Shallow Water News

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed update to the Santa Clara Unit Development and Production Plan, which includes the use of hydraulic fracturing on 16 existing wells at Platform Gilda, located 8.8 miles offshore Ventura County, California.BOEM has deemed the plan complete and is launching an environmental review under the Department of the Interior’s “Alternative Arrangements for NEPA Compliance During a National Energy Emergency,” published on the April 23, 2025.

Seadrill has announced that Sonadrill Holding, its 50:50 joint venture with an affiliate of Sonangol E.P., has been awarded a contract extension.A seven-well priced option for the ultra-deepwater drillship Sonangol Quenguela has been exercised, extending operations in Angola by approximately 480 days and committing the rig into June 2028.Seadrill earns a management fee for providing management, operational and technical support to Sonadrill.

Major industry announcements and new product launches continued to drive significant visitor numbers and plentiful business activity as Oceanology International 2026 (Oi26) surpassed expectations on the second day at Excel London.Among the companies taking center stage, expanding platform OceanSight used Oi to unveil its new collection of ocean technology brands built to advance marine sensing and subsea intelligence, celebrating an exciting new chapter focused on accelerating innovation and strategic growth.OceanSight…

Jan De Nul has selected Ulstein Design & Solutions to provide the vessel design for a new subsea trenching vessel that will be added to the company’s offshore fleet.The vessel, scheduled for delivery in 2028, will be based on a proven subsea vessel platform adapted to support large-scale trenching operations.Subsea trenching involves creating protective channels on the seabed to bury pipelines, power cables and telecommunications lines.The vessel design will feature a modular configuration allowing it to support activities across several offshore sectors…

Seadrill Limited, an offshore drilling contractor, Kongsberg Maritime AS, a global technology leader, and Hanwha Drilling, a provider of offshore drilling services, announced a strategic alliance to develop the next generation of remote Dynamic Positioning (DP) technology in offshore drilling.This collaboration represents a shared commitment to defining a global operating model for the future of DP operations for the industry. The initiative will develop the technical and regulatory…

OceanTools is celebrating two projects that highlight their engineering expertise and versatility. From designing subsea pressure housings for a well-known space technology company to creating solutions for the world’s deepest oceans, their housings deliver reliability and resilience in the most extreme environments.A major U.S. space technology company approached OceanTools with detailed specifications, and they designed and built a highly intricate pressure vessel to meet their requirements.

Seatrium has put in motion a series of non-core asset divestments set to complete by early 2026, targeting over $40 million (S$50 million) in annualized operational cost savings.The Singapore-based offshore and marine group said the savings will follow recent divestments of the AmFELS yard in Texas and the GNL Platform Supply Vessels disclosed in 2025, alongside additional transactions earlier.The company said the divestments form part of its strategy to rationalize non-core assets…

All-Cash Deal, Expanding Brazil FootprintTidewater Inc. (NYSE: TDW) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Wilson Sons Ultratug Participações S.A. and its affiliate Atlantic Offshore Services S.A. (collectively, WSUT) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $500 million, including the assumption of existing debt.The acquisition significantly strengthens Tidewater’s position in the global offshore support vessel (OSV) market while marking a decisive expansion in…

Progress on the BorWin6 Project continues with the successful completion of a fabrication yard milestone in Jebel Ali, United Arab Emirates. Mammoet has completed the transport, loadout and mooring of the 5,461-ton offshore jacket foundation, set to support the BorWin6 offshore converter platform BorWin kappa in the German North Sea. Developed by TenneT and delivered by McDermott International, the BorWin6 offshore grid connection is a 980-megawatt high voltage direct current connection that will transmit offshore wind energy from the German North Sea to the mainland…

Seatrium has completed divested its AmFELS Yard located at Brownsville in Texas to Karpower Valley, a related party of Karpowership.The divestment, first announced in September 2025 and completed on January 30, 2026, will allow Seatrium to enhance capital and operational efficiencies, while unlocking value from one of its surplus facilities, the company said at the time.All projects carried out at the AmFELS yard have been completed and delivered prior to completion the asset sale…

Vard, the Norwegian subsidiary of the Fincantieri Group, has delivered the second Commissioning Service Operation Vessel (CSOV) to Windward Offshore, named Windward Paris.The naming ceremony was held at the delivery yard, Vard Brattvaag in Norway on January 28, 2026.Windward Paris is the second CSOV Vard has delivered to Windward Offshore, one week before contractual delivery date.The first vessel Windward Athens, delivered on time in September 2025, is currently operating under an O&M contract…

James Fisher and Sons has invested in U.S.-based autonomous marine technology company Ocean Aero, taking a strategic minority stake as part of Ocean Aero’s Series D funding round.The investment increases James Fisher’s exposure to autonomous and low-emission marine technology and supports the development and deployment of Ocean Aero’s Triton Autonomous Underwater and Surface Vehicle (AUSV), a wind- and solar-powered platform designed to operate without onboard crews.Ocean Aero designs…

“Seeing” under the world’s waterways is a perpetual challenge, seeing what’s under the seabed surface and even bigger challenge. Seequent, the Bentley Subsurface Company, helps organisations understand what’s happening underground and under the seabed, helping to identify and mitigate risks such as unexploded ordinance (UXO), helping to ensure a more efficient and safe work environment for multiple maritime stakeholders.

