STR hires Maxime Even as new GM in Singapore
Subsea Technology & Rentals (STR), a leading global provider of advanced sensor technology and solutions for the offshore energy and marine science markets, has welcomed Maxime Even as the new General Manager of its Singapore Technology and Service hub.
With over two decades of experience in the offshore survey industry, Even will play a key role in supporting STR’s clients across Asia-Pacific (APAC) and the Middle East, while his background in marine operations, business development and project management will help drive growth and expand STR’s regional operations and client base.Jason French, STR’s Regional Director for APAC, said: “With his impressive experience in the offshore survey market, Maxime brings a wealth of regional knowledge to our hub in Singapore and understands the unique challenges faced by our clients. The APAC region presents significant opportunities, particularly in offshore renewables, and we know Maxime will contribute greatly to our continued success in this dynamic and rapidly growing market.”
Established more than 20 years ago, STR operates globally and serves clients in the offshore energy and marine science markets, helping them acquire mission-critical marine data through the provision of advanced subsea sensor technology, solutions and services.
Kongsberg Discovery names Sandeep Sandhu as the new Country Manager for the US and Canada
Sandeep Sandhu has held the position as General Manager for Kongsberg Discovery Canada since August 2023. In his new role he will also oversee Kongsberg Discovery’s activities in the USA.
Kongsberg Discovery develops technology to ensure sustainable management of marine resources, monitor climate change and critical infrastructure, and safeguard national security. It is a business area within the KONGSBERG group and has been present in Canada and the US for almost 30 years.
The USA company is also changing its name from Kongsberg Underwater Technology Inc
(KUTL) to Kongsberg Discovery US, LLC.
Plans for growth
President Martin Wien Fjell of Kongsberg Discovery is pleased to see an internal candidate take on more responsibility for a great region.
"Sandhu and his leadership team have expanded the business in Canada. I am confident he is the right person to lead Kongsberg Discovery and grow the business in the US, as well as continuing to develop the market in Canada," he says.
Prior to joining Kongsberg Discovery, Sandhu has extensive leadership experience in the technology sector. He entered the new role on September 1.
“He has relevant expertise and the right mindset, and I look forward to continuing to work with him in his leadership to deliver on our ambitious targets,” Fjell says.
Technology for discovering the secrets of the ocean
Kongsberg Discovery develops technology to ensure sustainable management of marine resources, monitor climate change and critical infrastructure, and safeguard national security. The technology and solutions are aimed at areas such as offshore operations, fisheries, marine research, maritime operations, ocean-based energy production, as well as the navy.
Sandhu emphasises the significant potential of the Canadian and US markets for the company. He already has a plan to expand Kongsberg Discovery's market share in his new region.
"The company has significant potential in both Canada and the US, and I am excited for what our teams will be able to deliver. Being able to spend more time in the US and getting to know our customers, partners, and our team in the weeks to come will be a key priority. I'm grateful for this opportunity," he says.
Kongsberg Discovery operates within segments and technologies with a particularly wide variety of stakeholders. The company operates within both commercial and defence markets, and in the intersection between the academic and commercial world.
A strong team in the US
Sandeep Sandhu was appointed as the interim general manager of KUTL, now Kongsberg Discovery US, LLC, in July of this year. The head office is located in Lynnwood, Seattle, and there are about 35 people based in this office, in addition to a team throughout the US. Sandhu is eager to take on this role and to further develop the ambitious plans set by the team.
“I have had this responsibility for just a few weeks, so I am eager to meet more people and to delve deeper into numerous issues. The American team is robust, and I believe that together we will achieve great success moving forward,” he states.
Sandhu will continue to serve as general manager of Kongsberg Discovery Canada. He will collaborate with the management team and the board to determine the best organizational structure for the market and customers.
Subsea Supplies Limited appoints business development manager amidst continued growth
Prior to his appointment, Gary spent five years with Concept Cables Limited as business development manager, responsible for the design of cables to client specifications across the UK.
Gary said: “This is an exciting time to join the Subsea Supplies team, and I look forward to the opportunity to engage with advanced subsea technologies, collaborate with experienced professionals, and grow in a supportive work environment.
“The energy sector is in a time of transition, but one thing that remains the same is demand from clients for quality subsea equipment. As we look to expand our advanced service offerings into new markets, I’m confident our track record of exceptional customer service will continue.”
This latest hire follows several key appointments within Subsea Supplies Limited, which include the creation of roles for a marketing manager, and sales coordinator.
