Vol. 52.5 State of Technology Report 2018

Jou
Journal
The International, Interdisciplinary Society Devoted to Ocean and Marine Engineering, Science, and Policy
Volume 52 Number 5 September/October 2018
State of Technology Report 2018

, VP, DoD Strategy & Technology, Harris Corporation
Save
the
Date
MTS International Buoy Workshop

http://www.whoi.edu/buoyworkshop/2019
Dates:
April 15 – 19, 2019
Location:
Hobart, Tasmania
Volume 52, Number 5, September/October 2018
State of Technology Report 2018

Guest Editor: Donna M. Kocak
In This Issue
Cover images: Today’s marine technology is riding a wave
of innovation. Artificial Intelligence is expected to have the
6 74
most impact over the next decade, especially as third State of Technology Report: Maritime Foundational Experiences and Recent
wave contextual adaptation evolves. Technology in 2018 Advances in Long-Term Deep-Ocean
Donna M. Kocak Borehole Observatories for Hydrologic,
Geodetic, and Seismic Monitoring
17 Earl Davis, Keir Becker, Masanori Kyo,
Ocean Economic Potential Toshinori Kimura
Richard W. Spinrad
87
19 Dynamic Modeling of Ship-to-Ship and
Blue Economy of India and Technology Ship-to-Pier Mooring Performance
Initiatives II Sean Kery
Malayath Aravindakshan Atmanand,
Ramasamy Venkatesan, 94
Mallavarapu Venkata Ramanamurthy, MTS Buoy Technology…“State
Gidugu Ananda Ramadass, of the Field ”
Ramalingam Kirubagaran, Rick Cole, Don Peters
Narayanaswamy Vedachalam
99
27 Maritime Renewable Energy Markets:
New Dynamic Positioning Reference Power From the Sea
System Concepts Enabled by Autonomy Andrea Copping, Al LiVecchi,
Arne Rinnan Heather Spence, Alicia Gorton,
Text: SPi Scott Jenne, Robert Preus, Gary Gill,
Cover and Graphics:
Michele A. Danoff, Graphics By Design 31 Robi Robichaud, Simon Gore
Cybersecurity: A Deep Dive Into
The Marine Technology Society Journal the Abyss 110
(ISSN 0025-3324) is published by the Marine Technology Paul Mario Koola Pressure-Tolerant Electronics and
Society, Inc., 1100 H Street NW, Suite LL-100
Washington, DC 20005 Discharge Performance of Pressure-
Annual Subscription Prices (all prices include shipping):
44 Compensated Lead Acid Batteries Under
Online access to the MTS Journal (including 14 years of Why Maritime Cybersecurity Is an Hyperbaric Conditions
archives) is FREE for MTS members. Members can purchase Ocean Policy Priority and How It Can Billavara Omaiah Vishwanath,
the printed Journal for $57 domestic, $82 Canada, and
$187.50 international. Non-members and library Be Addressed Narayanaswamy Vedachalam,
subscriptions are: Online only (including 14 years of Phil McGillivary Panayan Muthuvel, Kannaiyah Jayanthi,
archives): $465; Online and print (including 14 years of
archives): $499; Print only: $232.50 domestic, $262.50 Gidugu Ananda Ramadass
Canada, and $250 international. Single-issue (hardcopy) 58
price is $18 for members and $20 for nonmembers, plus Advances in Distributed Fiber-Optic
$7 domestic shipping or $14 international shipping for all
single-issue orders. Pay-per-view (worldwide): $28/article. Sensing for Monitoring Marine
Subscription agencies receive a 4% discount off all prices. Infrastructure, Measuring the Deep
Postage for periodicals is paid at Washington, DC and
additional mailing offices.
Ocean, and Quantifying the Risks Posed
by Seafloor Hazards
POSTMASTER :
Please send address changes to: Arthur H. Hartog, Mohammad Belal,
Marine Technology Society Journal Michael A. Clare
1100 H Street NW, Suite LL-100
Washington, DC 20005
Tel: (202) 717-8705; Fax: (202) 347-4302
Copyright © 2018 Marine Technology Society, Inc.
In This Issue
118 125
Ocean and Technology Focused MTS Manned Underwater Vehicles
STEM Education in the 21st Century: 2017–2018 Global Industry Overview
A Commentary on the Role of Professional William Kohnen
Societies Now and in the Future
Susan B. Cook
All the sonars you need,
in one place
The Teledyne Marine Imaging group provides a range of high

quality underwater acoustic hardware and software solutions
for underwater imaging within Teledyne Marine. These
solutions are delivered through recognized brands such as
SeaBat, BlueView, Odom, HydroSweep and ParaSound Multi-
beam Echosounder and Teledyne PDS software suite.
Visit www.teledynemarine.com to learn more.

Marine Technology Society Officers
BOARD OF DIRECTORS South Korea Remote Sensing
President Prof. B.G. Lee Ryan Vandermeulen
Donna Kocak Maritime & Ocean Engineering Research Inst. University of Southern Mississippi
HARRIS Corporation (MOERI/KORDI)
President-elect Washington, D.C. Government and Public Affairs
Richard Spinrad, Ph.D. Jake Sobin Arctic Technology
NOAA (Ret.) Kongsberg Basel Abdalla
Immediate Past President Wood Group Kenny
Ray Toll PROFESSIONAL COMMIT TEES Marine Law and Policy
Old Dominion University Research, Industry and Technology Bill Glenn
VP—Section Affairs Bioinspired Marine Design Royston Rayzor Vickery & Williams LLP
Doug Wilson William C. Sandberg Marine Mineral Resources
Caribbean Wind LLC George Mason University Alex Barnard
VP—Education Buoy Technology Marine Security
Liesl Hotaling Rick Cole Dallas Meggitt
COSEE RDSEA International, Inc. Sound & Sea Technology
VP—Research, Industry, and Technology Cables and Connectors Ocean Economic Potential
Andrew M. Clark, Ph.D., P.E. Jennifer Snyder Vacant
The Link Foundation SAIC Ocean Observing Systems
VP—Communications Deepwater Field Development Technology Ian Walsh
Dr. Erika Montague Dr. Benton Baugh WET Labs
Schmidt Marine Technology Partners Radoil, Inc. Ocean Pollution
Treasurer and VP—Budget and Finance Diving Ryan Morton
Mike Pinto Michael Lombardi Anadarko Petroleum
MBARI (Ret.) Ocean Opportunity Renewable Energy
VP—Government and Public Affairs Michael Max Clifford Merz
Craig McLean Hydrate Energy International LLC University of South Florida College of Marine Science
NOAA Dynamic Positioning Kenneth Baldwin
Pete Fougere University of New Hampshire
SECTIONS Portsmouth, NH
Canadian Maritime Manned Underwater Vehicles STUDENT SECTIONS
Vacant William Kohnen Alpena Community College
Florida HYDROSPACE Group AMET University
Erica Moulton Maritime Cyber Security and Infrastructure Arizona State University
St. Pete Makers Daniel Turissini Bannari Amman Institute of Technology
Great Lakes Spyrus, Inc. College of William & Mary
Hans Van Sumeren Moorings Dalhousie University
Northwestern Michigan College Jack Rowley Duke University
Gulf Coast SAIC Florida Atlantic University
John Cousins Oceanographic Instrumentation Florida Institute of Technology
General Dynamics Information Technology Dr. Carol Janzen Long Beach City College
Hampton Roads Sea-Bird Electronics, Inc. Marine Institute of Newfoundland and Labrador
Jim Haluska Offshore Structures Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Old Dominion University Dr. Peter W. Marshall Memorial University (MUN)
Hawaii MHP Systems Engineering Monterey Peninsula College/Hartnell College
Alan Hilton Remotely Operated Vehicles National Institute of Technology, Tiruchirappalli
Center of Excellence for Research in Chuck Richards North Carolina State University
Ocean Sciences (CEROS) C.A. Richards and Associates, Inc. Oregon State University
Houston Ropes and Tension Members Rutgers University
Tere Sonne Evan Zimmerman SRM University
Consultant Delmar Systems, Inc. Stockton University
India Seafloor Engineering Texas A&M University—College Station
Dr.R.Venkatesan Craig Etka Texas A&M—Corpus Christi
National Institute of Ocean Technology Scorpio Ventures, LLC Texas A&M University—Galveston
Japan Underwater Imaging United States Naval Academy
Hideyuki Suzuki Dr. Fraser Dalgleish University of Florida
University of Tokyo Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute University of Hawaii
Monterey Bay Unmanned Maritime Vehicles University of Houston
Jill Zande Rafael Mandujano University of New Hampshire
MATE Center Vehicle Control Technologies, Inc. University of North Carolina—Charlotte
New England University of Puerto Rico, Mayagüez
Rhonda Moniz Education University of Southern Mississippi
SeaBotix Marine Archaeology University of Washington
Norway Dr. Stephen Wood Webb Institute
TBD Florida Institute of Technology
Newfoundland and Labrador Marine Education H O N O R A R Y M E M B E R S (†deceased)
Darrell O’Neill Erica Moulton †Robert B. Abel
Dept. of Innovation, Trade, and Rural Development MATE Center †Charles H. Bussmann
Oregon Marine Geodetic Information Systems †John C. Calhoun, Jr.
Jeremy Childress Dave Zilkoski †John P. Craven
Oregon State University NOAA †Paul M. Fye
College of Oceanic & Atmospheric Sciences Marine Materials †David S. Potter
Puget Sound Dr. R. Venkatesan †Athelstan Spilhaus
Fritz Stahr National Institute of Ocean Technology †E. C. Stephan
University of Washington Ocean Exploration †Allyn C. Vine
San Diego Erika Montague †James H. Wakelin, Jr.
Alan Kenny OceanGate, Inc.
Teledyne RD Instruments Physical Oceanography/Meteorology
Dr. Richard L. Crout
Naval Research Laboratory
The Marine Technology Society is COPYRIGHT
Editorial Board a not-for-profit, international professional Copyright © 2018 by the Marine Technology
Andrew M. Clark, Ph.D., P.E. society. Established in 1963, the Society’s Society, Inc. Authorization to photocopy
The Link Foundation mission is to promote the exchange of items for internal or personal use, or the
information in ocean and marine engineer- internal or personal use of specific clients, is
Ann E. Jochens, Ph.D. ing, technology, science, and policy. granted by the Marine Technology Society,
Texas A&M University provided that the base fee of $1.00 per copy,
Please send all correspondence to: plus .20 per page is paid directly to Copyright
Donna Kocak The Marine Technology Society Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Dr.,
HARRIS Corporation
1100 H Street NW, Suite LL-100 Danvers, MA 01923.
Scott Kraus, Ph.D. Washington, DC 20005 For those organizations that have been
New England Aquarium (202) 717-8705 Tel. granted a photocopy license by CCC, a sepa-
(202) 347-4302 Fax rate system of payment has been arranged.
Ralph Rayner, Ph.D. MTS Journal: [email protected] The fee code for users of the Transactional
BMT Limited Publications & Subscriptions: Reporting Service is 0025-3324/89 $1.00 +
[email protected] .20. Papers by U.S Government employees
Brock Rosenthal
Director: [email protected] are declared works of the U.S. Government
Ocean Innovations
Events & Programs: and are therefore in the public domain.
Prasanta K. Sahoo, Ph.D. [email protected]
Online: www.mtsociety.org The Marine Technology Society cannot be
Florida Institute of Technology
held responsible for the opinions given and
the statements made in any of the articles
MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION published.
Editorial may be obtained by contacting the Marine
Erika Montague, Ph.D. Technology Society. Benefits include:
VP of Communications ■ Free subscription to the online Marine
Technology Society Journal, with highly
ABSTRACTS
Kelli Hunsucker, Ph.D. MTS Journal article abstracts, if available,
Emily Ralston, Ph.D. reduced rates for the paper version
can be accessed for free at http://www.
Co-Editors ■ Free subscription to the bimonthly news-
ingentaconnect.com/content/mts/mtsj.
letter, Currents, covering events, business
Amy Morgante news, science and technology, and Print and electronic abstracts of MTS Journal
Managing Editor people in marine technology articles are also available through GeoRef <http://
■ Member discounts on all MTS publications www.agiweb.org/georef/>, Aquatic Sciences and
■ Reduced registration rates to all MTS and Fisheries Abstracts, published by Cambridge
Administration MTS-sponsored conferences and workshops Scientific Abstracts <http://www.csa.com/
Donna Kocak ■ Member-only access to an expansive Job factsheets/aquclust-set-c.php>, and Geobase’s
President Bank and Member Directory Oceanbase published by Elsevier Science.
■ Reduced advertising rates in MTS
Kevyan Ann Sly publications
Acting Executive Director ■ National recognition through our Awards
Program CONTRIBUTORS
Individual dues are $75 per year. Life Contributors can obtain an information and
membership is available for a one-time style sheet by contacting the managing editor.
fee of $1,000. Patron, Student, Emeritus, Submissions that are relevant to the concerns
Institutional, Business, and Corporate of the Society are welcome. All papers are sub-
memberships are also available. jected to a stringent review procedure directed
by the editor and the editorial board. The
Journal focuses on technical material that may
ADVERTISING not otherwise be available, and thus technical
Advertising is accepted by the Marine papers and notes that have not been published
Technology Society Journal. For more informa- previously are given priority. General commen-
tion on MTS advertising and policy, taries are also accepted and are subject to review
please contact [email protected] and approval by the editorial board.
September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 5

FOREWORD
State of Technology Report:

Maritime Technology in 2018
Donna M. Kocak
President, Marine Technology Society
Harris Corporation
T oday’s marine technology is riding a wave of innovation spurred by advances in con-

sumer technologies, competition in military and defense, efficiencies to improve profit mar-
gins, and other emerging developments. This is truly an exciting time to be a part of the
ocean community.
Advances in Consumer Technologies

Since the last State of Technology Report in 2013 (Kocak, 2013), many advances in
consumer technologies have been adopted by the marine sector. 3D printing is a good ex-
ample. Patented in the mid-1980s, 3D printing became widely available in 2011 (Flynt,
2017). Some 3D printed maritime applications include ship rudders, a submarine proto-
type for the U.S. Navy, spare parts for the America’s Cup 2017 boat race, turbines for
renewable tidal current energy, and micro-unmanned untethered vehicles (UUVs;
Hedstrom, 2015; 3Dnatives, 2017; Manley & Smith, 2018). Figure 1 illustrates two
Riptide micro-UUV modular sections printed in nylon and titanium for shallow (300 m)
and deeper (1,500 m) depth operations, respectively. The ability to print 3D prototypes
prior to finalizing designs offers an efficient means to visualize, evaluate, and rapidly adjust
configurations. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps have integrated 3D printing into their
ship maintenance and logistic supply chain. The main advantage, especially at sea, is the
ability to print spare parts and tools on demand—when and where they are needed. A dis-
advantage is lack of economies of scale. In the future, we may see realistic 3D “bio” printing
of shark skin or fish fins for bio-inspired vehicles (perhaps contributed by members of our
new MTS Bio-Inspired Marine Systems Committee), inspired by advances in the medical
field where organs and custom facial implants have been 3D printed. We may also see 3D
printing of electronic circuits and RF systems such as waveguides, lenses, and antennae that
consist of complex shapes and conformal systems that are difficult to achieve in traditional
manufacturing. Worldwide, 3D printing services and products are reported to be worth
over $7 billion (McCue, 2018), and this trend is expected to continue to increase well
into the 2020s.
The Internet of Things (IoT) represents another example of a consumer technology
finding its way into the marine sector. One envisioned venture is an offshore aquaculture
facility that connects sensor arrays measuring phytoplankton biomass and real-time depth,
temperature, conductivity, and dissolved oxygen to the Internet (“An Ocean Internet of
6 Marine Technology Society Journal

