining information, he says. The tools are being developed to change that.

 

Elaine Maslin

 

 

 

December 2017 Update from CEO Steve Hall

Dear Members and Friends of the Society for Underwater Technology. While our Australian & Brazilian members bake in the summer heat it’s that time of year where we pale northerners scrape the ice off the car in the morning, but for most of the SUT family Christmas and other seasonal festivals are fast approaching and we look forward to time with family and friends.

SUT Houston Students

Since I last wrote to you all I’ve covered a lot of miles visiting Branches, giving lectures, meeting members and learning ever-more about the richness and diversity of our Society. September finished with a brief visit to Houston where I attended the launch of the new Rice University Student Chapter, and also visited Texas A&M at College Station and the University of Houston. The quality of the students at these institutions impresses me hugely, and I was ably looked after by our SUT-US team – many of whom had suffered damage to their homes and property in the aftermath of Houston’s floods. John Allen once again acted as my guide around the universities, Dr Zenon Medina-Cetina showed the visionary leadership that is helping SUT rebound strongly in the USA, and Dr Fathi Ghorbel and his students at the new Rice Chapter will teach us all wonderful new things about robotics in coming years. I was impressed by Natalie Zielinski, who was working part-time for the branch but she’s since been snapped up by Sea-Bird Scientific in Seattle, starting on 2 January. SUT’s loss is a great gain for that excellent company and I’m sure we’ll continue to interact with Natalie well into the future.

As an aside, a childhood dream was accomplished in that the only available hire car (apart from a Hyundai for the same price…) at Houston airport following a late-night arrival was a 5.0 litre Ford Mustang GT – as my regular UK transport is a nice sensible, and economical Toyota Prius hybrid I thoroughly enjoyed the drive to College Station in such an iconic, if rather thirsty, machine.

Steve Hall presenting Tony Laing with his SUT Fellowship certificate

October was a very busy month, starting with a very productive week at the Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland (MASTS – see www.masts.ac.uk) annual science meeting in Glasgow’s Technology & Innovation Centre where SUT’s International Salvage and Decommissioning committee hosted a very well attended decommissioning and wreck removal workshop, bringing together experts from a broad range of stakeholders who learned a great deal from one another. Well done to Karen Seath, Moya Crawford, Donald Orr and their colleagues, and to David Paterson and the MASTS team. With such an active presence in Scotland, SUT has started to build a very strong relationship with MASTS, and we will be working together on a number of marine policy, technology and science areas in coming years. I’ve joined their international advisory board, and Tony Laing from Aberdeen is developing very good links with the MASTS staff. Whilst in Glasgow I also visited Strathclyde University, hosted by Professor Chengi Kuo, a long-standing friend of SUT. One of the points he raised that I take very seriously is why don’t we have ‘SUT -Scotland’ branding north of the border? I’m personally inclined to agree with him, and have opened the topic in discussion with our Aberdeen branch, who would need to give a re-naming their blessing. Prof Kuo isn’t the only person to raise this – Scottish Enterprise have also been asking me if SUT would consider renaming our Scottish operations in a way that broadens our appeal and potential membership.

 

Delegates at the EMSEA 2017 conference in Malta

The morning after I returned from Glasgow it was back on board a flight to Valletta, Malta, where I was one of the speakers at the annual meeting of the European Marine Science Educators Association. I spoke on how autonomous vehicles will one day enable us to explore the oceans beneath the ice of Jupiter’s moon Europa and Saturn’s moon Enceladus – and thanks to links to NASA from our Houston members I had some beautiful images of the Titan Submarine 2047 concept – a vehicle to explore an ethane ocean. Inspirational stuff for the audience and for me alike. Our publications officer Emily Boddy had her abstract accepted for the Poster Session too so was able to attend and talk about the creation of our book for children, ‘Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist?’. The Malta visit greatly raised the profile of SUT with an international audience mostly from Europe but also the USA, Canada and Taiwan. The 2018 meeting will take place in October in Newcastle Upon Tyne UK, so plenty of scope to engage the educators with our Northern England branch.

 

YES! Perth

After Malta it was a flight to Perth for my first visit to our very active Australian Branch. Chair Chris Saunders and branch manager Jennifer Maninin had put together a very good itinerary to help me get the know the local branch, and I was delighted to be met at the airport and introduced to the city by Ray Farrier. My wife Anne came along for the visit as it was our 30 wedding anniversary (not paid for by SUT I hasten to add!) and she was also made to feel very welcome by our Perth SUT family – and by the quokkas (a small version of the kangaroo) of Rottnest Island. I talked on the subject of combined surface and subsurface marine autonomous systems operations at the AUT Conference on 18 August, which also opened the doorway for ongoing discussions about future collaboration with the Royal Australian Navy. I was also able to renew acquaintance with Dr Nick D’Adamo of the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission Perth Office, and discuss how SUT in Australia, Singapore, Malaysia and China can contribute to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14 on Oceans, and to the proposed international decade of ocean science.