Pauline McCann, Subsea Supplies’ sales director added: “It’s a pleasure to welcome Gary to the team. His experience and understanding of the sector will allow us to widen our offerings to clients and support them in an ever-expanding portfolio of projects across the offshore space.
“We have spent almost 25 years’ building a trusted reputation as an international equipment supplier, from small local firms to global businesses, and I know Gary will help us continue to deliver quality solutions to the subsea industry.”
Subsea Supplies has been a provider of ROV, AUV, oil and gas, oceanographic and defence solutions since 2000 and has vast experience across the subsea and cables industry. The company is a partner to world-leading manufacturers of electrical and mechanical components, and a global distributor for Burton Subsea, Nexans, Sun Star Electric, Masto, Innerspace and Clear Com.
Subsea Supplies is the only Burton product range distributor in Europe to be certified to manufacture Burton cable and connector assemblies to Eaton standards.
Kraken Robotics appoints Chief Operating Officer and hires Marketing Director
Kraken Robotics Inc. (“Kraken” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: PNG, OTCQB: KRKNF) announces that effective July 9, Nathaniel Spencer has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Kraken. Mr. Spencer joined Kraken in August 2021 with the acquisition of PanGeo Subsea, where he was the Vice President of Service Delivery. For the last 18 months, Nat has been the Managing Director of Kraken’s subsea power business. Nat has over 12 years in the marine sector, including founding a subsea inspection business that was sold to Oceaneering in 2016.
Greg Reid, Kraken’s President and CEO noted, “I am pleased to promote Nat to the COO role after 3 years at Kraken. Nat’s strength is in driving operational performance, by building strong teams, setting goals, and effectively monitoring and communicating both up and down an organization. He is very process driven and brings a sense of urgency and solid business sense to matters at Kraken. Combined with the rest of our Executive Management team that includes Joe MacKay (CFO), Dave Shea (CTO), and Lynne Adu (CCO) our organization is now well structured to handle strong organic growth and to integrate selective acquisitions that add additional technology, customers, and profitability to our business.
Kraken is also pleased to announce that Erica Kierstead has joined as Director of Global Marketing. Based in Boston, Erica spent 2 years at MITRE in marketing and communications most recently focused on the AI and Bluetech sectors, and prior to that spent 9 years at Hydroid and then HII in marketing. With over 10 years of experience in ocean technology and the defense industries, Erica is a welcome addition to lead Kraken’s marketing efforts.
Sonardyne confirms next phase of On Demand Ocean Bottom Node project with Shell, Petrobras and SENAI CIMATEC in Brazil
Sonardyne is proud to announce the next phase of the pioneering On Demand Ocean Bottom Node (OD OBN) development project in Brazil. The project, which began in 2018, involves a collaboration between industry partners including Shell Brasil Petróleo Ltda, Petrobras and SENAI CIMATEC and is supported under the Research Development and Infrastructure funding clause of the Brazilian National Agency for Petroleum, Natural Gas and Biofuels (ANP).
These highly innovative nodes might lead to the next generation of geophysical monitoring systems in the offshore oil and gas industry. Using Sonardyne’s proprietary optical and acoustic communications technologies, and drawing on its extensive experience of seabed monitoring, OD OBN expects to provide a versatile, lower cost, more resilient solution for time-lapse seismic and subsidence monitoring of producing reservoirs with better data and the capacity to be placed on the ocean floor for up to five years without human intervention.
The idea is that data from these nodes can be extracted using Sonardyne’s through water optical communications system to a nearby Autonomous Underwater Vehicle such as ‘Flatfish’ which was developed by Saipem and SENAI CIMATEC under another ANP funded program sponsored by Shell and Petrobras.
This latest phase was confirmed by the signing of contracts between SENAI CIMATEC and Petrobras in August 2023 and between Shell, SENAI CIMATEC, and Sonardyne in April 2024, to produce a pilot array of 600 prototype nodes expected to be deployed towards the end of 2025 at a preselected field offshore Brazil.
This pilot array is planned to be manufactured at a newly created pilot plant facility constructed by SENAI CIMATEC at CIMATEC PARK, in an industrial region called Camaçari, close to the city of Salvador in Brazil. The pilot plant has a design capacity to produce 600 nodes per year, featuring state of the art facilities including specialist parts machining and metals treatment, surface mount electronics production, a large and flexible manufacturing area and various environmental and functional testing apparatus, all of which are required to turn raw materials into completed nodes.
Shaun Dunn, Projects Director, Sonardyne, welcomed this latest project phase and commented “We have been developing the enabling technologies for semi-permanent seabed seismic and subsidence monitoring nodes for over a decade and are therefore naturally delighted that they will soon be used in the world’s first large scale field wide test. Our sincere thanks go to our research partners in Shell, Petrobras and SENAI CIMATEC for supporting this program since its inception several years ago.”