FIGURE 1
3D printed nylon (orange) and titanium micro-UUV modular sections (photo courtesy of Riptide).
Things”; Walsh, 2015). IoT platforms aggregate large data sets and statistically processed
data using predictive analytics. From this, data-driven decisions can be made to improve
commercial productivity and potentially lead to ways of gaining a competitive edge. In
coastal regions confronted with water shortages, as in California, offshore aquaculture
can substitute for agriculture. Having the ability to grow U.S. seafood supplies, indepen-
dent of global geopolitical tensions, may one day be essential to prevent food shortages and
risks to food safety. It is estimated that the number of IoT-connected devices may reach
38.5 billion in 2020, up from 13.4 billion in 2015 (Walsh, 2015).
The first two commentaries in this special issue, by Spinrad and Atmanand et al., fur-
ther emphasize the importance of growing and maintaining a sustainable ocean economy.
Machine learning and data analytics are central to processing large amounts of data and
thus will be integral to the “New Blue Economy.”
Competition in Military and Defense

The military has an immediate need to maintain technical superiority and better protect
its warfighters. Technology advances are necessary, but still not sufficient, to defend against
ever-changing weapons, biothreats, cyber, and other attacks. Speed of development is es-
sential for turning technology advances into capability. One important area of investment
is in artificial intelligence (AI) (DoD, 2018). Teaching machines to think like humans has

been a long sought-after capability dating back to the 1950s (Anyoha, 2017). The current
state of technology applies logical rules and/or neural networks designed from statistical
models and trained on massive data sets to solve specific problem domains. A recent ex-
ception where a large data set is not required to train the neural network is the AlphaGo
Zero program that learns “from scratch” through self-play reinforcement (Silver et al.,
2017). AI methods are being used in many maritime applications. One recent example
is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Anti-Submarine Warfare
Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel that was recently transitioned to the Office of Naval
Research, shown in Figure 2. Referred to as Sea Hunter, this unmanned surface vehicle is
fully autonomous and can operate for months at a time, in accordance with maritime laws
and practices for safe navigation. AI algorithms direct Sea Hunter on its primary mission,
which is to navigate in search of mines and submarines (McCaney, 2018). Although the
Navy continues to test and explore the vehicle’s capability and new man-machine collabora-
tive missions, a second vessel is being built. This will expand missions to include collaborative
tandem operations between the two unmanned vessels, in addition to other missions involv-
ing manned and other UUV assets (including air drones) (Trevithick, 2018). Collaborative
unmanned missions, as well as unmanned battles such as the first reported air drone to shoot
down another air drone (Mizokami, 2018), are likely to be the future in warfighting.
Rolls-Royce is developing an autonomous naval vessel with a range of 3,500 nauti-
cal miles, capable of 100-day-long missions (Ghaswalla, 2017). The vessel is intended to
perform a range of roles including patrol and surveillance, mine detection, and coastline
watch. It will detect and track surface objects through Rolls-Royce’s Intelligent Aware-
ness System, which uses Google’s Cloud Machine Learning Engine for training. Rolls-Royce
is using this same technology to develop commercial autonomous shipping vessels (Kingsland,
2018). An integral function in autonomous commercial ships is the ability to automatically
detect and communicate with other ships using speech recognition (Morely, 2017).
The next article in this issue, authored by Rinnan, discusses new enablers for autonomy
in dynamic positioning (DP) systems. DP is an important feature for both manned and
unmanned vessels. The MTS Dynamic Positioning Committee contributes significantly
to this field by publishing Technical and Operational Guidance Notes, which have been
advocated by the U.S. Coast Guard (MTS DP Committee, 2018).
Another crucial area for defense is cybersecurity and infrastructure (DoD, 2018). MTS
has also recently established the MTS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Committee to pro-
vide a forum for this industry sector currently facing a global challenge. Recent government
funding has been invested on blockchain technology, originally adopted by the banking
industry, to track information integrity (Richmond, 2017). Blockchain essentially tracks
each time a system or piece of data is viewed or modified and records the user’s ID and
the date and time of the occurrence. A similar program at DARPA is SafeDocs, where the

FIGURE 2
DARPA’s ACTUV Sea Hunter prototype (DARPA, 2018c; photo courtesy of DARPA).
goal is to have the software recognize and reject malicious electronic data without human
intervention (DARPA, 2018b).
The next two articles in this special issue, by Koola and McGillivary (both members of
the new MTS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Committee), address the importance of
cybersecurity in the maritime domain not only from a technology perspective but also
through policy. Another excellent reference on cybersecurity in maritime is Hiller (2017).
Efficiencies to Improve Profit Margins

Industry always strives for greater efficiencies and cost savings to maximize revenue, and
to do so often relies on emerging technologies, tools, and processes. Commercial shipping
and offshore energy are two maritime examples where small savings in processes can realize
substantial gains. In commercial shipping, for example, predictive analytics can be used to
analyze real-time satellite Automatic Identification System information, meteorological and
environmental data, and ship response models to find more efficient ship routes that may
result in substantial fuel savings (Kocak & Browning, 2015; StormGeo, 2018). Similar AI
methods can be used to find more efficient routing of cargo for shippers, freight forwarders,
and carriers. When the number of ships and cargo containers are considered, as well as the
various cost influences (oil prices, weather, fuel consumption rates, etc.), any optimization
in travel time, cost, and resources needed to move the cargo may save tens of thousands of
dollars a day per ship (Ijaz, 2018).

Because of the cyclic nature of the oil and gas industry, maintaining efficient operations
across upstream and downstream activities are key to survival. One area where AI has
recently been used to optimize performance is in well production. In the production
business, it is estimated that 80% of potential increases in an oil field come from roughly
20% of the wells. ConocoPhillips sets out to identify which wells were in the 20%
group. By using data previously collected from the wells, they were able to apply pre-
dictive analytics to determine where best to implement workflow optimizations. Produc-
tion increased 30% where these optimizations were made. Over 3 years, using an assumed
net price of $40 per barrel, this improvement would yield an additional $1 billion in rev-
enue (Ward, 2016).
The next article in this issue, by Hartog et al., reviews the state of the art in distributed
optical fiber sensing; a method that is commonly used to monitor and collect data in down-
hole wells. The authors also discuss several other uses such as sensing geohazards, chemicals,
infrastructure integrity, and intruders (geofencing). Next, Davis et al. survey deep-ocean
borehole observatories for long-term monitoring of hydrologic, geodetic, and seismic events.
Sensors used in both articles provide large, real-time data sets that support the use of predic-
tive analytics and machine learning.
Other Emerging Developments

There are some other developments in their initial stages that have the potential to be-
come disruptive. Just as smartphones have changed our everyday lives, more incrementally
than disruptively, some of the technologies discussed above may evolve into true disruptors.
A recent ranking of the 30 emerging technologies that are expected to have the most impact
over the next decade (2018–2028), based on Wikibrand’s Digital Periscope study (Digital
Transformation, 2018), is shown in Figure 3. The study took into consideration (1) cur-
rent and projected size in terms of direct and indirect revenue, (2) future segment growth
rate and scale of adoption, (3) claimed perception of impact on the future (from survey
responses), (4) current “chatter value and buzz” via Google and social media, and
(5) “knock-offs” and interactions with other technologies and industries. Whether or
not you agree with this list and rankings, it offers a snapshot of emerging technologies
that may bring new benefits to the maritime domain. A few of these technologies are
discussed in more detail below as they relate to recent advances and the remaining articles
in this issue.
AI is the highest ranked technology, expected to have the most impact over the next
decade. Up until now, we have discussed AI in terms of its current state. Today’s AI, however,
is not yet able to think and understand contextual information like humans and therefore is

FIGURE 3
The 30 technologies of the next decade (Digital Transformation, 2018).
unable to learn and adapt to changing situations. When an AI algorithm is given unexpected or
purposely misleading data, the results can be erroneous. This limits the autonomous capa-
bility of today’s robots. At D60, DARPA announced a new $2 billion campaign to explore
ways of achieving the next level of AI, referred to as the “third wave” (Heckman, 2018;
DARPA, 2018a). Figure 4 compares the cognitive abilities and skills of a human to those
of a machine—that is, what we are currently able to teach machines using “first wave”
(rules-based) and “second wave” (statistical neural networks) AI techniques. Perhaps in
some future State of Technology Report we will be able to describe how the third wave of
AI research has increased the cognitive and social skills of a computer.
Advanced materials are playing an increasingly important role in the maritime domain.
New antifouling microparticle nanocoatings can minimize biofouling and its associated
drag and turbulence (Tripathi, 2016), nanoparticles and glass microspheres can control
the density of a microcable (Abouraddy et al., 2018), and energized carbon nanotubes
can provide noise-canceling of incoming sonar pings (Analysis, 2011), to name just
a few. Contributions in this issue by Kery and Cole and Peters discuss the use of new

FIGURE 4
Comparing human-machine “intelligence” (Abbatiello et al., 2017).1
1
Sources: Deloitte LLP, Talent for Survival: Essential skills for humans working in the machine age, 2016; Deloitte
LLP, From brawn to brains: The impact of technology on jobs in the UK, 2015; Jim Guszcza, Harvey Lewis, and Peter
Evans-Greenwood, Cognitive collaboration: Why humans and computers think better together, Deloitte University
Press, January 23, 2017; Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael A. Osborne, The Future of Employment: How Susceptible
Are Jobs to Computerisation?, University of Oxford, September 17, 2013; O*NET, U.S. Department of Labor.

materials in mooring and buoy systems. MTS has an active Buoy Technology Committee,
led by Cole, that holds biannual workshops to share the state of the art in this important
field.
Another early development, featuring both advanced materials and energy technology,
employs carbon nanotubes spun into yarns less than a millimeter thick to generate power
from constant motion (Revell, 2017). Currently, the yarns have been used to generate
enough power to run a light-emitting diode (LED). In the future, researchers envision
using a different configuration of these yarns in the place of batteries to power small
buoy sensors from wave motion. In this issue, Copping et al. discuss marine renewable
energy markets for many maritime applications. Vishwanath et al. discuss lead acid
battery technology compared to other battery types and analyze battery performance
under pressure.
Mobile/social Internet and live video streaming has, for many years now, been very
effectively adopted in and successfully exploited by our maritime community. Dr. Robert
Ballard’s Nautilus Expeditions have been providing live video streaming to an Internet portal
during their ocean exploration expeditions (Nautilus Live, 2018). The public, students,
educators, and scientists watch and participate in live shore-based interactions. This
opens the opportunity for anyone to explore the seafloor and make new discoveries along-
side the scientists at sea. The final two pieces in this issue, a commentary by Cook and
article by Kohnen, discuss ways technology—whether it is through the Internet or visibly
diving to the depths—is helping us learn more about our oceans. Both also illuminate key
tenets of MTS: to promote and improve marine technology-related educational programs
and to meet, share discoveries and developments, and hold peer discussions with profes-
sionals and practitioners in the ocean community such as at the annual meeting held by
the MTS Manned Underwater Vehicle Committee (chaired by Kohnen).
In conclusion, there have simply been too many technological advances, both imple-
mented and emerging, to address them all in one Special Issue of the Marine Technology
Society Journal. This is a very encouraging problem to have. As a result, we will
be publishing Volume 2 of The State of Technology Report in 2019. Among the topics
we hope to highlight will be biological concepts including persistent subsea monitoring
and applications of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid), fifth-generation wireless (5G) in the
maritime realm, quantum control of molecules, small satellite constellations for en-
hanced maritime domain awareness, and more. As always, we invite and encourage
our readers to become our contributors and are hopeful that some of you will contact
us to offer your discoveries and developments in the form of a manuscript for this next
issue.

References
3Dnatives. 2017. Top 10 3D Printing Applications in Maritime. Available at: https://www.3dnatives.com/
en/3d-printing-maritime-applications230820174/.
Abbatiello, A., Boehm, T., Schwartz, J., & Chand, S. 2017. No-collar workforce: Humans and machines in
one loop—Collaborating in roles and new talent models. Deloitte Insights Tech Trends 2018: The Symphonic
Enterprise, pp. 24-38. Available at: https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/insights/us/articles/Tech-Trends-
2018/4109_TechTrends-2018_FINAL.pdf.
Abouraddy, A.F., Tan, F.A., & Kocak, D.M. 2018. Underwater Fiber Optic Cable With a Predetermined
Buoyancy and Associated Methods, U.S. Patent 10001616.
Analysis. 2011. Cat and mouse: The art of submarine detection. Naval Technology. Available at: https://www.
naval-technology.com/features/feature121453/.
Anyoha, R. 2017. The history of artificial intelligence. Science in the News. http:/sitn.hms.harvard.edu/
flash/2017/history-artificial-intelligence/.
DARPA. 2018a. DARPA announces $2 billion campaign to develop next wave of AI technologies. News and
Events. Available at: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2018-09-07.
DARPA. 2018b. Restoring trust in electronic documents. News and Events. Available at: https://www.darpa.
mil/news-events/2018-08-09.
DARPA. 2018c. ACTUV “Sea Hunter” prototype transitions to Office of Naval Research for further devel-
opment. News and Events. Available at: https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2018-01-30a.
Digital Transformation. 2018. The emerging 30 technologies—What will impact us the most over the next
decade? Wikibrands. Available at: http://wiki-brands.com/the-emerging-30-technologies-what-will-impact-us-
the-most-over-the-next-decade/.
DoD. 2018. U.S. Department of Defense Fiscal Year 2019 Budget Request. Available at: https://comptroller.
defense.gov/Portals/45/Documents/defbudget/fy2019/FY2019_Budget_Request.pdf.
Flynt, J. 2017. A detailed history of 3D printing. 3D Insider. Available at: https://3dinsider.com/3d-printing-

history/.
Ghaswalla, A.N. 2017. Rolls-Royce to ‘man’ autonomous ship with Google AI software. Business Line.
https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/logistics/rollsroyce-to-man-autonomous-ship-with-google-ai-
software/article9901368.ece.
Heckman, J. 2018. DARPA: Next-generation artificial intelligence in the works. FederalNewsRadio.com.

Available at: https://federalnewsradio.com/technology-main/2018/03/darpa-next-generation-artificial-
intelligence-in-development/.