Steve Hall presenting at AUT Perth 2017

On return to UK I had my first meeting with Dr Frank Lim who is the new chair of SUT China, based at the Petroleum University of Beijing, but with strong family ties to the UK where he has lived for many years. Under Frank’s leadership it should be possible for us to find ways to grow SUT in China and see a financial return to the Society.

Next up was attendance at the UK government’s Marine Science Coordination Committee ‘Marine Industry Liaison Group’ where SUT champions as best we can the needs of our members, usually in close cooperation with our friends in IMarEST. I used to sit on the ‘other side of the table’ when I worked for government, so good to be gamekeeper turned poacher, so to speak. One of the follow ups from this meeting has been increased interaction with the Marine Management Organisation (www.gov.uk/government/organisations/marine-management-organisation), & on 12 December I met with their Head of Strategic Marine Licensing to see how we can help alleviate the concerns of some of our members, such as diving contractors, by liaising with the MMO, offering industry placements for junior MMO marine planners, and contributing to a review of licensing in 2018. More on this in the New Year.

As we moved into November our good friends from Reed Exhibitions covered SUT’s expenses to fly me to Qingdao, China, to attend Oceanology International China and Chair two of the conference sessions, one on marine autonomous systems and another on survey & navigation. I was able to engage with the city’s political leadership too, and meet with SUT’s long term Qingdao collaborator Mr Yunxing Hao to discuss how SUT might be able to plant deeper roots into the Chinese marine sector in the future. Sadly, I was not able to take up Mr Hao’s offer to speak at another Qingdao meeting in December – too many other things to be done, and to make these international trips it really does help our coffers if a host is able to contribute to the costs, as Reed had done.

Our Aberdeen Branch ran a successful Subsea Awareness Course in the second week of November, which was very welcome news as we’ve fallen a long way short of our aspirations for running these courses. We’re putting together a two-day version of the course that should appeal to a wide range of non-traditional customers such as government agencies, legal and insurance companies. I attended the annual pub quiz of the London and Southern England branch on the 7 November, a very enjoyable evening.  I was invited to give a keynote talk at the ‘COMPASS’ project launch hosted by the AgriFood & Biosciences Institute of Northern Ireland on the 14 November, in the context of how private sector suppliers of ocean data can be of huge value to public sector science programmes. Again, my hosts covered the travel costs. After Belfast I flew over to Newcastle to attend the North-East England branch’s AGM, where it was a pleasure to award Dr Jerry Baker a token of thanks for his unstinting service to SUT and the establishment of the NE England branch. The branch is in excellent health, and safe hands under the guidance of Michael Williams and his colleagues, with a rising student membership in a region where marine renewables are growing fast. After Newcastle the following week started in Southampton, where I called at my old workplace the National Oceanography Centre as part of SUT’s ‘BRIDGES’ deep ocean glider Horizon 2020 contract commitment, then down to Falmouth to discuss SUT engagement with the National Maritime Museum Cornwall on a new deep-ocean exploration exhibit – more news on that one as we firm up the plans.

November finished back in Scotland, with SUT attendance, display stand, and a speaking slot for me, at the Decom North Sea conference in Saint Andrews. During the week we launched our ‘strategic partnership’ announcement with Decom North Sea, an agreement to work together on matters of common interest. One local press article misinterpreted it as an announcement of some sort of merger, but fortunately we were able to correct that very quickly!

Members of the SUT Diving and Manned Submersibles Committee visit the underwater stage at Pinewood Studios

The last day of November was particularly fascinating, starting off with a visit to Pinewood Studies by our Diving and Manned Submersibles Committee hosted by Dave Shaw. We saw the amazing facilities that have been constructed over the last 30 years to deliver the world’s best underwater sound stage facilities. It’s a multi-million dollar business that has contributed to the glamour of James Bond, the magic of Harry Potter, and the thrills of Star Wars. Makes me proud that we have such expertise within our SUT membership. I had to leave early to get down to Exeter as we were holding our first meeting of the new South West chapter of the London & Southern England Branch at the Met Office. Brian Green and the Met Office’s Caroline Acton & Ed Steele had worked to deliver a first-rate evening, and I’m confident that the new group with thrive.

With all that travelling in November it wasn’t possible to accept an invitation to attend ADIPEC in Abu Dhabi in November as well, but I hope to be able to work with Adrian Phillips and others from SUT to grow our presence in the Middle East in coming years – absence there is a big gap in our global presence.