Shell and Petrobras have been trialling OD OBN prototypes during conventional OBN seismic campaigns, including at Sapinhoá and Itapu, in over 2,000 metres of water off the coast of Brazil.
"It is a great milestone to see that this technology, made in Brazil, with the support from ANP and in collaboration with national, international, and the two leading offshore operators, is closer to being deployed to monitor the large Brazilian Pre-salt fields.", says Jorge Lopez, Shell Brazil Subsurface Technology Manager.
The involvement of Petrobras, the state-owned Petroleum company of Brazil, has played a key part in the development of OD OBN and they intend to take delivery of the pilot array on completion for deployment at a jointly operated offshore field in the pre-salt region to the south of Rio de Janeiro.
“The OD OBN technology will be important in the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions during our seismic acquisition operations offshore. Besides that, it will provide a higher level of automation in our seismic field activities which will lead Petrobras and partners to be more efficient in reservoir seismic monitoring processes in the Brazilian pre-salt area.”, says Alexandre Silva, Senior Geophysicist Advisor of the Research Centre of Petrobras (CENPES).
Production of the pilot array at CIMATEC PARK is expected to commence later in 2024 and to involve the employment of a new workforce that will be recruited mainly from the local area and trained in the specialist skills required for high-volume manufacturing and testing of nodes that will be deployed and used for prolonged periods in the harshest of marine environments.
“Our partnership with Shell, Petrobras and Sonardyne has successfully developed this innovative node from a simple proof of concept towards readiness for full commercial production at CIMATEC PARK. We are therefore very excited to be moving on to the next phase of this challenging programme that will create hundreds of nodes for the upcoming field scale deployment. We have invested significant capital and intellectual resources to ensure that this phase is successful.”, states Valter E. Beal, SENAI CIMATEC Innovation Projects Leader.
Dr. Sarah Ruth Merrigan Joins Teledyne RD Instruments
Teledyne RD Instruments (RDI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Sarah Ruth Merrigan as our new Technical Service and Support Engineer.
Sarah will be based out of RDI headquarters in Poway, CA. She joins Paul Chua, MMSci, and Chris Rockey on our field service team to enhance global support of Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and Doppler Velocity Logs (DVLs).
Sarah has a strong background in civil engineering, physical oceanography, water resources, and hydrology, with a BS and an MS from the University of Arizona and PhD from the University of California, Irvine. As a graduate research assistant, Sarah’s work focused on understanding the physical drivers of hypoxia in coral reef systems. She used analytical models and field observations to analyze the physical processes that affect the oxygen dynamics and water quality in these fragile ecosystems.
Grant Jennings, Product Line Director of RDI, commented on the appointment: “First off, I’d like to congratulate Sarah on her recently earned PhD from UC Irvine. And secondly, I’m delighted to welcome Sarah to the field service/support team at RDI. She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in oceanographic data analysis, water resources, hydrology, and civil engineering. We look forward to her application of theoretical and practical knowledge to address our customers’ requirements."
Sarah adds, “I am excited to join the RDI team and look forward to leveraging my multi-faceted background to assist clientele with our products. This position combines my water resource background with my physical oceanography experience, including deploying and analyzing data from Teledyne RDI Workhorses, enabling me to help our customers problem-solve and collect robust observations in many settings.”
New director appointments at global maritime defence company Forcys
Forcys has appointed Dr Ioseba (Joe) Tena as Managing Director and Mr Peter Hodgkinson as Non-Executive Director.
Ioseba, who takes up the role with immediate effect, has served as Forcys Commercial Director since the company’s formation in 2022. Prior to that, Ioseba was Head of Defence at Sonardyne International Limited who are also part of the Covelya Group alongside Forcys, Chelsea Technologies, EIVA, Voyis, and Wavefront Systems.
“Launching Forcys, we were confident our cutting-edge commercial technology would accelerate the development of powerful, next-generation underwater platforms," says Ioseba. "And the initial response from customers validates this vision. I am excited in my new role to keep turning that vision into reality. Our customers venture where others fear to tread and Forcys, together with our technology partners across the Covelya Group, are dedicated to providing them with the best tools to succeed in their missions.”
Ioseba is a recognised and successful leader in the unmanned maritime systems and sensors industry. Prior to joining Sonardyne, Ioseba worked at SeeByte were he led the sales and marketing team. He has a PhD in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Heriot-Watt University focused on underwater navigation and sonar.