Hedstrom, J. 2015. 3D priNting Maritime: Military Vessels, Cargo Shipping and More. Available at: https://
www.sculpteo.com/blog/2015/10/12/3d-printing-maritime-military-vessels-cargo-shipping-and-more/.
Hiller, A.L. 2017. The Challenge of Cybersecurity in the Maritime Domain, Senior Capstone Thesis,
California State University Maritime Academy, 48 pp.
Ijaz, R. 2018. The mysterious impact AI is having on shipping logistics. Smart Data Collective. Available at:
https://www.smartdatacollective.com/the-mysterious-impact-ai-is-having-on-shipping-logistics/.
Kingsland, P. 2018. Rolls-Royce teams up with Google on AI-driven ship awareness. Ship Technology.
Available at: https://www.ship-technology.com/features/rolls-royce-teams-google-ai-driven-ship-awareness/.
Kocak, D.M., & Browning, P. 2015. Real-time AIS tracking from space expands opportunities for global ocean
observing and maritime domain awareness. MTS/IEEE OCEANS 2015. Washington, DC: IEEE.
Kocak, D.M. 2013. Editor, Special issue: State of Marine Technology in 2013. Mar Technol Soc J. 47(5).
Manley, J., & Smith, J. 2018. Taking UUVs faster, further & deeper. Mar Technol News. Available at: https://
www.marinetechnologynews.com/news/taking-faster-further-deeper-561623.
McCaney, K. 2018. AI guides next wave of autonomous ships. Government CIO Media. Available at: https://
www.governmentciomedia.com/ai-guides-next-wave-autonomous-ships.
McCue, T.J. 2018. Wohlers report 2018: 3D printer industry tops $7 billion. Forbes.com. Available at:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/tjmccue/2018/06/04/wohlers-report-2018-3d-printer-industry-rises-21-percent-
to-over-7-billion/#13929f6a2d1a.
Mizokami, K. 2018. A Reaper drone shot down another drone in first unmanned air-to-air kill. Popular
Mechanics. Available at: https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/aviation/a23320374/reaper-drone-first-
unmanned-air-to-air-kill/.
Morely, H.R. 2017. AI promises smarter container shipping. JOC.com. Available at: https://www.joc.com/
international-logistics/logistics-technology/artificial-intelligence-promises-smarter-containerized-supply-
chains_20170620.html.
MTS DP Committee, 2018. Technical and Operational Guidance Notes. Available at: https://dynamic-
positioning.com/documents/technical-and-operational-guidance-notes/.
Nautilus Live. 2018. Nautilus expedition press release. NautilusLive.org. Available at: https://www.3dnatives.
com/en/3d-printing-maritime-applications230820174/.
Revell, T. 2017. Twisted carbon nanotubes harness waste energy and put it to work. New Scientist. Available
at: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2145293-twisted-carbon-nanotubes-harness-waste-energy-and-put-it-
to-work/.

Richmond, J. 2017. DARPA and advancing cybersecurity infrastructure within blockchain. Nasdaq.
Available at: https://www.nasdaq.com/article/darpa-and-advancing-cybersecurity-infrastructure-with-
blockchain-cm783507.
Silver, D., Schrittwieser, J., Simonyan, K., Antonoglou, I., Huang, A., Guez, A., … Hassabis, D. 2017.
Mastering the Game of Go without Human Knowledge. Nature. Available at: https://deepmind.com/research/
publications/mastering-game-go-without-human-knowledge/.
StormGeo. 2018. Ship Routing Services. Available at: http://www.stormgeo.com/solutions/shipping/ship-

routing/awt-ship-routing/.
Trevithick, J. 2018. Navy’s Sea Hunter drone ship is getting a new owner, new abilities, and a sister. The
Drive. Available at: http://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/18264/navys-sea-hunter-drone-ship-is-getting-a-
new-owner-new-abilities-and-a-sister.
Tripathi, R. 2016. Advances in antifouling coatings technology. Coatings World. Available at: https://www.
coatingsworld.com/issues/2016-10-01/view_features/advances-in-antifouling-coatings-technology.
Walsh, D. 2015. Meet the Captain of Oceanic Internet of Things.” Silicon Labs. Available at: https://www.
silabs.com/community/blog.entry.html/2015/08/17/meet_the_captainof-syuS.
Ward, R. 2016. A billion-dollar digital opportunity for oil companies. McKinsey & Company. Available at:
https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/oil-and-gas/our-insights/a-billion-dollar-digital-opportunity-for-oil-companies.

COMMENTARY
Ocean Economic Potential

AUTHOR ■ Emergency response: Geographi- from commercial shipping to public
Richard W. Spinrad cally specific baseline environmental health and to land-use planning. In
President-Elect, Marine characterization of local flora and many regards, this vision is not dis-
Technology Society fauna to provide accurate assess- similar to what was projected (and
ments of natural hazard damages subsequently realized) for what is
Professor of Oceanography,
after man-made site damage now the commercial weather services
Oregon State University
■ Infrastructure design: Detailed industry (an industry of approximate-
estimates of localized sea level rise ly $10B annual revenues and roughly
predictions to support long- 10,000 jobs). I would argue the diver-
T he economic potential from the

world oceans is huge, immediately at-
tainable, and—most importantly—
term (decadal) planning for port
design and coastal community
development
sity and breadth of applicability of the
New Blue Economy will eclipse the
applicability of the commercial
sustainable. Historically, the value ■ Optimized commercial shipping: weather sector by roughly an order
propositions aligned with marine Tailored forecasts of currents, of magnitude (Figure 1).
technology have been associated with hydrography, and bathymetric In this context, we must continue
extraction economies, such as minerals changes to optimize load-out of to consider the ever-expanding breadth
or fisheries. A lot of effort is now being commercial shipping vessels and diversity of potential commercial
put into the latter to ensure that it can ■ Public health: Community-specific applications for marine technology.
be sustained in a meaningful manner and species-specific predictions of Advances in marine technology have
for decades to come, and although harmful algal blooms, with 3- to historically depended as much on
those components of the blue 7-day lead times. the “pull” from applications as the
economy deserve continued critical These data-based products and ser- “push” from scientific developments.
technological investment, we have an vices can support improved perfor- For example, the needs of various
exciting opportunity before us: an mance in an extraordinarily diverse industries (notably oil and gas) have
opportunity many are calling the cross-section of business sectors, encouraged aggressive development of
“New Blue Economy.”
What is this new economic poten-
FIGURE 1
tial? In short, it is a knowledge econ-
omy based on the exploitation of data By 2030, it will be common to use next-generation search engines to search the physical world and
and information; new knowledge make investments based on forecast products.
allows us to make predictions and
projections about marine environ-
ments and processes, all of which can
be monetized into important, market-
able products and services. The New
Blue Economy will become an emerg-
ing developer of new requirements for
marine technology. Consider the fol-
lowing examples of how our new capa-
bilities for accurate and reliable ocean
observing will serve emerging markets.
One can easily imagine commercial
enterprises providing the following
specific products and services:

both remotely operated and autono- nomic potential. The traditional eco-
mous underwater vehicles. And, even nomic sectors associated with marine
absent specific operational require- technology are soon to be expanded
ments over the last several years, the by our new-found expertise in measur-
scientific community discovered a ing, monitoring, and observing the
broad array of new sensing technolo- marine environment, with incumbent
gies and methodologies (e.g., doped accuracy and dependability. All of
fiber optics and in situ genetic analyti- which will make the New Blue Econ-
cal techniques), which soon found omy a reality very soon.
applications in a broad array of marine
industries. This legacy of balancing
innovation and mission relevance—a Author:
paradigm central to the mission of Richard W. Spinrad
the Marine Technology Society—has President-Elect, Marine
positioned our community to move Technology Society
into a new and exciting domain of Professor of Oceanography,
technological development. The cur- Oregon State University
rent explosion of scientific discoveries Email: [email protected]
and emergent applications, pushing
and pulling, respectively, new marine
technologies, makes the immediate
future a particularly dynamic period
in our community’s history. Examples
of technological development, includ-
ing biomimetics, exascale computing,
and miniaturization, are immediately
relevant. The potential of the Internet
of Things1 also holds great promise for
the New Blue Economy, as does the
power of high-performance comput-
ing…what can IBM’s Watson do for
our ocean economy? Challenges for
this activity will include how we
choose to engage with seemingly unre-
lated technical communities and how
those technologies are adapted to
meet marine needs.
In summary, we are on the edge of
an exciting development on ocean eco-
1
The Internet of Things, a phrase first coined
by a British visionary named Kevin Ashton in
1999, has many definitions, but a simple one,
derived from Techopedia (www.techopedia.
com) states that “The internet of things (IoT)
is a computing concept that describes the idea
of everyday physical objects being connected
to the internet and being able to identify
themselves to other devices.”

COMMENTARY
Blue Economy of India and Technology

Initiatives II
AUTHORS ABSTRACT
Malayath Aravindakshan Atmanand With land-based resources depleting fast, sustained harvesting of ocean
MTS Member, MTS India Section resources with an appropriate trade-off between economic growth, social needs,
Ramasamy Venkatesan and the health of the ocean environment is essential. India, with an over 7600-km-
MTS Member, MTS India Section long coastline, an exclusive economic zone of 2.3 million km2, and seeking extension
for additional 560 km, has initiated blue economic policies for leveraging the growth
Mallavarapu Venkata Ramanamurthy
of the national economy. The first part of the paper presented in the OCEANS
Gidugu Ananda Ramadass
’18 conference in Kobe discussed the technology initiatives to harness the vast living
Ramalingam Kirubagaran
and nonliving blue economic resources in India, including deep-ocean minerals,
Narayanaswamy Vedachalam hydrocarbons, renewable energy, ocean desalination, and bioprospecting. This paper
MTS Member, MTS India Section describes the activities carried out related to the activities undertaken by the National
National Institute of Ocean Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) in the areas of coastal protection, cyclone and
Technology, Ministry of Earth tsunami early warning systems, coral habitat observations, sustainable fishing, and
Sciences, Chennai, India numerical studies carried out to understand the influence of natural gas leaks on
deep-ocean ecology.
Introduction Keywords: coastal protection, early warning, coral, fishing, natural gas leaks
O ceans, with an estimated asset

value of US$24 trillion and an
annual value of goods and services of
late policies and strategies toward an
integrated approach (United Nations
deep-ocean mineral and hydrocarbon
exploitation, requires proper estimation
US$2.5 trillion covering fisheries, General Assembly, 2017; Life Below of the size of the opportunity, nature
transport, tourism, hydrocarbons, Water: Why It Matters, 2016). The of risks involved, identification of
minerals, renewable energy, and bio- aim is to leverage India’s blue economic sustainable ocean asset investment,
resources are a promising strategic potential to be on par with other major investment framework, and scaling
frontier for water security, food security, nations including the United States, up the capital investments of the blue
and economic growth. Subsequent to China, and the European Union, industries. India, with its geostrategic
the foundations of the 2012 Rio+20 whose blue economies are estimated status as a maritime nation with a
United Nations conference on sustain- to be about US$1.5 trillion, US$1 tril- long coast line, is a key member in
able development and the Goal 14 of lion, and US$0.5 trillion, respectively the IORA intergovernmental organi-
the Global Sustainable Development (FICCI Task Force, 2017). The pillars zation, comprising 21 member states
2030 announced in 2015 toward the essential for transforming the tradi- and nine dialogue nations aimed at
sustainable development of ocean tional “Ocean and Marine Economy” strengthening regional cooperation
resources, the Indian Ocean Rim Asso- to a “Blue” or “Sustainable” economy and sustainable development within
ciation (IORA) blue economy dialogue requires appropriate governance in sus- the Indian Ocean region. Discussions
was held in Goa during August of 2015. tained utilization of the ocean, coastal have been initiated with the IORA
The Goa declaration stressed the need and marine economies, vision, tech- states including Mauritius, Seychelles,
to identify the thrust areas of the blue nology, management, monitoring, Bangladesh, Thailand, and South
economy, which are to be placed on and time-bound regulatory reforms. Africa, which have already enacted
the national strategic focus. The Indian Hence, the fast emerging blue economy blue economy policies (IORA, 2015).
Government’s apex think tank, paradigm of India, which includes With blue economic activities
National Institution of Transforming fishing aquaculture, ocean renewable including extraction of nonliving
India, has started discussions to formu- energy, tourism, ocean commerce, and resources, harvest of living resources,

FIGURE 1 drifters, gliders, ship-borne observa-
tions such as expendable bathythermo-
Concept of the sustainable blue economy (Life Below Water: Why It Matters, 2016; FICCI Task
Force, 2017). graphs, expendable conductivity/
temperature/depth profiling system,
automatic weather stations, wave mea-
surements from ships, conductivity-
temperature-depth data, land-based
high-frequency radars, and coastal
tide gauges. In addition, the network
includes the National Institute of
Ocean Technology (NIOT)-operated
Research Moored Array for African-
ocean commerce, and tourism in the Observation System is configured Asian-Australian Monsoon Analysis
uptrend, these economic activities for real-time and delayed-mode coastal and Prediction mooring network and
should be in balance with the long- and offshore observations, facilitating the Ocean Moored Buoy Network
term capacity of ocean ecosystems data assimilation and real-time valida- for Northern Indian Ocean buoys net-
to remain resilient and healthy (Fig- tion of the operational nowcast/ works (Ravichandran, 2015). To date,
ure 1). Hence, marine ecosystem man- forecast of the ocean variables in and the moored data buoys are deployed in
agement with appropriate technologies around the Indian Seas. The network more than 650 locations (Figure 2)
are essential for monitoring ocean health, comprises offshore and coastal-located ranging from coastal waters to the
likely natural hazards to the coastline, moored surface buoys, acoustic Doppler deep ocean, spanning between 63°E
and threats to sensitive marine ecological current profile moorings, deep-ocean to 93°E and 6°N to 20°N for collecting
systems such as beaches, fish stocks, wave buoys, coastal wave rider buoys, meteorological, water surface, and sub-
coral reefs, and mangrove forests, which equatorial current meter moorings, surface parameters, as well as tsunami
are recognized as natural capital assets. and tsunami buoys for deep-sea water- water level data. The collected data
level measurements. Also part of the are transmitted to the NIOT Mission
network are Argo profiling floats, Control Center located at NIOT in
Ocean State Monitoring
Because of the unique geography, FIGURE 2
more than 95% of major global
Moored surface buoys deployed in Indian waters (Venkatesan et al., 2013).
tropical cyclones (TC)-based disasters
have taken place in South Asia, with
the frequency of intense cyclones on
the uptrend, due to climate change
(South Asian Disaster Knowledge
Network, 2009; Unnikrishnan et al.,
2011). The Indian maritime zone,
which is dominated by a range of
economic activities, has been peren-
nially plundered by the fury of TC.
Moreover, the tsunamigenic zones
in the Andaman-Sumatra trench (Bay
of Bengal) and the Makran coast
(Arabian Sea) pose an ever-present tsu-
nami threat to the long coastline. The
Indian Ocean observational network
established by the Ministry of Earth
Sciences under the Indian Ocean

FIGURE 3 Institute of Tropical Meteorology in
Pune and the National Center for
Strategic placement of the tsunami buoys.
Medium Range Weather Forecasting
in Noida augments India’s capability
to improve weather and climate fore-
casting services (Venkatesan, 2017).
Shore Line Protection

Healthy coastal ecosystems provid-
ing protection from natural hazards,
coastal erosion, and rising sea levels
in low-lying and exposed delta regions
are essential for interruption-free blue
Chennai and to the Indian Tsunami for the entire Indian Ocean region
economic activities. Coastal erosion
Early Warning Center (ITEWC) at (Srinivasa Kumar et al., 2016).
due to cyclone events and anthropo-
the Indian National Centre for Ocean During the past two decades, the
genic activities degrades the coastal
Information Services (INCOIS), Indian moored buoy networks, which
infrastructure and livelihoods, thus
Hyderabad (Venkatesan et al., 2013). were matured to Safety Integrity Level 4
affecting prime coastal land and tour-
The tsunami buoys are moored of on-demand safety reliability with
ism. Coastline-specific solutions
at strategic locations close to the appropriate healthiness monitoring
based on the sedimentation process
Andaman-Sumatra subduction fault interval, have detected more than
and littoral drift are undertaken in
in the Bay of Bengal and Makran 41 cyclones and 11 water-level change
various Indian ports by NIOT for
fault in the Arabian Sea (Figure 3). events associated with tsunami waves
effective erosion control. In Kadalur-
During a tsunami event, the sea level (Figure 4) (Venkatesan & Vedachalam,
Periyakuppam village near Chennai,
data inputs from tsunami buoys serve 2018). The data acquired during vari-
submerged shore parallel offshore
as critical input to the ITEWC prerun ous events served as important inputs
dikes of 200-m lengths made of
scenario database, which computes the to various agencies, including the Indi-
geosynthetic material filled with fine
tsunami travel times and wave run-up an Meteorological Department, and
sand are being installed over 1.2 km
wave heights, which are essential the scientific observations were used
in order to protect the beach from
for the timely generation and dissemi- for understanding Indian Ocean
severe erosion, which affected the
nation of tsunami advisories. The dynamics for improved modeling of
shoreline during the recent TC (Fig-
ITEWC has been serving as the pri- the evolution of seasonal monsoons
ure 5) (Kiran et al., 2015). The Indian
mary source of tsunami advisory for and cyclones. The supercomputer
India and as a tsunami service provider Pratyush established at the Indian
FIGURE 5
Dike laying off Kadalur Periyakuppam.
FIGURE 4
Water-level change during the 2015 tsunami event.

