Milestones

International engineering federation FIDIC (the International Federation of Consulting Engineers) has signed a major strategic collaboration agreement with the International Association of Dredging Companies (IADC), the umbrella organization for the worldwide private dredging industry, which will see the two organizations working more closely together and collaborating on matters of mutual interest over the next two years.

The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) continues to be involved in a jointly run industry event, The Subsea Industry and the Evolution of Energy, devised and run in conjunction with The Society for Underwater Technology and The Hydrographic Society in Scotland.

Gibbs & Cox, Inc., a global leader in naval architecture and marine engineering, announces the expansion of services into Houston, Texas. The office will be led by Mr. Todd Carrico, a leading innovator in naval and offshore marine engineering technologies.

A leading North-East drilling services firm has recently introduced a new service line for the oil and gas and renewables industry bolstered by a key appointment.

Oceaneering International, Inc. announced the appointment of Ben Hooker as Director of Business Development - Renewables.

Fugro in the US has been granted the President’s ‘E’ Award for Exports from the US Department of Commerce.

SubSeaSail, LLC is pleased to announce the appointment of BlueZone Group as its exclusive distributor for Australia and New Zealand.

Based in San Diego, CA, SubSeaSail designs and manufactures unmanned semi-submersible vessels that are wind-propelled and solar powered. SubSeaSail vessels are “Designed for Simplicity” and backed by multiple patents including a sailing vessel with the hull below the waterline and a passive wingsail control mechanism that provides autonomous management of the sail without any lines, pulleys, or electronics. This results in a revolutionary vessel design with low drag/wake and minimal detection (acoustic, IR, radar, visual) signature. Designed for long duration and persistent missions, a servo is the only electro-mechanical device required to sail. SubSeaSail is integrating 3rd party sensors and – to complement its ultra-quiet platforms – will develop unique sensors. It has filed a Provisional Patent on a Reconfigurable, Rigid Passive Acoustic Array that will enable acoustic detection of targets including marine mammals and vessels at an unprecedented price point. The combination of SSS vessel and sensors at a disruptive price will allow ocean observation in more locations and in ways including fleets and swarms not previously possible.

BlueZone Group is an Australian based company with over twenty years’ experience in providing specialized support for autonomous and remotely operated maritime vehicles operated by Navy and other customers. BlueZone offers a wide underwater technology product portfolio representing leading underwater equipment product manufacturers. In addition, BlueZone Group “services what they sell” with workshops in Newcastle and Perth to provide local service and coast-to-coast support for their full product range. Its application engineering team provides design, development and integration of products for new and existing systems to meet customer specific needs.

BlueZone CTO, Darren Burrowes, said that he was very pleased that BlueZone would have the opportunity to distribute SubSeaSail products in Australia and New Zealand. “SubSeaSail technology is a game-changer in terms of engineering simplicity and this is extremely important for applications in Australia’s harsh maritime environment,” said Darren, “Uncrewed Surface Vessels developed by SubSeaSail have the capability to provide wide-area and persistent sensing of Australia’s maritime area of interest which are among the largest in the world.”

For more information, please contact BlueZone group at darren.burrowes@bluezonegroup.com.auor SubSeaSail at mbjones@subseasail.com.

Executive vice president and chief financial officer (CFO) Lars Christian Bacher resigns from his position at Equinor ASA with effect from November 1, 2020. Bacher will remain employed with the company until May 31, 2021.

Svein Skeie has from the same date been appointed acting executive vice president and chief financial officer, and will, by virtue of this position, be a member of Equinor’s corporate executive committee, reporting to the chief executive officer.

“After almost 30 years of exciting challenges at Equinor, it is time to look ahead at new opportunities outside the company. I am thankful for the interesting roles that the company has given me over the years,” says Lars Christian Bacher.

“I want to thank Lars Christian for his strong contribution to the development and management of Equinor. Lars Christian has through his career successfully delivered in his important operative leadership roles both on the Norwegian continental shelf and internationally. As a member of the corporate executive committee for more than eight years, first as the head of the international business, and in the past two years as CFO, he has helped shape and strengthen the company. I have greatly appreciated our close collaboration, and wish Lars Christian all the best for the future,” says Eldar Sætre, president and chief executive officer of Equinor.

“I also want to use this opportunity to welcome Svein to the corporate executive committee. With his long-standing experience from the CFO area and other leadership positions in the company, he is highly respected both in and outside Equinor,” says Sætre.

Joining Equinor in 1991 Lars Christian Bacher has held a number of leadership positions, including as offshore installation manager on the Norne and Statfjord fields on the Norwegian continental shelf (NCS). He has been senior vice president for Gullfaks operations, and subsequently for the Tampen area. Bacher was in charge of the merger process for the offshore installations of Norsk Hydro and Equinor. He was senior vice president and country manager for Equinor’s Canadian operations, until he in September 2012 was appointed executive vice president for Development & Production International (DPI). He has been CFO since 1 August 2018. Bacher will be available for the company until 31 May 2021.

Skeie comes from the position as senior vice president for CFO performance management and control.

Since joining Equinor in 1996, Skeie has held several leadership positions within finance, business development and economic analysis, including as senior vice president for CFO Finance, and vice president for international business development, project execution and economic analysis.

Skeie has a master’s in agronomy from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and has a business degree in finance from the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH).

Kongsberg Digital’s acclaimed K-Sim Fishery simulator training solution has secured an important industry accolade by winning the SAFETY4SEA 2020 Training Award. After being shortlisted back in July, K-Sim Fishery was voted into first place by a substantial number of instructors and students who have been impressed by this vessel-specific training resource.

Aberdeenshire start-up company, Legasea, have won the award for Best Energy Industry Environmental Service Provider 2020, making this their second award since establishing the company 18 months ago.

RE2 Robotics, a leading developer of intelligent mobile manipulation systems, announces that the Company has already reached its 2020 hiring goal of increasing its staff by 50 percent.

Global safety, training and competency organization, RelyOn Nutec, has made two key director level appointments in Aberdeen.