With the arrival of December a chance to catch up on paperwork, spend more time with my staff, and of course my first Annual General Meeting as CEO, which feels quite daunting but turned out to be an enjoyable evening in the pleasant surroundings of Trinity House. It was a pleasure to see new Fellow David Saul and Honorary Fellow Professor Ralph Rayner receive their certificates, and for Pinewood’s Dave Shaw to receive the Houlder Cup. Sonardyne’s founder John Partridge received the President’s Award from outgoing President Dr David Kirkley, and it was accepted on behalf of John by our incoming President, Ralph Rayner.  I attempted to video-stream parts of the AGM onto social media such as Gary Momber’s excellent presentation on exploration of ship wrecks, but it didn’t quite work – will rehearse properly next time! Before the main AGM we held the London and Southern England Branch AGM, presenting retiring Chair Brian Jones with a framed and engraved print and welcoming (in his absence) Richard Binks to the helm. Two days later it was Aberdeen’s turn for an AGM and I was given a hearty welcome, and somehow didn’t get lynched after my after-dinner speech on ‘SUT a decade from now’. It was an honour to present Fellow Certificates to Paul Benstead, who has done so much for his Branch, and to Tony Laing who has done sterling work helping build SUT’s relationship with MASTS, Decom North Sea, NSRI and Scottish Enterprise (who have joined as corporate members, shortly after the Met Office did).  My final Scottish visit of 2017 was also spent visiting Decom North Sea HQ and taking part in a meeting with my fellow CEOs of Subsea UK and IMCA to look at how we work in a joined-up manner where appropriate. I’ll be back for the Business Breakfast in Aberdeen on 25 January.

So, a busy few weeks, and I very much look forward to working with you all, and attracting new members, developing new ideas, finding ways to grow our income during 2018. I’m working with members based in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland to launch our first Canada Branch, and will return to Houston in the first Quarter of 2018 to attend the launch of the SUT-US Underwater Robotics Committee. We’re also exploring with our African members if it might be possible to re-launch the Lagos branch, subject to satisfactory and transparent governance arrangements.

Lots to look forward to as we grow our Society, make new alliances, and drive forward better ocean science, education, technology, engineering and policy. Thank you all for your contribution, a special thanks to my hard-working HQ team of Cheryl, Emily, Emma, Jacqui and Jane, and once again, Merry Christmas!

September 2017 Update from SUT CEO Steve Hall

Dear readers, it’s been several weeks since my last update and much has happened at the SUT. On 1st August we moved from 1 Fetter Lane to offices at Quality Court, off Chancery Lane in London. The new accommodation is suitably quirky (I’m reminded of Diagon Alley from the Harry Potter novels when approaching the place), and saves the Society over £20k per year compared with our previous home. We look forward to welcoming members who happen to be passing by but do please let one of the team know first so we can make sure you gain access, as security in London is at a heightened level after recent incidents.

Whilst on the subject of incidents I must first mention our members and friends in Houston, Texas, who weathered extraordinary storms and floods in August. Their resilience and ‘can-do’ attitude has been an example to us all as companies and individuals knuckle down to restore service as usual, and learn the lessons needed to avoid a repeat. Climate science tells us in no uncertain terms that a warmer world, especially a warming ocean, inevitably leads to an increase in the power of storms, higher average rainfall, and more frequent flooding events. These challenges are by no means restricted to developing countries, all of us must prepare for a wilder future, whilst doing what we can collectively to mitigate the factors that drive climate change. In this respect offshore gas in particularly has a valuable role to play, helping nations to transition quickly off burning coal for energy production with something like a 40% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Gas buys us valuable time to adapt to the new green technologies – many of which have a subsea component – that will underpin the future of many of our energy-sector member companies.

James McCallum, our after dinner speaker at the OSIG Conference dinner

The BIG event that has tied up so much staff effort, and that of our volunteer supporters in recent months has been the OSIG Conference ‘Smarter Solutions for Future Offshore Developments’ that took place at the Royal Geographical Society 12-14th September, including an amazing conference dinner venue at the Natural History Museum. With almost 400 delegates from over 30 countries, the OSIG conference was truly a world-class event that confirmed SUT’s value as a clearing house for exchanging state-of-the-art knowledge, bringing together experts to share, discuss and enthuse about the extraordinary ocean world where our members work, research and explore. The proceedings for the Conference filled two large hardbound volumes, and will shortly go online at www.ingentaconnect.com.