FIGURE 6 FIGURE 8
Beach formation near New Pier. Construction of the northern reef.
City is being undertaken with a pro-

shorelines that are sensitive to erosion in erosion shifting farther north. In posed hybrid solution (Figure 7)
are being monitored with measures order to identify a long-term solution, involving beach nourishment with
initiated in coordination with the a pilot beach nourishment project 0.45 million m 3 of sand and two
respective local state administration. supported by numerical studies was reefs. The solution, in addition to
The coastline of historical executed based on long-term shore- beach restoration, will help increase
Puducherry (formally Pondicherry) line changes using satellite data and the life of the nourished beach and
on the east coast of India suffered measurements taken during various minimize the effect of erosion on the
severe coastal erosion due to natural seasons. The efforts resulted in the for- northern side. The construction of the
causes and reorientation of the coast mation of a wide beach near New Pier northern reef is in progress (Figure 8),
as a result of port breakwaters. Various (Figure 6). and the construction of the southern
mitigation measures including the Based on these encouraging pilot reef is planned in the next phase
construction of sea walls and groynes nourishment results, restoration of (Prasad, 2017).
were not effective, and they resulted the lost beach all along Puducherry
FIGURE 7 Coral Reef Monitoring

Corals are diverse shallow marine
Proposed hybrid solution.
ecosystems that grow over geological
time scales. They play an important
role as a habitat for organisms in their
environs supporting a vast diversity of
animal and plant species. An increase
of even 1–2°C above the monthly
mean temperature could damage the
symbiosis between the coral and
zooxanthalle, leading to coral bleach-
ing. During the last few decades, due
to global warming, the genetic heritage
of coral ecosystems has been reported
to be at risk. Similar to the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminis-
tration reef watch program, based
on satellite data, INCOIS provides
information on the early signs of
increasing thermal intensity and
the spatial extent of coral bleaching
(INCOIS, 2017).
The corals of Andaman Island,
which has the richest coral diversity

FIGURE 9 revealed that most of the coral eco- other high-productivity nations. At the
systems are in the recovery stage same time, in order to avoid overex-
PROVe in South Andaman coral reef expedition.
resilient stage after major events such ploitation and to protect the ecosystem,
as the 2004 devastating tsunami and INCOIS provides reliable and timely
the bleaching events during 2005 and advisories on potential fish aggregation
2010. No bleaching signs were ob- zones for the socioeconomic benefit of
served as water temperatures were the fishing communities based on re-
within the temperature tolerance motely sensed satellite data. Advisories
limit of the coral reef regions in other are given to fishermen on a daily basis
tropical oceans (Ramesh et al., 2017). with specific references to more than
500 fish-landing centers along the
Indian coast (ESSO-INCOIS, 2017).
Marine Bioprospecting In order to boost the fish aggrega-
among all Indian reefs, were victims Effective marine bioprospecting is tion methods based on engineering
of thermal stress due to the elevated essential for pursuing human health, techniques, open-sea cages with moor-
temperatures that resulted in coral offering a sustainable supply of high- ing systems capable of withstanding
bleaching during 1998, 2002, 2005, quality food, and developing sustain- turbulent seas are developed and dem-
and 2010. Coral reef surveys were con- able sources of energy alternatives to onstrated by culturing commercially
ducted at the North Bay, Chidiyatapu, conventional hydrocarbons, new important marine finfishes in different
Jolly Buoy, Red Skin and Grub Islands industrial products, and processes Indian sea conditions. The cages are
of the south Andaman district using with low greenhouse gas emissions. made of high-density polyethylene
the NIOT-developed Polar/shallow At the same time, protection and man- with diameters larger than 9 m, and
remotely operated vehicle (PROVe) agement of the stressed marine envi- multipoint moorings were designed,
(Figure 9). ronment has to be addressed. During developed, deployed, and tested
PROVe, with the underwater 2016, the global retail value of certified by NIOT in the North Bay in the
navigational aids and high-definition seafood was about US$ 11.5 billion, Andaman Islands, Olaikuda in Tamil-
underwater cameras, was maneuvered and global wild catch and aquaculture nadu, and Kothachathram in Andhra
in the coral reef habitats. High- production was 163 MT, with China, Pradesh, representing fully protected,
resolution visuals of faunal assem- India, and Indonesia contributing semiprotected, and open-sea environ-
blages, underwater spatiotemporal 60%, 6%, and 6%, respectively. In ments, respectively (Figure 11). The
spectral irradiance characteristics, the Indian Ocean Region, wild catch cages have withstood even cyclonic
along with the surface radiance, water increased from 1 to 12 MT over the weather conditions (NIOT, 2017).
temperature, and salinity, were re- past six decades (Thompson et al., Using these cages, the culture of
corded (Figure 10). The observations 2017). In India, efforts are undertaken several marine finfishes, such as the
to bridge the widening gap between Asian seabass, cobia, pompano, milk-
FIGURE 10 the demand and supply of fish and to fish, parrot fish, and giant travelly,
View of resilient coral reef ecosystems increase the production on par with was demonstrated. The milkfish seeds
(Ramesh et al., 2017).
FIGURE 11
Open-sea cages in Andaman and Olaikuda.

(5–8 g) were successfully reared to 770 g FIGURE 12 expand. Hence, the bubble dissolution
within 260 days in the open-sea cages rate is determined by the depth of the
Architecture of the methane bubble dissolu-
at Okaikuda using a formulated diet. tion model. bubble release and the extent to which
A total of 3.5 tons of milkfish was har- the gas is transported upward. The
vested. The culture of the hatchery solubility of the methane gas in the
produced marine finfishes, pompano, water column is governed by the sea
and the fast growing cobia were also water temperature, the surrounding
successfully demonstrated with a total fluid flow field, and the trajectory
harvest of 3 tons in the sea cages at oscillations experienced by the bubble
Olaikuda. An average body weight of during the vertical ascent. Predicting
4 kg was achieved in 8 months in the dissolution pattern of methane
cobia from its initial stocking size of gas bubbles released in deep sea water
30 g with a growth performance of within the hydrate stability field is
16.5 g/day. In order to minimize the further challenged by the potential
huge investment for nursery rearing formation of the hydrate envelope,
in land-based larval rearing systems, a allowing methane to reach relatively
concept of nursery rearing of marine shallower depths. Precisely under-
finfish fingerlings in sea cages was standing and incorporating these
also demonstrated for the first time physical and chemical processes
using seabass seeds, sized from 6 to sustainability of biodiversity in the involving dynamically changing ambi-
24 g, within a period of 45 days, with deep-ocean environment. ent conditions into the bubble models
a survival rate of 90% (NIOT, 2017). As the methane bubbles rise are necessary to estimate hydrocarbon
through the water column, methane transport from the methane bubble
exchange occurs between the ascend- leaks into the ocean water column.
Hydrocarbon Leak Studies ing bubble and the ambient seawater, A methane gas dissolution model is
With increasing concerns about resulting in the dissolution of the developed (Figure 12) for assessing the
climate change, the increased exploita- methane. During the ascending pro- vertical dissolution profile of the meth-
tion of deep-ocean natural gas and cess, the bubble size reduces due to dis- ane gas as the bubble ascends through
interest in the exploitation of methane solution, but the reducing hydrostatic the water column. The simulation
gas from deep-ocean natural gas pressure on the bubble causes it to results represented (Figure 13) indicate
hydrate deposits are receiving signifi-
cant attention. Subsea methane gas FIGURE 13
releases can result during deep-ocean
Bubble dissolution model studies in the Krishna-Godavari basin.
well drilling operations, well head
completions, and also due to subsea
equipment failures during production
processes (Olsen & Skjetne, 2016).
Performing a quantitative assessment
of the dissolution pattern of methane
gas bubbles released into the deep-
ocean marine environment during a
potential leak is important in order to
understand the dissolution pattern of
the rising methane bubble from the
leak point, its contribution to atmo-
spheric greenhouse gas budgets, and
the effect of dissolving methane in
terms of the dissolved oxygen for the

that methane bubbles with a diameter References Prasad, S. 2017. NIOT begins beach resto-
of 10 mm can transport methane gas to ESSO-Indian National Centre for Ocean ration work. The Hindu, March 2017. Available
650 m from the seabed in the Krishna Information Services. 2017. Potential Fishing at: http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/
Godavari basin on the east coast of Zone (PFZ) Advisory, INCOIS, Hyderabad. puducherry/niot-begins-beach-restoration-
Available at: http://www.incois.gov.in/ work/article17403323.ece.
India, where increased commercial
MarineFisheries/PfzAdvisory accessed 15
exploitation is being planned. Results Ramesh, S., Ramadass, G.A., Prakash, V.D.,
September 2018.
also indicate that about 50% of the Sandhya, C.S., Ramesh, R., Sathianarayanan, D.,
molar mass of the released methane FICCI Task Force. 2017. Blue Economy & Vinithkumar, N.V. 2017. Application of
could get dissolved within 40 m of Vision 2025: Harnessing Business Potential indigenously developed remotely operated
the water column from the seafloor for India Inc and International Partners. vehicle for the study of driving parameters of
(Vedachalam et al., 2017). Available at: http://ficci.in/spdocument/ coral reef habitat of South Andaman Islands,
20896/Blue-Economy-Vision-2025.pdf India. Curr Sci. 113(12):2353-9. https://doi.org/
accessed 15 September 2018. 10.18520/cs/v113/i12/2353-2359.
Conclusion INCOIS. 2017. Coral Bleach Alert Sys- Ravichandran, M. 2015. Indian Ocean is
With the upcoming integrated ap- tem (Technical document, March 2017). no more under observed. Ocean Society of
proach, the blue economy is expected Hyderabad, India: Author. Available at India. 1(3):6-12.
to serve as a growth catalyst for a robust https://www.niot.res.in/venkat/publications/
South Asian Disaster Knowledge Network.
Indian economy envisioned to reach 2016/cyclone%20mts.pdf.
2009. Cylone. Available at: http://www.
US$10 billion by 2032. As discussed, Indian Ocean Rim Association. 2015. saarc-sadkn.org/cyclone.aspx (accessed 1/2/16).
with the exploitation of ocean re- Declaration of the Indian Ocean Rim Srinivasa Kumar, T., Venkatesan, R.,
sources on the uptrend, the technolo- Association on Enhancing Blue Econ- Vedachalam, N., Padmanabhan, S., & Sundar,
gies developed for coastal protection, omy Cooperation for Sustainable De- R. 2016. Assessment of the reliability of the
cyclone and tsunami early warning velopment in the Indian Ocean Region. Indian Tsunami Early Warning System. Mar
systems, coral habitat observations, Mauritius: Author. Available at: https:// Technol Soc J. 50(3):92-108. https://doi.org/
sustainable fishing, and numerical www.tralac.org/images/docs/8036/mauritius- 10.4031/MTSJ.50.3.12.
studies on the deep-ocean natural gas declaration-on-blue-economy-september-
2015.pdf. Thompson, C.C., Kruger, R.H., & Thompson,
well head leaks are all essential to the
F.L. 2017. Unlocking marine biotechnology
Indian economy, and it is critical to Kiran, A.S., Vijaya, R., & Sivakholundu, K.M. in the developing world. Trends Biotechnol.
keep these economic activities in 2015. Stability analysis and design of offshore 35(12):1119-21. https://doi.org/10.1016/
balance with the long-term capacity submerged breakwater constructed using sand j.tibtech.2017.08.005.
of ocean ecosystems in the Indian filled geo-synthetic tubes. ScienceDirect.
seas and oceans. 116:310-19. United Nations General Assembly. 2017.
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly:
Life Below Water: Why It Matters, Sustainable 71/312. Our ocean, our future: Call for
Acknowledgments Development Goals. 2016. Available at: action. Available at http://www.un.org/ga/
http://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/ search/view_doc.asp?symbol=A/RES/71/
The authors gratefully acknowl-
wp-content/uploads/2016/08/14_Why-it- 312&Lang=E accessed 15 September 2018.
edge the support extended by
Matters_Goal-14_Life-Below-Water_3p.pdf
the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Unnikrishnan, A.S., Kumar, R.M.R., &
accessed 15 September 2018.
Government of India, in funding Sindhu, B. 2011. Tropical cyclones in the Bay
this research. National Institute of Ocean Technology. of Bengal and extreme sea-level projections
2017. Open Sea Cage Culture, Marine Bio- along the east coast of India in a future climate
technology. Available at NIOT website: https:// scenario. Climate change; projections and
Corresponding Author: www.niot.res.in/index.php/node/index/177/ impact for India. Curr Sci. 101(3):327-31.
accessed 15 September 2018.
Narayanaswamy Vedachalam Vedachalam, N., Ramesh, S., Prasanth, P.U.,
National Institute of Ocean Olsen, J.E., & Skjetne, P. 2016. Current & Ramadass, G.A. 2017. Modeling of rising
Technology, Ministry of Earth understanding of subsea gas release: A review. methane bubbles during production leaks
Sciences, Chennai, India Can J Chem Eng. 94(2):209-19. https:// from the gas hydrate sites of India. Mar Geo-
Email: [email protected] doi.org/10.1002/cjce.22345. resour Geotech. Advance online publication.

https://doi.org/10.1080/1064119X.2017.
1405129.
Venkatesan, R. 2017. Real time data from

oceans: Two decades of successful journey.
Cutting Edge. 17(2):16-23.
Venkatesan, R., Arul Muthiah, M., Ramesh, K.,

Ramasundaram, S., Sundar, R., & Atmanand,
M.A. 2013. Satellite communication systems
for real time data transmission from ocean
observational platforms: Societal importance
and challenges. J Ocean Technol. 8(3):47-73.
Venkatesan, R., & Vedachalam, N. 2018.

Reliability metrics from two decades of Indian
Ocean moored buoy observation network.
Mar Technol Soc J. 52(3):71-90.