Forcys are also welcoming Mr Peter Hodgkinson to the Forcys Limited board as a Non-Executive Director. Peter started his career as a Weapons Engineer in the Royal Navy Submarine Service working on Strategic Weapon Systems and complex integrated C4ISTAR systems. On retirement from the RN, he worked in the BAE Systems Advanced Technology Group, focused on sensor and C4I systems across a number of platforms, rising from Principal Engineer to Business Executive for the Advanced Technology Team.
Peter joined SEA maritime technology group as the Business Development Director in 2009, with a short period at OSI. During his time there, the company grew from 60 to 400 people through a combination of organic activity, mergers and acquisitions. Peter left the group in 2023.
Retiring to become a Senior Consultant in Maritime Defence, Peter brings a wealth of experience as a both a user and provider of cutting-edge maritime defence systems and has right skills and management experience to help drive our planned expansion.
“With Forcys, Covelya Group is committing to support our navies putting our best foot forward. We appreciate they need to work with companies that understand their operational requirements and their need for security. I am confident that the new board appointments will help us deliver on this commitment.” Stephen Fasham, CEO, Covelya Group.
Matthew Peck joins Teledyne Interconnect Solutions as Outside Sales Manager
Teledyne Interconnect Solutions, a part of Teledyne Marine, is pleased to announce that Matthew Peck has joined the organization as its new Outside Sales Manager. Based primarily in Houston, TX, Matthew will be leading the Interconnect sales team in serving customers in a wide range of industrial and marine markets.
Matthew spent the initial years of his career at JDR Cable Systems, working in the Subsea Oil & Gas and Offshore Wind industries. He has been in Sales, Engineering, and Project Management, covering global projects for subsea umbilicals and power cables. Then moving to Private Equity, led his company to aggressive growth in Onshore Cable and Specialty Vehicles domains. Matthew studied Material Science and Engineering at the University of Manchester in the UK.
George Andersen, GM and VP of Teledyne Interconnect Solutions, shares, “I am excited to welcome Matthew Peck to our team as Outside Sales Manager. His prior experience in similar markets, products, and applications, along with a strategic vision and customer centric focus will help propel our sales efforts to new heights.”
Adds Matthew, “I am thrilled to join a World Class organization in Teledyne Interconnect Solutions, and contributing to an already fantastic product range and culture energizes me to take us to new levels and markets.”
Pro-Oceanus Systems announces Mark Barry as new President
Dissolved Gas Sensor manufacturer, Pro-Oceanus Systems, proudly announces the appointment of Mark Barry as its new President and Owner.
Mark moves in to the role of President after joining Pro-Oceanus in 2012 and working through a number of progressives roles within the company prior to this appointment. He brings strong knowledge in science, engineering and business to lead Pro-Oceanus forward as a company that has seen revenues increase an average of 30% per year over the past 5 years while he was the VP of Business Development.
“I am truly excited to lead Pro-Oceanus. From enhancing our interaction with partners, to foster new innovation in product development, to leading to the advancement of sensors for monitoring dissolved greenhouse gases are keys to the future of Pro-Oceanus. Enhancing the reliability of Pro-Oceanus products through continuous improvement in all areas of the business is a key goal moving forward” says Mark.
The creation of a strong and stable global base for our products continues to be the focus, with expansion of new products that are designed with this base in mind. Expanding into emerging markets such as aquaculture and wastewater will also be part of the overall strategy to expand and grow.
New President and Vice President for IMCA
The International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA) announces a new President, Luca Gentili of Saipem.
He replaces Jonathan Tame of Subsea7 who previously held the role and who, in accordance with IMCA’s constitution, came to the end of his two-year term. Hugo Bouvy of Deme Offshore is appointed as new Vice President.
Luca Gentili, Head of Assets, Fabrication and Project Services in Saipem, and new IMCA President said: “I’m delighted to be appointed President of IMCA and I am looking forward to continuing to work with the board, as well as with our CEO Iain Grainger. IMCA has a key role to play in bringing the industry together, raising standards and performance, and in supporting our Members to meet new ambitions around offshore energy. The Board and I will continue to work closely with Iain and his team to ensure Members’ voices are fully heard.”
Iain Grainger, IMCA CEO commented: “I’m looking forward to working with Luca and Hugo as we continue to focus on what we do best, supporting our Members to meet the safety and sustainability challenges which lie ahead.”
Commenting on the end of Jonathan Tame’s term, Iain Grainger, IMCA CEO, said: “I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Jon for his contribution to IMCA as President, and for his steady hand and guidance in what has been a transitional time for both the organisation and the industry.”