Dinner at the Natural History Museum sat underneath Hope the blue whale

The keynote Bramlette McClelland lecture was given by Alan Young, who inspired delegates with his rich knowledge and Texan delivery. Overall the feedback from attendees has been excellent, we’ve all learned a great deal and we look forward to playing our role as hosts in five years’ time. Special thanks go to Chair of the organising committee, Toby Powell of Subsea 7, and to the HQ staff who worked tirelessly to deliver the conference, especially Jacqui Adams who on joining SUT in January found herself immersed into OSIG and to Emily Boddy for her work on the published proceedings – but they’ve all done a fabulous job.

SUT stand at Offshore Europe

SUT had a strong presence at Offshore Europe in Aberdeen at the start of September, hosting two afternoon sessions at the ‘Decommissioning Zone’ on 6 & 7th September. Our international line-up speakers came from industry, academia, governance and even architecture, reflecting the breadth of our membership. I was honoured to act as chair of the sessions, and attended a series of networking events and dinners at Offshore Europe to help build SUT’s links with the industry. I returned to Aberdeen on 20th September to act as host for Aberdeen Branch’s ‘Question Time’ event, where an expert panel answered a variety of questions concerning the future of the oil and gas sector the changing policy, legal and financial framework, and the emerging technologies that will drive the industry in future years.

In another development that I hope will be of value to our members, I’ve been invited to join the international advisory board of the Marine Alliance for Science and Technology Scotland (MASTS) and will attend their annual science meeting in Glasgow in October, where SUT will also be conducting an offshore decommissioning workshop.

Another highlight for me was that we have just gained our 150th corporate member, appropriately enough on the 150th anniversary of the Shipping Forecast – the UK Met Office, based in Exeter. Our new friends at the Met Office are very keen to help grow SUT in the South West of England and South Wales, and I am putting them in touch with our other members in the region in anticipation of a whole new series of events, and perhaps in time the founding of a fully-fledged branch. Initially activities will be coordinated with the London and Southern England branch, who have held a number of events throughout the UK summer months, and are now settling into their autumn programme.

North East England branch continue to grow in strength and influence, and I’m looking forward to visiting them soon. Things have been quieter in our Norway, Rio, Malaysia and Singapore Branches and I have actions from Council to explore what’s happening and see what we can do at HQ to help reinvigorate activities. I’m also working with other territories to help deliver growth in SUT, and hope to have news on developments in Atlantic Canada and Africa by the time of my next newsletter.

Perth is one of our strongest Branches and continues to deliver impressive results, with a comprehensive programme of events and a very well-run admin team. I’m very much looking forward to visiting Perth in mid October where I’ll be speaking at the AUT Conference on the lessons learned from combined autonomous surface vehicle and underwater vehicle operations in the UK, and an opportunity to make my first acquaintance with our Western Australian members, students and supporters in the southern Spring weather.

Steve being interviewed about ocean stewardship by BBC Radio Wales

In November I’m due to be at Oceanology International China in the beautiful city of Qingdao, a regular haunt in my previous job. I’ll be chairing the session on autonomy and am honoured to be supported by our very good friends at Reed Exhibitions in order to be able to be there. China Branch also have a new Chair, Professor Frank Lim, and I’m sure he is going to do an excellent job in helping to increase our membership and influence in this very important country for future SUT growth.

Also in November we will support the one day conference ‘Oceans of Knowledge’ at the prestigious surroundings of the Royal Institution in London, hosted by our friends at IMarEST. See https://sut.org/event/oceans-of-knowledge/

Finally a plug for our education activities. The Education & Training Committee met in July under the new Chair Sue John, and for the first time with international engagement via Skype and telephone. SUT will be represented at the European Marine Science Educator’s Association in Malta in November, with talks from me about using robots to explore the oceans of the moons of Jupiter and Saturn, and our publications officer Emily Boddy presenting our book ‘Can a Lobster be an Archaeologist?’ I’d encourage any members looking for Christmas presents to consider buying a copy or two for their younger relatives – contact Emily for details.

More from me in a few weeks’ time – I’m writing from the train en route to catch a plane to Houston where we’ll be launching our new Student Chapter at Rice University on Tuesday 26th September, in the company of student representatives from the existing chapters in the region. Our future as a Society depends on growing our membership base, and drawing in new income from a wider range of underwater technology users than we have in the past. The young people in the Student Chapters are a key part of that work, and I encourage all of our members to encourage, nurture and mentor the next generation.

Steve Hall, 25th September 2017 [email protected]

The SUT is moving!

SUT is moving to a new London HQ on 1st August so please accept our apologies for any delays in responding to calls and emails while we pack, move and unpack the office. Steve Hall will have mobile access to emails and can be contacted on 07947 911992. Our new address will be SUT, Unit LG7, Quality Court, off Chancery Lane, London WC2A 1HR – we anticipate having service back to normal by Wednesday 2nd August.