PAPER
New Dynamic Positioning Reference System

Concepts Enabled by Autonomy
AUTHOR ABSTRACT
Arne Rinnan A certain level of autonomy is already present in dynamic positioning (DP),
MTS Member, Marine Geodetic and DP requirements have been a driving force in the development of a diversity
Information Systems Committee of high-reliability reference systems. Today, there is a strong drive for autono-
Kongsberg Seatex AS, mous concepts and solutions in several market niches (e.g., short sea shipping
Trondheim, Norway and ocean-based aquaculture). At the same time, the market downturn in tradi-
tional oil and gas leads to a reduced implementation of new reference system
solutions. A development toward higher levels of autonomy in novel operations
Introduction drives the development from traditional reference systems toward solutions capa-
D ynamic positioning (DP) is an ble of proximity awareness and connectivity. The existing reference system tech-
automated system controlling the nologies comprise a good platform for this development, but new technology
heading and position of a vessel by elements like new sensor fusion concepts, machine learning, artificial intelligence,
using thrusters and propellers. Position and extended connectivity are evolving. The article presents ongoing developments
reference systems, wind sensors, motion within microwave, laser, Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), and inertial-
sensors, and gyrocompasses provide based reference systems and discusses likely future developments. Connectivity
input to DP to combine information will be a native feature of future reference systems and is also discussed. The article
about actual heading and position and is focusing on the drivers behind these developments and some of the related
the magnitude and direction of envi- challenges from a high-level perspective. Current development is running at a much
ronmental forces affecting the vessel’s higher pace than legislation and regulation can adapt. Some input to regulation
movements. DP uses a mathematical challenges and trade-offs are outlined.
model of the vessel and combines this Keywords: autonomy, dynamic positioning, sensors, sensor fusion, proximity
with sensor input to calculate the awareness
appropriate steering signals to individ-
ual thrusters. DP may keep the posi- but with a high level of autonomy, The most important technologies
tion relative to either a fixed position systems make decisions and carry out comprising enablers for autonomy
or a moving object like another ship. actions with the human in a monitor- are the following:
ing and supervisory role. ■ Sensors for measuring surround-
Autonomy involves a range of ings and conditions

Autonomy interested parties and elements includ- ■ Perception for analysis of signals and
Autonomy is about systems that ing the following: data generating proximity awareness
can operate independently with a vary- ■ Vessel ■ Communication for interaction
ing degree of human intervention. ■ Mission and meeting security challenges

There are many definitions of different ■ Developer ■ Cognition for planning, learning,
levels of autonomy, but it is important ■ Project manager and adaptation

to note that autonomy does not neces- ■ Commander ■ Localization and mapping relative
sarily mean unmanned. Autonomy is ■ Management to the operating environment

achieved by using technology elements ■ Society ■ Human-machine interaction for
like algorithms, software, hardware, Autonomy is, in other words, remote monitoring or control and
interaction with humans, and legisla- about a lot more than technology to keep humans in the loop
tion. With a low degree of autonomy, even if technology provides enablers The development within many of
humans manually control all actions, for autonomy. these technology areas is moving very

quickly due to strong technological before power is allocated to the thrusters. of radically new solutions, like, for ex-
advancements toward autonomy To avoid propagation of errors from ample, the Yara Birkeland zero-emission
within driverless cars. It is still impor- the reference systems to the power container feeder. Even if traditional
tant to be aware that autonomy in the allocation, it is usually required to use solutions exist for decades, it is foreseen
maritime domain in many aspects is at least three reference systems simulta- that solutions developed to reach the
different from road- and land-based neously, where at least two should be ambitions of these projects will flow
autonomy. The maritime domain based on different measurement prin- into traditional operations (Figure 2).
will benefit from the development of ciples according to class regulations.
driverless cars but will also require
unique and different solutions. Proximity Awareness
New Operational Traditional DP reference systems
Concepts usually provide position measurements
DP and Autonomy There are strong drivers for moving relative to earth-centered or relative
DP already includes a set of auton- transport from roads to sea and strong coordinates in X, Y, or Z or as range/
omous functions that have been ambitions to develop more cost-effective bearing measurements. The traditional
around since the 1960s. Under nor- solutions for maritime operations. To reference systems have limited capa-
mal conditions, the DP operator can reach these ambitions and be able to bilities of handling noncooperative
leave the maneuvering of the ship to develop new solutions, the cost levels targets. Even if some capability of
computers and machinery in most situ- need to be reduced. Combining strong lever arm compensation is provided,
ations but has the opportunity to inter- drivers and development of enabling they have limited capacity of repre-
vene when the technology reaches its technology, several new operational senting the positions of the entire
limits. In such situations, it can be concepts are pointing to a future hull for collision avoidance or optimal
questioned if the operator also meets where even more activity will take maneuvering.
his or her limitations and the value of place at sea or on the oceans. A few Vessels with a higher level of
such human intervention may be ques- domains driving new operational con- autonomy require features exceeding
tionable (Figure 1). cepts are the following: those provided by current reference
DP uses input from several sensors ■ Offshore wind park operations systems, to provide significantly better
and reference systems to replace and ■ Exposed aquaculture proximity awareness compared to what
improve the senses of the operator. ■ Coastal transportation is available today. DP will need to
DP uses sensor fusion to obtain a pic- These domains represent first- relate to activities going on the vicin-
ture of what is going on and the kinds mover opportunities that can poten- ity of the vessel to be able to maneu-
of forces that are affecting the vessel tially lead to full-scale developments ver efficiently.
FIGURE 1
Maneuvering by using DP. FIGURE 2
Yara Birkeland—zero-emission container feeder.

There is a massive development between sea-going vessels and land- maritime operations with night vision
within the automotive industry toward based infrastructure. capabilities. LIDARs are essential in
driverless cars, and it is expected that autonomous cars, but the range and
new solutions can be transferred from Technology Developments visibility requirements are much stric-
automotive into other domains. It is ter in maritime environments.
both inspiring and interesting to look
Within DP The deployment of new navi-
at sensors and sensor integration in a Reference Systems gation satellites in the four global
modern car in order to get an impression DP reference systems based on constellations—GPS (United States),
of the functionality that is used. At the microwave signals, usually in the 5- Galileo (Europe), Glonass (Russia),
same time, it is important to be aware of or 10-GHz bands, are well known. and Beidou (China)—has been increas-
the differences between the automotive Modern, solid-state technology makes ing over the last few years. Today, there
domain and the maritime domain. it possible to improve the performance is a total number of about 100 such
There are some important differ- of such systems to avoid moving parts satellites in orbit.
ences between a modern car and a vessel and increase the resolution and accu- The use of inertial solutions is
operating in a maritime environment: racy of current solutions. increasing and also the development
■ The size and variation in size of
Phased array antennas and power- of new solutions, which provide
vehicles—it is questionable if it ful signal processing are important north-seeking capabilities and inertial
will be possible to equip a ship features of this technology. Systems navigation performance. There is a
with the same density of sensors can consist of active nodes for extended trend toward integration between
per meter as in a modern car. range and accuracy or the combina- GNSS and inertial solutions to reduce
■ The environment—weather condi-
tion of active and passive nodes or the need for costly differential solu-
tions are expected to be worse in even provide radar-type images for tions even in some DP operations.
a maritime environment than on proximity awareness as well as detec- Solutions for real-time transfer of atti-
roads. tion and identification of noncooper- tude data between vessels are emerging,
■ The inertias involved in a maritime
ative objects. for example, relative heave compensa-
operation limit the maneuverability There are new ongoing develop- tion between vessels (Figure 3).
of the vessels. ments of lasers operating in the infra-
■ At sea, it is usually not possible to
red band (one 550-nm wavelength),
pull over and stop if something making it possible to provide long- Fusion and Beyond
goes wrong. range LIght Detection And Ranging As mentioned earlier, sensor fusion
The list is not complete but points (LIDAR) functionality required in has been used in DP for decades.
at some major differences between FIGURE 3
road and maritime applications.
Maritime connectivity—essential in autonomous operations.
These are influencing technology
requirements and solutions that make
it difficult to directly transfer solutions
from one application to another.
Solutions for higher levels of auton-
omy also require connectivity to be ad-
dressed in a more comprehensive way.
Sensors and systems need better inter-
action onboard, but digital commu-
nication channels also need to be
available for ad hoc connection between
vessels involved in the same operations
or operating in the vicinity of each
other. It is also necessary to reconsider
traditional solutions for connectivity

Fusionof different reference system and sensor fusion do not necessarily valuable tool in this work. A digital
technologies such as GNSS and iner- require more processing capacity of twin of a new concept can potentially
tial measurements is also well known. the centralized computer system but be developed much faster than the
Autonomy requires fusion to take might be solved directly in the sensor physical construction of a new vessel.
place at a completely new scale com- network.
pared to traditional DP and DP refer- Sensor fusion at a level required by
ence systems in order to achieve true autonomy also requires a comprehen- Conclusion
proximity awareness. Data-driven sive platform for massive processing The development toward a higher
methods like machine learning are and rapid deployment of new algo- level of autonomy in maritime opera-
already used in the development of rithms and solutions. A typical platform tions and the development of new
driverless cars, and these technologies task is to provide a consistent platform operational concepts are potentially a
are available for maritime applications. for cybersecurity as connectivity increases game changer for DP operations.
Data-driven methods are well known and the opportunity for manual inter- Technology and solutions are expected
in science, but using large amounts vention is reduced. Advanced analytics to flow from the new concepts into
of data and powerful processing of of huge amounts of data also require more traditional applications. New
these data give new opportunities access to the combined processing concepts are drivers, and technology
to traditional maritime operations. power of large processing and storage seems to be an enabler.
Machine learning techniques can be plants to, for example, train machine Sensing, connectivity, and com-
used to recognize, identify, classify, learning algorithms. puting are core elements in this devel-
comprehend, learn, predict, decide, opment, and the features provided by
and act in an autonomous operation. new solutions can increase efficiency,
One large concern related to Regulation and reduce costs, and increase safety. This
machine learning is the black box Legislation Challenges development will eventually feed back
problem. It is hard to really know The challenges to regulations and into the development of even better
what is going on in a machine learn- legislation are huge because of the and more versatile sensors.
ing process. It is also hard to know if rapid technology development and The opportunities in data-driven
the data set used to train the machine the development of completely new, methods such as machine learning
learning algorithm is representative full-scale concepts. Regulations and will enable new levels of sensor fusion,
and faultless. These challenges need legislation are not expected to drive but it is important to address the
to be addressed, especially in safety the development, but it is important pitfalls of these technologies, especial-
critical applications and by regulations to change the pace of the regulatory ly in safety critical operations.
and legislation. Machine learning is and legislation work. The rapid development of new
usually associated with artificial intel- Even if technology is changing concepts and technology comprises
ligence. It is worth noting that artificial rapidly, the fundamental trade-offs substantial challenges to regulations
intelligence, like human intelligence, between different performance param- and legislation, but technology also
can fail. eters still apply. These trade-offs cannot offers tools that should be considered
Another development enabled by necessarily be derived from existing in these processes.
Moore’s law (the exponential growth applications and operations into new,
of number of transistors per square autonomous applications. It is neces-
millimeters of silicon) is the possibility sary to carefully analyze the basic, Author:
to solve computer-intensive tasks closer operational requirements and derive Arne Rinnan
to the data source or the sensors, a new set of operation-specific require- Kongsberg Seatex AS
which is known as edge computing. ments. It is also necessary to collect Pirsenteret, N-7462,
It is even possible to use the increas- data at an early stage in the develop- Trondheim, Norway
ing processing power of the sensor, or ment cycle to be able to verify new Email: [email protected]
networks of sensors, to make compu- solutions and approaches.
tations usually belonging to central- The development of digital models
ized computers. Machine learning of vessels and simulations can be a

PAPER
Cybersecurity: A Deep Dive Into the Abyss

AUTHOR ABSTRACT
Paul Mario Koola Cyberspace reaches all corners of human access and includes cyber-physical
MTS Member, Maritime Cybersecurity systems such as power grids, communication networks, industrial plants, trans-
and Infrastructure Committee portation networks, ports and shipping, and a myriad of networked home appli-
Professor of Practice, Ocean Engineering, ances through the Internet of Things. One goal of this article is to engage and
Texas A&M University inform personnel in the maritime domain to help secure cyberspace from adver-
saries. Another goal is to provide an introductory systems view to help manage
cyberspace security. We show that cyberspace is a reflection of human networks
Introduction and share the advantages and flaws inherent in these human networks. Trust in
T o understand the complexity and

issues associated with cybersecurity,
one must be knowledgeable about
this network is the missing link that prevents us from securing this network. Al-
though this viewpoint is not an exact model, we believe it helps simplify the com-
plexity of cyberspace and the wide variety of attacks that are possible. These goals
the evolution and growth of cyber-
help the average person see the big picture, and the entire system can become
space. Cyberspace reaches all corners
more robust by allowing everyone to participate intelligently in this endeavor. This
of human access, and for this article,
article explains in a more simplistic but useful manner the domain of cyberspace,
it groups all interconnected devices
enabling better security of the ecosystem.
into one large virtual space (Figure 1).
Keywords: cybersecurity, maritime, systems, networks, trust
Cyberspace encompasses cyber-physical
systems such as power grids, commu-
nication networks, industrial plants, Internet. Cyberspace is in its next nook and corner. Acoustic communi-
transportation networks, ports and growth cycle with the evolution of cation with underwater robots will
shipping, and a myriad of networked the IoT and high-speed wireless further expand the electromagnetic
home appliances through the Internet connectivity. Although cyberspace medium to the acoustic medium and
of Things (IoT). One goal of this ar- originally consisted of computer net- thereby extend our network reach.
ticle is to engage and inform the aver- works enabled with electromagnetic This complex adaptive system has life-
age user in the maritime domain to communications, IoT has enhanced like behaviors due to dynamic manip-
help secure cyberspace. Maritime this network with sensors and actua- ulation of the nodes of this network by
shipping moves 90–94% of world tors capable of continuously monitor- us humans. Cyberspace is mostly un-
trade (Walsh, 2015). Cyberspace in ing and manipulating the environment regulated and uncontrolled. We need
the maritime domain encompasses we live in, transforming it into an eco- to ensure that this system will not trig-
ports and harbors, shipping, offshore system that has a life of its own. Given ger unwanted consequences for the
facilities, and autonomous ships and the pervasiveness of smartphones and planet we live in, in this Anthropocene
the satellites that keep these systems other voice-activated gadgets inte- Age. We need to study this system more
connected to the deepest depths of grated into this cyber network, the in depth, across all interconnected do-
the ocean where autonomous under- DNA of this network has human mains. The second goal of this article is
water vehicles navigate. behavior in-built into it. Currently, to understand the fundamental sys-
Cyberspace is a complex, adaptive, we are in the era of man-machine tems that manage the security of cyber-
networked system created by humans symbiosis. Our societal push toward space and each person’s role within
to enable information exchange across autonomous vehicles and the resulting these systems.
space and time. It consists of com- expansion into the oceans is accelerat- To understand this human-
putational nodes and communica- ing the rate at which the entire globe engineered cyberspace a little better,
tion lines connecting these nodes. will become instrumented, automated, we might want to step back and
Internode communication has grown and interconnected, giving us a first look at the evolution of communica-
explosively since the birth of the look at real-time vision into every tion and computational brainpower