American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) has issued approval in principle (AiP) to HD Hyundai Heavy Industries (HD HHI) for its new design of a floating offshore substation to support deepwater wind farms.The substation concept received a SMART (SHM) Tier 3 AiP from ABS. The approval acknowledges the proposed structural health management system’s alignment with the Tier 3 requirements in the ABS Guide for Smart Functions for Marine Vessels and Offshore Units.The recognition supports the system’s design to integrate high-fidelity measurements with predictive modeling…

Drydocks World, a unit of Dubai-owned ports and logistics group DP World, has signed a contract with Dixstone Lower Gulf FZCO to convert an LNG carrier into a floating storage unit (FSU) for use in Gabon’s offshore gas development.The engineering, procurement and construction project will see the LNG carrier transformed into the FSU Cap Lopez, supporting Gabon’s floating LNG development by enabling offshore gas liquefaction, storage and export.The project is also expected to contribute…

The Arab Shipbuilding and Repair Yard Company (ASRY) has completed several rig repair and upgrade projects for Saudi-based ADES Holding, strengthening the partnership between the two companies.In 2025, several ADES jack-up rigs underwent major works at ASRY’s facilities in Bahrain.The ADM-501 and ADM-504 units were prepared earlier in the year for drilling operations in Nigeria, while upgrade works on ADM-503 and ADM-511 were recently finalized ahead of upcoming drilling campaigns…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner DOF Group has secured a new four-year contract with Petrobras for the remotely operated support vessel (RSV) Skandi Commander.The contract was awarded following the same competitive tender process that led to six previous four-year RSV contracts announced earlier.The Skandi Commander will be equipped with both a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) and an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV), the latter being a unique feature of this agreement.The contract…

Throughout 2025 we have seen the subsea vessel market transitioning from a period of record highs towards a more cautious, but still fundamentally strong, outlook. While short-term activity and rates have softened in the latter part of the year, long-term demand - driven by deepwater projects and global energy infrastructure- remains robust. The market is watching closely how the influx of newbuilds and ongoing corporate consolidation will shape competition and vessel availability…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner and subsea services provider DOF Group has secured two contracts for its vessels and services in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.DOF signed a three-year frame agreement for the provision of subsea inspection, maintenance and repair services with associated assets in the APAC region.A call off under the contract has also been confirmed and will utilize DSV Skandi Singapore and all related diver-less subsea services on a brownfield tieback campaign…

Norwegian offshore vessel owner and subsea services provider DOF Group has secured several new project awards in the Atlantic region and a separate contract in North America with Shell.The Atlantic region awards, amounting to over $60 million, will be executed primarily using DOF’s regional fleet during the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026. The contracts represent more than 250 firm vessel days, excluding optional work.In West Africa, DOF will deploy Skandi Hera and Skandi Master under direct contracts with an operator.

Saipem has obtained ISO 55001:2024 certification, the international standard for asset lifecycle management, marking a significant milestone in its journey towards operational excellence and offshore sustainability.The certification, issued by DNV, confirms Saipem’s Asset Management system compliance with the most advanced requirements, covering all operational phases - design, procurement, installation, commissioning, maintenance and decommissioning, ensuring a robust and effective “Asset Integrity” framework.The certification applies to Saipem’s entire offshore asset portfolio…

Ocean services provider DeepOcean has secured an extension to its existing frame agreement with Equinor for the provision of subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) services.As a part of the renewal, DeepOcean will deploy specialized IMR vessels, along with comprehensive subsea services, throughout 2026 and into 2027.The scope of work also includes onshore engineering and project management services for various subsea operations.With this contract, DeepOcean will deliver uninterrupted IMR activities for Equinor from 2006 to 2035…

Lebanon and Cyprus signed a long-awaited maritime demarcation deal on Wednesday, paving the way for potential exploration of offshore gas fields and energy cooperation in the Mediterranean.Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides signed the agreement at Lebanon's presidential palace and told reporters it would signal deeper cooperation between Lebanon, European Union-member Cyprus and the broader EU."This is a historical agreement, concluding an issue pending for many years and now look forward to what our countries can jointly create…