FIGURE 1 dant nodes and high bandwidth com-
munications. Redundancy is an
Cyber network—A deep dive.
essential criterion for robustness of
the system as a whole. The human
species is dominant not because each
node consisting of us mortal humans
lives forever but because we reproduce
new nodes that are more knowledge-
able and powerful. These human net-
works or civilizations grow more
potent as a holistic system until cata-
strophic conditions bring about the
fall of civilizations. Cyberspace has
pushed the limits of these human net-
works using communication channels
that now span the globe and into
space using the interplanetary Inter-
net ( Jackson, 2005). We need to en-
sure that these interconnected cyber
networks that we have engineered
survive the test of time.
As these cyberspace networks grow
in size and power, trust between
nodes has become an issue. When
we operated in small networks such
as tribes, the chief knew and trusted
in the human species. Humans com- accelerated brain development for all human nodes, and nodes that
municating using auditory, visual, complex language and abstract were not reliable were eliminated.
and tactile stimuli evolved to optimize thought processes. The removal of some nodes main-
language, the cognitive ability to learn The two key points to note are the tained the integrity of the tribes. As
and use complex communication. increase in communication complex- tribes became societies and the net-
This advancement supported the ability and computational power of the work grew, new structures had to be
ity to form a theory of other minds brain. This first human communica- put in place like formal laws and
and shared intentionality (Tomasello, tion network has served our species courts to eliminate adverse behavior
1996; Hauser et al., 2002). Our brain well. We have evolved from tribes to control chaos and maintain the sta-
volume expanded during this period into societies and have dominated bility of the system. When people
of language perfection. Our human the planet. Individually we are not networks expanded to computer net-
brain’s metabolic requirements peak the strongest or largest species, but works with humans controlling these
in childhood when it uses glucose at as a collective whole, we have taken nodes, we did not create a decent en-
a rate equivalent to 66% of the over this planet. Social insects like ough system to deal with trust at the
body’s resting metabolism and 43% ants, though they collaborate well, nodes. The Internet communication
of the body’s daily energy require- do not have the computational protocol was designed to propagate
ment (Kuzawa et al., 2014). This power at the node as we do. The information from node to node irre-
brain growth further enhanced lan- combination of powerful computa- spective of the damage to the other
guage development. The transition tional nodes with high bandwidth nodes in the network. As long as
from a nomadic hunter-gatherer civi- communication is a dominant para- there is one path open between the
lization to an agricultural civilization digm. Cyberspace is a reflection of two communicating nodes, the mes-
where collective security was ensured this network with powerful redun- sage will be passed, though there is

no guarantee on the time it would duce a holistic system. Sometimes network effects modeled at the global
take. Then communication was as- things go wrong, and some nodes or system level and the impact of virus
sumed to be between trusted parties, organs will degrade or fail. As long propagation are studied based on
and hence, security was not a design as the organ failure does not propa- three states, Susceptible, Infected,
intent. Cybersecurity issues we see gate to other organs and we can replace or Resistant, referred to as an SIR
today are due to the lack of trust that failing organ or if the organ has model for epidemics (Stonedahl &
between nodes. Metaphorically, the built-in redundancy, the system sur- Wilensky, 2008). Figure 2 shows a
three-legged stool is weak on the third vives. Spread of a disease like cancer system-level simulation model of
and critical leg of trust. The other two across the network is dangerous when virus propagation. These high-level
legs, node intelligence and high band- nearby organs collapse due to infection simulation models can span across
width communication links, are not propagation and the system does not domains from disease propagation to
sufficient to maintain and manage a survive. We hope the entire cyberspace computer virus spread and help us
stable and healthy cyberspace. In will not collapse even though, inevita- understand and operate these systems
short, as the network expands in size, bly, a small percentage of the nodes better.
trust in the system is essential for will be compromised at any given Knowledge replication across do-
proper operation. Given this frame- time. mains and the power of abstraction
work, we will explore how best we A different but less critical analo- is what differentiates our intelligence
can manage the current situation. gous model is the spread of disease from other species. Although these
like flu across the human population higher-level systems tools help us un-
as studied in epidemiology. Vaccina- derstand emergent properties of cy-
Complex Adaptive Systems tion as a mechanism to prevent the berspace, we must dig deeper into
Cyberspace is a complex adaptive spread of the disease-causing bacteria the subsystems to help protect the cy-
system, which has interactions linking or virus (Honner, 2018) has an ana- berspace we have engineered. The
individually based microprocesses at log on a computer network similar subsystem behaviors at the nodes
the nodes to macrosocial outcomes to an antivirus software deployed on when aggregated produce the emer-
at the network level. In such a system, the network’s node machines. These gent properties at the systems level.
even a perfect understanding of the
individual parts does not automati- FIGURE 2
cally convey an ideal knowledge of Virus on a network (Stonedahl & Wilensky, 2008).
the system’s combined total behavior
(Miller & Page, 2007). These net-
works have self-organization capabili-
ties and self-similarities like fractals.
Flaws at the local nodes can replicate
and produce emergent behavior at the
global level. These facts will help us
engineer the system better, both at
the micro and macro levels. To help
us understand these systems, we shall
discuss common systems that might
give us a frame of reference to fathom
the complexity of cyberspace.
First, let us look at external factors
threatening complex adaptive systems
and see how we can learn and adapt
from them. The human body is a
complex network of organs all func-
tioning and working together to pro-

It is hence useful to understand the node. The sensors and actuators flaws. We have to manage security
subsystem nodes in more detail. need not be at every node but could flaws for this explosion of capability.
be distributed across the network
and made accessible to a variety of
Nodes in the Network nodes using smart transducer stan- Network Communications
Just as every node on the human dards like IEEE 1451.X. (Song & Just as the nervous system in our
network is an intelligent human, we Lee, 2008). body connects our brain to the vari-
can model every generic cyberspace The nodes that are connected by ous senses, we need channels of
node as an intelligent computation communication pipes can be sending, communication wired or wireless
and control device with sensors and receiving, or both. Usually a sensor to connect the different nodes in
actuators. The human brain is the node will be sending out signals, but cyberspace. Human senses commu-
computational mechanism, our five with modern smart transducers, a nicate with nerves wired through our
senses—sight, touch, hearing, taste, sensor can receive input request and body to the skin for touch and tongue
and smell—are the sensors, and our change the data characteristics it for taste and wirelessly through
limbs are the actuators. The IoT sends out based on these input re- acoustic speech for hearing, electro-
node in cyberspace is a close replica, quests. Similarly, an actuator node magnetic visible spectrum for sight,
analogous to the human node on will respond to control stimuli, but and chemical scent through the nose
the human network. Not all nodes new smart transducers can have for smell.
on the cyberspace network need to built-in memory and computation Electronic communication started
have all the capabilities of sensing, actu- on board that enables the device to with the telegraph, a digital system
ating, or even computation. In cyber- behave in intelligent ways based on used to transmit dots and dashes,
space, computation at the nodes uses predetermined policy and prescribed which maps to the text in the language.
sensor feedback to control actuators logic. These policies can also be chan- Then came the telephone, which uses
and is analogous to the human body ged in real time remotely based on acoustic voice converted to analog
where the brain uses the senses net- data and artificial intelligence (AI) electrical signal riding on a carrier
worked together to control our limbs. algorithms. This dynamic feature wave through wires. Later came the
In this article, we will abstract every exposes the system to the possibility wireless radio transmission through
node to have computation and control of hackers making these policy changes electromagnetic waves. We now have
capabilities if so desired. either manually or using AI software, information transfer wired through
Given this abstraction, we can fur- hence the possibility of newer attack cable and fiber and wireless through
ther reduce the subsystem node to a vectors on these devices. multiple standards such as WiFi, Blue-
stack of components layered one on Depending on the functionality, tooth, and cellular such as 5G.
top of another. To keep matters sim- these nodes are sometimes classified Drums used in tribes and horns
ple and for this article, our computa- as clients or servers. A node that pro- on ships are also a way of communi-
tional and control node will consist of duces information is a server, and one cation. In marine networks, under-
high-level components where we can that consumes information is a client. water acoustic communications are
study security in more depth. This In bidirectional networks, both nodes also used in addition to the conven-
computational and control node com- could act as clients and servers. In a tional electrical communication tech-
prises the hardware, operating system telephone or video call with multiple nologies. The key takeaways in
(OS), and application software sitting parties connected, all nodes act as communications are that there are
on top of the OS. We can add sensors client and server. A GPS satellite for different physical channels wired or
and actuators as additional compo- consumer applications is a server, wireless and communication transfer
nents to the computational and con- whereas the GPS device is a client. signals electric, electromagnetic, or
trol stack if so desired without loss A GPS satellite can be degraded for acoustic. Touch and smell are also
of generality. The sensors measure defense applications, and it then acts possible. Various combinations of
the environment, and the actuators as a client receiving inputs. In general, physical channel and communication
react to the environment based on as the node is more capable and more signals are possible such as electric
the computation and control at the complex, there is potential for more through metal, electromagnetic

through the fiber, acoustic through air ■ The virus is an executable type of given other additional conditions.
or water, and electromagnetic through malware that self-replicates by in- One can also study if the node is resis-
space, to cite a few. All these commu- fecting original code by injecting tant to attack given its current set of
nication technologies can be inter- code fragments. defense postures. A partial list of the
cepted and tampered. Hence, these ■ Spyware is a piece of software that taxonomy of cyber attacks is shown
channels are injection points that covertly collects, tracks, or steals in Table 1 (Simmons et al., 2014).
could reduce trust in the system. user’s sensitive data by installing New attacks will continue to grow and
Network channels could be en- itself on to a machine. new defense mechanisms will have to
crypted, thereby providing confidential- ■ Trojan hides in a legitimate probe engineered as part of a never-ending
ity of message passing. Encryption could gram and steals sensitive informa- game.
also be used to ensure the authenticity tion by misleading a user to give If we look at the targets, we see the
and integrity of the source of the mes- it privileged access. breakdown of the stack we listed ear-
sage. Finally, availability of the message ■ Rootkit gains access to machine lier. Local machine refers to hardware,
has to be guaranteed by preventing OS, conceals itself or other mal- OS Kernel, the OS, and users and
adversaries from choking the commu- ware, and is capable of executing application associated with the appli-
nication channels using denial of service files and also making changes to cation software. Also, we have the
attacks. These three, confidentiality of the system. network connecting these nodes
information, the integrity of informa- ■ Ransomware encrypts a user’s data where information could be manipu-
tion, and availability of information, on their machine and will unen- lated or even pried upon as discussed
are in network parlance called the crypt their data only if the user in the network communication sec-
CIA triad and are used as a framework pays a ransom. If not, the data tion above.
to ensure secure communications. will be deleted or released online. These targets are identified by spe-
A recent development in informa- ■ Worms can replicate and automat- cific flaws inherent in the system as
tion transfer using quantum communi- ically spread to other machines. seen in the attack vectors column in
cation, which has the desirable property Although this list is not complete Table 1. Kernel flaws are issues related
of protecting information channels and will keep growing and evolving, to OS design. Design flaws can be at
against eavesdropping using quantum the signature of these malware types the hardware, OS, or application soft-
cryptography, might come to our res- should give the user a quick sum- ware level. As can be seen, design flaws
cue in securing information transfer mary of the primary chosen means could already encompass OS flaws.
during transmission. These technolo- of attack and propagation behaviors. There could be OS flaws not related
gies will alleviate some of the problems Figure 3 shows the most costly mal- to design but manufacture. It is this
of trust, which we discussed as the miss- ware outbreaks of all time (Martindale, overlap and lack of rigid boundaries
ing leg of our three-legged stool. 2018). in specifying classes of flaws that
Now that we have a base under- make dealing with cybersecurity very
standing of the nodes in the network Attack Vectors complicated.
and the communication channels con- The critical parameters for disease Buffer overflows are memory leak-
necting them and understand that lack or fault propagation in the networked age that happens when memory
of trust in this system is the reason for system as a whole depend on these bounds are not checked before writ-
cyber attacks, we can study how to de- three factors: Susceptible, Infected, or ing into memory. We will revisit
fend against some of these attacks. Resistant (SIR) (Stonedahl & Wilensky, this later in the security section. A
2008). Given our goal of studying cy- buffer overflow can be prevented at
bersecurity, we can use this SIR model the hardware level, OS level, or even
and the taxonomy of cyber attacks to application software level. Incorrect
Defending Against understand the effect of these attack permissions are what allow someone
Cyber Attacks vectors better. One way to think about without authorization to access data
Malware Types this is to study the attack vectors and that can be used to manipulate the
Some of the well-known malware then decide if it is capable of infecting system. Accessing restricted data hap-
and their signature are listed below: a node or if the node is susceptible pens by using flaws at the application

FIGURE 3
The most costly malware outbreaks of all time (Martindale, 2018).
software level to gain permission at the user into giving out passwords, flavor of the diversity of attack possi-
the OS level. thereby allowing the perpetrator to bilities. As we keep breaking down
Social engineering is the result of act as a different user with a different these attack vectors, we see more and
having humans interact with them- set of permissions. more hybrid attacks happening across
selves and the nodes of the network. These are some possible attack vec- the hardware-software network stack.
A common theme here is to trick tors. The intent is to give the reader a The more complex the attack, the
TABLE 1
Taxonomy of cyber attacks (Simmons et al., 2014).
Attack Vectors Operational Impact Defense Informational Impact Target

• Kernel flaws • Compromise • Mitigation • Distort • OS Kernel
• Design flaws ○ Root ○ Remove • Disrupt • Network
• Buffer overflows ○ User ○ Whitelisting • Destruct • Local m/c
• Incorrect permission ○ Web • Remediation • Disclose • User
• Social engineering • Malware installed ○ Patch • Discover • Application
○ Virus ○ Correct code
○ Spyware
○ Trojan
○ Worm
• Denial of service
○ Host
○ Network
○ Distributed

more difficult it is to defend against it. ware and prevent them from taking best way to stop this is signal acqui-
We can understand this better by over our systems. We described sim- sition detected by external means.
looking at the operational impact of ple attack vectors and strategies Another alternative is to physically
these attacks. above. Strategies that are more com- shut off the image feed to the camera
The first strategy to carry out plex are discussed below. lens or disconnect the microphone.
high-impact damage to the system is
to compromise the system compo- Higher-Order and Side Implications
nents such as root (OS), user, or Channel Attacks Currently, this is a cat-and-mouse
web application. Compromising the There are categories of attack vec- game between the malicious actors
root gives control over the machine. tors not listed in Table 1. The first and the cyber defenders—those who
Compromising the user account one is higher-order attacks. It is easier try and protect our cyberinfrastruc-
gains access to most devices the user to explain a higher-order attack using ture for the benefit of society. Most
account has access to. Compromising an example. Assuming that system nodes in cyberspace are human con-
a web application provides access to penetration is not caught immedi- trolled, and hence, cyberspace behav-
most users associated with that appli- ately, the adversary decides not to ior is a reflection of the human
cation. This first step looks like a re- damage computer systems but alter behavior as seen in society. Given
cruiting stage gaining control over processes that could then lead to cat- this fact, bad actors will always exist.
multiple users and machines. Once astrophic failure. As an example, let us The goal should be to accept this fact
compromised, all assets under mali- assume that a malicious actor can and reduce the damage that can be
cious control are then infected with change the algorithm that stacks con- produced by these bad actors. To
malware. tainers on a ship. Can the malicious come out winning in this never-ending
These rogue programs sitting on actor then stack the shipping con- game, we should educate the masses to
assets under the adversary’s control tainers using the modified algorithm help make cyberspace more resilient.
can then be used to produce a denial such that the vessel becomes top Good secure cyberspace design by
of service attack on either the host or heavy and collapse under the moder- itself might not be sufficient.
the network. When done in synchro- ately severe weather? This kind of What is scary is that cyberspace is
nization, simultaneous attacks can higher-order attack is more difficult so vital to society and its functioning
cause distributed denial of service, to detect. If we were to track patterns that nation-states have used it as a
and a significant portion of cyber- of container stacking, then such an platform in modern-day cyber war-
space can be made nonfunctional, anomaly can be caught similar to fare. This cyber warfare behavior
cr eating m assive consequences credit card fraud detection. Thinking puts enormous funding and resources
depending on the target. A cyber- through these tactics is not the nor- into malicious behavior, and new, un-
physical system attack such as on mal first line of defense mechanism, imaginable attack vectors are surfac-
the electric grid or water supply will but we need to look out for such ing. One of the issues with these
wreak havoc on society when taken patterns as attacks are getting more newly developed cyber weapons is
down. sophisticated. that, unlike physical weapons that
Ordinarily, remedial measures are Side channel attacks use acoustic take considerable resources to dupli-
implemented after the attack is visibly or electromagnetic signals leakages to cate like an aircraft carrier or a fighter
discovered and the crime has done give away the secret key during jet, cyber weapon code once exposed
detectable damage. So how do we encryption. Imagine listening in to can be replicated for minimal cost,
recover or better prevent these attacks? keyboard typing to gain access to leaving it in the hands of other mali-
Recovery procedures involve detect- passwords. These are more difficult cious users that can cause more down-
ing and cleaning infected files from to protect against, as there are no stream havoc. Some of these malicious
all components of the system. A pro- traces recorded. The adversary can actors would produce destruction
active measure is to use software that use the microphone or webcam of without financial return. Society needs
can identify and clear instances of the user’s machine without their to curtail this adverse behavior. We
these rogue programs. One strategy knowledge, and it is challenging to should manage this behavior wisely if
is to look for signatures of past mal- protect against such an attack. The we need to survive as a species. The

Anthropocene Age might result in our however, they can help security re- the job is done to specification. If
extinction and maybe all species. One searchers find and close security we were asked to prove if someone
of the ways society deals with this is by vulnerabilities. could take control of an ocean-going
laws and policies. The pace of new ■ Hacktivists are those who want to vessel, we could demonstrate that by
cyber-attack strategies is evolving so undermine our reputation or de- someone authorized to do so and ver-
fast that laws and policies are lagging stabilize our operations. Vandalism ify that we are satisfied with the re-
behind. The speed of evolution is is their preferred means of attack. sult. However, if we reframed this
true of AI-directed technologies in ■ Nation state-sponsored attackers goal to prove that, an unauthorized
general, and hence, the ethics of such are after information for the long person could never take control of
warfare has to be intelligently studied haul. They are well funded, use the vessel; this then is a negative
due to the potential disruption to civil- sophisticated techniques, and are goal. The burden of proof that an un-
ian life. in general difficult to identify authorized person can never control
until a catastrophe happens. Their the vessel as the number of possibili-
attacks are referred to as advanced ties increases gets more difficult. Here
Threat Actors persistent threats. are some options, though not exhaus-
Although it is impossible to cate- ■ Insider threats are well-meaning tive. The unauthorized person can
gorize threat actors completely, it is people in the organization led as- board the vessel with assistance from
helpful to know some popularly clas- tray, or they could be intentionally another vessel or a helicopter. Assum-
sified groups based on intent. As malicious due to some grudge. ing they had the power to force their
mentioned, because attacks are part ■ Internal user error is caused by reg- way through to the engine room and
of social behavior, this categorization ular employees making mistakes provided they know how to control
helps us plan for defense mechanisms with configuration privileges they the engine, it is a feasible possibility,
appropriate to each. should not have. These errors however small the probability. Pirates
■ Cybercriminals are those whose have been known to bring down regularly board ships. If the vessel
primary motivation is money, so critical resources such as firewalls, controls are connected through cyber-
they will attack if they can profit. routers, and servers, causing wide- space and if the external adversary
These criminals are also known spread or departmental company knows how to take control remotely,
as black hat hackers, who will ille- outages. this method of taking control is an-
gally exploit vulnerabilities and tell other possibility. If an adversary can
others how to do so. Hacker is spoof the GPS, they can let the autho-
someone with a deeper under- rized person on the vessel steer the
standing of computer systems, and Principles to vessel where the adversary likes it to
a cracker better denotes a malicious Secure Cyberspace go even without controlling the vessel
actor. Given the scenarios described themselves. A scary thought but
■ White hat hacker will exploit vul- above, we may want to reevaluate seis already a possibility (Humphreys,
nerabilities only with permission curity. We know we will never have 2013; NewScientist, 2017). Every
and not divulge its existence until the complete set of all possible attack possibility for taking control of the
flaws are fixed. vectors as new flaws are being contin- vessel must be proven not to be
■ Gray hat hackers are looking to uously discovered. Our strategy should feasible, an impossible task. How
profit from finding and exposing be to find the cause of these flaws and do we prove currently unknown pos-
flaws and exploits in network sys- minimize these. sibilities? That is why security, a neg-
tems and devices. They might vio- Why is security so hard? It is be- ative goal, is hard to prove. We sure
late laws or ethical standards but cause security is a negative goal can make it more difficult for those
do not have the malicious intent (MIT xPro Cyber, 2008). boarding the vessel using guards or
of black hats. A bit of explanation might help other means, but we can never guar-
■ Script kiddies are usually amateur understand this better. A positive antee that it would never be possible.
criminals who are driven by the goal is where we can verify the satis- Guards can maybe prevent unautho-
desire for notoriety. Sometimes, factory completion of the goal once rized people from accessing the

engine room if they board the ship. ponents. Prevention makes it more tagged with metadata. This additional
However, in the GPS scenario, there difficult for the attacker to penetrate information provides a mechanism at
is no boarding or taking control in the system. If we are in a forest with the appropriate level to manage who
the conventional sense, so the guards a hungry lion, we do not have to out- gets to use the data. The policy can
are useless in those scenarios. Hence, run the lion, only outrun our accom- then systematically enforce properties
assuming something is never possible panying colleague. Although this is a associated with that data type. If every
would be foolish, similar to the un- horrible thought, this is a smart secu- access, or every request by anybody
sinkable Titanic. rity strategy. Strong passwords have on the computer system, is checked,
We need to understand that secu- the same effect on security. Most the system will become safer. Other-
rity is a property of the system and adversaries go after the weakest pass- wise, if we miss even one check,
not a specific component. If we word users just as a lion feeds on then of course, the attacker could ex-
think of the vessel as a component the weakest target in the herd. ploit it. The general thought is that
of the overall system, that of a vessel It would be better if we could application programmers are thinking
sailing through the oceans with cyber team with our colleagues and “kill at a high level, so it is best if hardware
communications, then all the means the lion” or at least neutralize it. or OS implements this strategy to im-
to enter on board or access the vessel One such mechanism is to share vul- prove efficiency. There is a computa-
were partly external to the vessel. The nerabilities across all those affected. tional cost to this strategy, and so
GPS spoof (MAREX, 2018) is more We should go after the adversaries hardware is computationally the best
evident as it has very little to do using this technique or at least gener- level to implement complete media-
with the vessel but sufficient to ate prevention mechanisms to slow tion, but this puts a burden on flexi-
achieve the goal of directing the vessel down or eliminate the spread of the bility for changes in design after
where the adversary needed it. GPS vulnerability. Vulnerability databases implementation.
jammers can be bought for tens of are used in the industry. When com- This principle could also be imple-
dollars and are illegal to operate panies are hacked, they want to re- mented flexibly at the OS level. Sup-
(Madden, 2018). Therefore, when main silent to prevent bad publicity, pose we want to protect a resource,
we study security, we need to analyze but it is in our collective interest to we have to ensure only those autho-
the entire system to understand all report the incident voluntarily. We rized and having permission can use
means to improve security. For an at- should, however, be given the option this resource. First, we need to have
tacker, finding the weakest link in any to remain anonymous to enable a strict door with a guard program
subsystem is all they need to penetrate broader participation and adoption through which all requests to the
the system as shown in the GPS across the industry. resource can come in. The guard has
spoofing example. Newer technologies are coming to first verify and authenticate the
Given that security is a negative up, and we already discussed quan- request by checking if the message
goal, how do we plan to protect assets tum communications as a means to was modified during transmission
at our nodes from malicious adversar- improve channel information leaks. and who made the request and if
ies? Some general system level guide- These modern technologies will help they have the permission to use the
lines we can adopt are prevention, improve prevention and could open resource.
resilience under attack, and recovery up new doors to attack. However, in Additional protection is provided
after the attack as taught in the MIT’s the meantime, some general princi- by storing transaction logs for foren-
cybersecurity course (MIT xPro ples to strengthen security design at sics later on. These logs will help us
Cyber, 2008). the hardware and software levels are prevent and recover from the attack.
the following techniques. Some industries such as banking are
Prevention mandated by law to capture and
We should have heard the adage Complete Mediation store network log data of every trans-
“Prevention is better than cure.” We Complete mediation says if we action on their network for years at a
can improve prevention by better de- care about a property, enforce it time. Companies like Bluelance’s LT
signs in hardware, OS, application every step of the way on every single Auditor (Blue Lance, 2013) acquires
software layers, and networking com- instruction. Assume every data can be network data across multiple OS,

thereby providing a combined view of want to make it harder for the mali- job will keep the system safer and po-
all transactions on the network. cious adversary to take advantage. tentially more secure. There is no
The higher and stronger the fence, guarantee, but it makes the adver-
Separate Privileges the more secure we could be. sary’s job more difficult. If the costs
Systems need to demarcate who of the exploits are high, then adversar-
has what privileges on data. For files, The Principle of Least Privilege ies give up or go elsewhere. Separating
it could be read or write privileges. Every user should be given no job roles on a vessel and keeping the
For code, it could be execution privi- more than what is required of them access to assets at a minimum needed
leges. For critical data, it is best to to do their job. A network adminis- to do the job have the same security
have multiple parties agree to that trator might have supreme powers implication. Enforcing these princi-
request. over their network. Other employees ples is a means of improving security
Another area of separation of priv- are grouped into accounting, opera- by design.
ileges is in the subsystem modules; if tions, maintenance, research, sales, Cyber is a virtual layer overlaid on
there’s a security exploit in one mod- and marketing and are given the top of the physical system and influ-
ule, it will not affect other modules. least privilege to do their jobs and ac- enced by our social layer. Human so-
To implement this at the OS level, cess the files that they need to, no cial behavior has to be managed if we
we need a trusted computing base more, no less. This principle prevents need to keep cyberspace safe. Hence,
(TCB), a small piece of software somebody from marketing going and managing personnel privileges should
that has to work correctly to enable messing up with files in accounting, also be part of the overall security
better security. By building this smaller which they should not, under normal strategy.
critical TCB with more rigor, security circumstances. If marketing needs ac-
can be enhanced. A typical OS has counting information to look at sales Resilience Under Attack
20–40 million lines of code and is so numbers for an ad campaign, then If we can trust only a small por-
complicated that guaranteeing it to be they should put in a request and get tion of the code, the TCB, how do
bug-free is impossible. Because writing access to just those numbers and not we carry out bug-free computations
bug-free code is impossible and as a the entire accounting file system. without trusting the remaining code?
rule of thumb every 1,000 lines of Marketing, in this case, has request The untrusted code can be made to
code has a bug, it is best to keep logical privilege but not file folder access operate on encrypted data with higher
modules separate when possible. TCB privilege in accounting. security benefit but at a higher com-
is a means to separate the critical, es- Classified information is handled putational expense. Fully homomor-
sential portion of the code from the similarly with a need to know. There phic encryption technology can carry
not so critical. are different tier levels for what we out arbitrary computation on en-
Virtual machines running on the need to know. This compartmental- crypted data. In short, we could keep
same physical hardware or different ized separation of information and all the data encrypted and compute
machines separating logical blocks of giving access to only those who need on this data set without having to see
code are other mechanisms of separa- to know maintaining the principle of the actual data. The output of the
tion that help prevent a complete least privilege is how nations ensure data will also be encrypted, and only
meltdown. Or else, if there is a bug that secrets are kept safe. This is a the owner of the data can decode the
in one block of code, then at some general principle of security, scalable encryption. This technology is still
point, it could propagate to the neigh- across domains, an example of knowl- maturing, but when ready this tech-
boring code base. Even though there edge replication. nology will be a case of resilience
is a performance price to be paid for As can be seen, these principles are under attack. This technology would
code separation, it might be well general enough to even translate to usher in the next generation of cloud
worth the effort to ensure security. other complex systems in the mari- computing.
Separation is also not a guaranteed time domain. Not everyone on a ves- Another method to provide resil-
fool-proof methodology, as separate sel needs to access every control of the ience is to use redundancy in sub-
modules have to talk to one another vessel. So giving people access to the systems. Redundant systems on ships
to be useful. As we said earlier, we minimum level of access to do their are a good analog to understand this

concept. Redundant ship systems were use those changes to manage any ad- based quantum Internet (Popkin,
designed to prevent catastrophic oper- verse behavior. The metadata could 2017).
ational failures at sea. However, this contain type, extent, and ownership
idea of redundancy translates well to of data as the standard parameters Multiparty Computation
strengthen cyber systems. The goal monitored. The analysis of metadata Fully homomorphic encryption is
is to provide guaranteed operation signature behavior could also offer a technology that can carry out arbi-
despite failures. Once the attack is de- potential input to anomaly detection trary computation on encrypted data.
tected, we can isolate the corrupted software for zero-day unknown attack Let us say we want to calculate the
system and then switch to the redun- detection. average pay in the shipping industry
dant backup to continue. As with all to compare it to the offshore sector
systems, there is a cost penalty for sup- without any individual revealing their
porting redundant systems. Hence, we paycheck amount. Using homomor-
need to determine which subsystems
Future Trends phic encryption, we can compute the
In this section, we discuss some of
need to be duplicated judiciously. average salary on everyone’s encrypted
the latest technologies and issues that
income data without knowing the
will affect cyberspace and its security.
Recovery After Attack individual’s salary values, if the major-
So far, we have been discussing ity do not collude. Encryption ensures
proactive security measures. Here we Quantum Computation, that if there is a bug in the untrusted
will discuss reactive security measures. Communication, and Encryption code used to compute the average
The general strategy here is one Quantum computers work on par- value, it will not expose the underlying
of (1) Detect, (2) Isolate, and (3) Re- ticles that are in superposition, there- private income data. This technology
cover. Standard antivirus software by enabling parallel computations of when mature will prevent many of
uses this strategy. For known virus a multitude of states simultaneously. the data breaches that have been in
signatures, antivirus software will pre- If we can physically realize such a the news lately. All data will be en-
vent the known viruses from infecting machine at scale, then modern-day crypted and hence remain anonymous.
the system. However, if a new virus is encryption will be cracked, and we Unfortunately, fully homomorphic
discovered, then the signature data- will then have to resort to other encryption has a computational load
base has to be updated, and if the means such as quantum cryptogra- that is close to multiple orders of mag-
new virus has already affected the sys- phy. However, there are arguments nitude compared to computing on un-
tem, then the antivirus software has to against quantum computers being encrypted data, and this technology is
restore files back to the last check- able to scale (Moskvitch, 2018). not yet ready for prime time. When
point. Restoring is a tricky process, Only time will tell. Quantum entan- available, this technology will be a
as not only corrupted files will be re- glement occurs when a pair of parti- case of resilience under attack.
stored back to a safe checkpoint state cles interacts physically, even though
but proper uncorrupted files during separated by a distance. A laser AI and Machine Learning
that period also will. Hence, useful beam fired through a certain type of There is much hype about compa-
work done by some users is lost. crystals can cause individual photons nies using AI to help with cybersecurity,
Newer technologies currently have to be split into pairs of entangled pho- but most of the technology out there
more exceptional trace data resolution tons. Einstein’s famous “spooky action is training large sets of data using
by creating action history graphs. at a distance” property of entangled machine learning (ML) (Newman,
These graphs can then be used to re- quantum particles can be separated 2018). The most common techniques
cover quickly and with minimal dis- by large distances of the order of hun- in ML are classification where labeled
ruption. Action history graphs are a dreds of miles or even more. Recently, data, for example, spam or not spam,
field of active research. the Chinese have demonstrated is used to train a classifier to send
The general theme that arises is the transfer of information across spam email to the spam folder automat-
one of flow tracking the data as it is 1,200 km, thereby providing the tech- ically. Spammers are getting smarter
altered over time. The strategy seems nology for ultrasecure communication and have the same ML tools at their dis-
to be to monitor the metadata and networks and, eventually, a space- posal. This same classifier technology

can be used to classify virus or, in gen- secure approach to storing informa- has the advantages and flaws inherent
eral, malware signatures. tion, making transactions, and estab- in these human networks. If we im-
Currently, there have been ad- lishing trust with mutually unknown prove trust in the system, we can im-
vances in AI and ML where zero- actors. Here are some examples that prove security. Just as fake news
day attacks, attacks never seen before, use blockchain to enhance cyberspace wreaks havoc on democracy by con-
can be detected. These generally use security. Guardtime used blockchains fusing the average informed voter,
the technique of anomaly detection to create a keyless signature infra- lack of trust makes cyberspace less re-
of changes in typical patterns of be- structure and secured all of Estonia’s liable to depend on. The full potential
haviors to look for potential attack 1 million health records with its tech- of this human engineered network
vectors. Behavior analysis is similar nology (Guardtime, 2007). REMME’s will never be met if trust on this net-
to the credit card company’s flagging blockchain can authenticate users and work is not improved. Although this
a purchase when there is abnormal devices without the need for a password viewpoint is simplistic and not an
purchase at locations the user is not (REMME, 2016). Obsidian Messenger exact model, we believe it helps sim-
expected to be at or in type and quan- (2017) is a blockchain-based messag- plify the complexity of cyberspace and
tities that the user does not regularly ing platform (Barzilay, 2017). the wide variety of attacks that are
purchase. possible. We hope that the average
Another technique is anomaly de- Ethics person can see the big picture and
tection, which uses baseline operations Cyberethics is the philosophic can make the entire system more ro-
to flag unusual behavior. Behavioral study of ethics about computers and bust by intelligently participating in
analytics is a new cop in town. Earlier the users who use them. The critical this endeavor. For the specialist, we
this year, Palo Alto Networks intro- goal is to study how user behavior need to drill down further to help de-
duced Magnifier, a behavioral analyt- on computer networks affects indi- velop specific solutions. As an exam-
ics solution (Oltsik, 2018). viduals and society. The 10 comple, McGillivary (2018) discusses
Generally, a man-machine symbi- mandments of computer ethics state why maritime cybersecurity is an
osis approach works best where ML that one shall not interfere, harm, ocean policy priority and how it can
algorithms flag unusual behavior and steal, and snoop on others’ property be addressed.
the human in the loop can verify if (Barquin, 1992). It also says that we The analogy we provide is similar
new behaviors need to be blocked. should think about the social conse- to doctors and patients combining to
The major impediment to these quences of the systems we are design- improve the health of our popula-
technologies scaling is privacy and ing. A discussion on ethics leads us to tion. As patients on the network,
sharing of data across companies. cyber warfare and autonomous we need to take care of our health
Once we can get around these issues, weapons driven by AI. We should to the best extent possible, and the
then defensive techniques will not be have open debates about these topics doctors will intervene when it is be-
so fragmented and will have higher as a society and put policies in place yond our capability. If the average
success. to ensure we do not self-destruct. Un- person is better informed, the health
like mutual nuclear deterrence using of the population will improve. We
Blockchain the principle of mutually assured hope this article has given a simplis-
A blockchain is a decentralized, dis- destruction, cyber warfare is a little tic but useful look at the domain of
tributed, public digital ledger used to fuzzy given that nonstate actors can cyberspace enabling better security
record transactions so that the list have access to this technology, and and hence resiliency of the whole
of records, called blocks, cannot be without a geographic boundary to con- cyber ecosystem.
altered retroactively without alter- tain the adversary, it becomes chal-
ation of all subsequent blocks. The lenging to defend against these threats.
blocks are linked and secured using Author:
cryptography. Paul Mario Koola
Blockchain technologies were de- Conclusion Professor of Practice, Ocean
veloped through breakthroughs in We have shown that cyberspace is Engineering, Texas A&M University
cryptography and security. It offers a a reflection of human networks and Email: [email protected]

References ecdis-what-happens-when-the-gps-signal-goes- https://obsidianplatform.com/ (accessed July
Barquin, R.C. 1992. In Pursuit of a “Ten away#gs.lb42uIo (accessed Sept 7, 2018). 30, 2018).
Commandments” for Computer Ethics.
MAREX. 2018. Military drones prove vul- Oltsik, J. 2018, January 25. Artificial intel-
Computer Ethics Institute. Retrieved from
nerable to GPS jamming? The Maritime ligence and cybersecurity: The real deal.
http://computerethicsinstitute.org/publications/
Executive. Retrieved from https://www. Cybersecurity Snippets. Retrieved from https://
tencommandments.html (accessed July 30,
maritime-executive.com/editorials/military- www.csoonline.com/article/3250850/security/
2018).
hardware-proves-vulnerable-to-gps-jamming#gs. artificial-intelligence-and-cybersecurity-the-
Barzilay, O. 2017, August 21. 3 Ways hv7b9vQ (accessed July 30, 2018). real-deal.html (accessed July 30, 2018).
Blockchain Is Revolutionizing Cybersecurity.
Martindale, J. 2018, March 9. From pranks Popkin, G. 2017, June 15. China’s Quantum
Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/
to nuclear sabotage, this is the history of Satellite Achieves ‘Spooky Action’ at Record
omribarzilay/2017/08/21/3-ways-blockchain-
malware. Digital Trends. Retrieved from Distance. Retrieved from http://www.
is-revolutionizing-cybersecurity/#6364d7922334
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/ sciencemag.org/news/2017/06/china-s-
(accessed July 30, 2018).
history-of-malware/ (accessed July 30, 2018). quantum-satellite-achieves-spooky-action-
Blue Lance. 2013. LTAuditor. Retrieved record-distance (accessed July 30, 2018).
McGillivary, P. 2018. Why maritime cyber-
from https://bluelance.com/products (accessed
security is an ocean policy priority, and how REMME. 2016. The time has come to finally
July 30, 2018).
it can be addressed. Ocean Sciences Meeting, secure your business. Retrieved from https://
Guardtime. 2007. KSI Technology Stack. 11–16 February 2018, Portland, Oregon. remme.io/ (accessed July 30, 2018).
Retrieved from https://guardtime.com/
Miller, J.H., & Page, S.E. 2007. Complex adap- Simmons, C., Shiva, S., Bedi, H., & Dasgupta,
(accessed July 30, 2018).
tive systems: An introduction to computational D. 2014. AVOIDIT: A Cyber Attack Taxon-
Hauser, M.D., Chomsky, N., & Fitch, W.T. models of social life. Albany, NY: Princeton omy. Presented at 9th Annual Symposium on
2002. The faculty of language: What is it, who University Press. ISBN 9781400835522. Information Assurance (ASIA’14), June 3–4,
has it, and how did it evolve? Science. 298(5598): OCLC 760073369. 2014, Albany, NY.
1569-79. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.298.
MIT xPro Cyber. 2008. MIT Professional Edu- Song, E., & Lee, K. 2008. Understanding
5598.1569. PMID 12446899.
cation’s Cybersecurity Course—Cybersecurity: IEEE 1451-networked smart transducer inter-
Honner, P. 2018, February 5. How Math Technology, Application and Policy. Retrieved face standard—What is a smart transducer?
(and Vaccines) Keep You Safe From the Flu. from https://mitxpro.mit.edu/courses/course-v1: IEEE Instru Meas Mag. 11(2):11-7. https://
Retrieved from https://www.quantamagazine. MITProfessionalX+CSx+2016_T2/about doi.org/10.1109/MIM.2008.4483728.
org/flu-vaccines-and-the-math-of-herd-immunity- (accessed July 30, 2018). Stonedahl, F., & Wilensky, U. 2008. NetLogo
20180205/ (accessed July 30, 2018). Virus on a Network Model. Center for
Moskvitch, K. 2018, February 7. The Argu-
Humphreys, T. 2013. UT Austin Researchers ment Against Quantum Computers. Retrieved Connected Learning and Computer-Based
Spoof Superyacht at Sea. Retrieved from http:// from https://www.quantamagazine.org/gil- Modeling. Evanston, IL: Northwestern Uni-
www.engr.utexas.edu/features/superyacht-gps- kalais-argument-against-quantum-computers- versity. Retrieved from http://ccl.northwestern.
spoofing (accessed July 30, 2018). 20180207/ (accessed July 30, 2018). edu/netlogo/models/VirusonaNetwork.
Jackson, J. 2005. The interplanetary Internet. Newman, L.H. 2018, April 29. AI Can Help Tomasello, M. 1996. The cultural roots of
IEEE Spectrum. Retrieved from https:// Cybersecurity—If It Can Fight Through the language. In Communicating Meaning: The
spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/internet/the- Hype. Retrieved from https://www.wired. Evolution and Development of Language,
interplanetary-internet (accessed May 8, 2018). com/story/ai-machine-learning-cybersecurity/ Velichkovsky, B., & Rumbaugh, D., eds.
(accessed July 30, 2018). pp. 275-308. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence
Kuzawa, C.W., Chugani, H.T., Grossman, Erlbaum.
L.I., Lipovich, L., Muzik, O., Hof, P.R., … NewScientist. 2017. Ships Fooled in GPS
Lange, N. 2014. Metabolic costs and evolu- Spoofing Attack Suggest Russian Cyberweapon. Walsh, D. 2015. Oceans—Maritime cyber
tionary implications of human brain develop- Retrieved from https://www.newscientist.com/ security: Shoal water ahead? Proceedings
ment. PNAS. 111(36):13010-5. https://doi. article/2143499-ships-fooled-in-gps-spoofing- Magazine. 14(7):1-2. Retrieved from https://
org/10.1073/pnas.1323099111. attack-suggest-russian-cyberweapon/ (accessed www.usni.org/magazines/proceedings/2015-
July 30, 2018). 07/oceans-maritime-cyber-security-shoal-
Madden, R. 2018. ECDIS: What happens water-ahead.
when the GPS signal goes away? Retrieved Obsidian. 2017. OBSIDIAN SECURE
from https://www.maritime-executive.com/blog/ MESSENGER (OSM). Retrieved from

PAPER
Why Maritime Cybersecurity Is an Ocean

Policy Priority and How It Can Be Addressed
AUTHOR ABSTRACT
Phil McGillivary Maritime cybersecurity is developing as an issue that affects the ocean. Recent
MTS Member, Maritime Cybersecurity security breaches cost shipping companies hundreds of millions of dollars and
and Infrastructure Committee put marine ecosystems at risk by disabling ship controls and increasing risks
U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area of collisions and hazmat spills. Additionally, most new ships are designed to
Science Liaison transmit engine performance data ashore to allow timely maintenance and effi-
cient operation. However, many ships still prohibit such data transmission due
“The old need cannot see the to security concerns, resulting in increased ship emissions and environmental
coming need.” risks from accidental release of oil, hydraulic fluids, or lubricants. Similarly, re-
Time Is a Ship That Never Casts search vessel data are routinely sent ashore, but security concerns for their com-
Anchor: Sami Proverbs—Harald puters are also increasing, especially when they operate in global ports and
Gaski, 2010 oceans. Maritime cybersecurity is also critical as autonomous ships are being de-
veloped. Addressing maritime cybersecurity is therefore a valid area of scientific
Background and policy research and important for ocean science operations.
Introduction: The The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has called for improved mari-
Scope of the Problem time cybersecurity, and the U.S. Coast Guard also recently released a Navigation
S hipping has continued to in-

crease in importance in global trade,
complete with subsidies from various
and Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC; NVIC 05-17) on maritime cybersecurity for
comments. The newly established Maritime Cyber Security Committee of the
Marine Technology Society is coordinating maritime cybersecurity best practice
information, contacts for cybersecurity professionals, and lessons learned on re-
countries to increase their proportion
of this lucrative market (cf. Anonymous, sponding to cyberattacks to make this information broadly available. We review
2014). In an era when the Internet- here various stakeholder approaches to maritime cybersecurity, outline available
of-things is beginning to extend to resources, and discuss how advanced methods, including optical communica-
ships, this puts ship and shippers’ tions and quantum encryption, will improve maritime cybersecurity. Scientists
computer systems at an increasing have a role in developing and implementing maritime cybersecurity methods
risk (Quaintance, 2017). Ships that and policies to ensure safe ship operations and improved environmental security
were built to continuously transmit for the oceans.
data on engine and ship systems’ sta- Keywords: shipping, cybersecurity, port security, quantum encryption
tus ashore to enable just-in-time diag-
nostics and repairs in some cases other cases of shipping hacks, with re- tems (ECDIS) system security flaws
have had these systems intentionally portedly over 300 unclassified reports were targeted (Luciano, 2017). At
disabled due to security concerns of such hacks to date. In some cases, minimum, these put ships out of op-
with the transmission of such data. cybersecurity breaches involved eration for some period of time, and
The recent hack of Maersk shipping compromising the information for shipping companies suffer financial
lines in June 2017, which caused the containers aboard or offloaded from losses from inability to sustain normal
shutdown of Maersk operations in ships so that they could be stolen operations. In other cases, such as the
13 international ports and losses of (Baraniuk, 2017; Hayes, 2016). Clarkson shipping hack (Anonymous,
$300M, was a wake-up call to many Some hacks have shut down bridge 2017g), where the hack allowed ma-
about the seriousness of maritime operations with ransomware de- nipulation of ship manifest lists with
cybersecurity risks (Baraniuk, 2017). mands, or ship navigation Electronic potential smuggling of containers,
However, there have been numerous Chart Display and Information Sys- these hacks have potentially further

damaged the company’s reputation by from a “top-down” approach, that is, (Parsons, 2016) and Port of Los
possibly putting client information at from international and federal agency Angeles, the highest shipping value
risk as well (Wingrove, 2017). The mar- plans/mandates, or a “bottom-up” port in the United States (>$140B in
itime cybersecurity hacks are not limited approach, that is, the one used by the 2014; Noll, 2017), which has estab-
to commercial shipping or hacker ac- industry, which often moves more lished a centralized Cyber Lab to com-
tivity alone; they have also been under- rapidly than governments to address bat a torrent of cyber-hacking attacks
taken by governments such as North security issues. The shipping industry, daily (Anonymous, 2017f ). In 2016,
Korea and Russia and deployed against which can suffer financial losses from the IMO released “Interim Guidelines
commercial and military vessels, mostly cybersecurity attacks, has long been on Maritime Cyber Risk Manage-
by hacking or spoofing GPS, Automatic working to improve vessel tracking ment,” which were finalized in 2017
[ship] Identification System (AIS), or and position reporting using real- (IMO, 2016, 2017) and are to be im-
ECDIS systems (Dunn, 2017; Vaas, time AIS methods, which at least the- plemented on ships by 2021. Addi-
2017). The risk from positional spoof- oretically (if not hacked) let them tionally, in late 2017, the IMO
ing was judged so probable, that as of know where their assets are located launched a network of five global cen-
2015, the U.S. Naval Academy began (Schill, 2017). Shipping companies ters of excellence in marine technol-
again requiring its personnel to under- and satellite communications compa- ogy, called Maritime Technology
go training in celestial navigation for nies used by the shipping industry Cooperation Centers (MTCCs),
the first time in a decade (Vaas, 2017; have turned their attention to cyber- which should improve the adoption
Zorabedian, 2015). security issues, releasing their own of these cybersecurity standards inter-
The military aspect of maritime recommendations (cf. DNV GL AS, nationally (Anonymous, 2017h). A
cybersecurity is not at all lost in the 2016) and calling for the interna- compilation of industry maritime
area of national defense, for which tional development and enforcement cybersecurity guidance from diverse
warnings have been coming for of cybersecurity standards for data sources may be found at http://
some time (cf. Hayes, 2016; Lyngaas, management via the International becyberawareatsea.com/guidance; one
2015). Federal agencies responsible Maritime Organization (IMO) and component of which is shown in
for the safety of shipping, including American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) Figure 1.
particularly the U.S. Coast Guard, (Anonymous, 2016, 2017d). The oil These industry initiatives have
have been interested in how best to and gas industry has an Oil Com- been supplemented within the United
approach the problem of providing panies International Marine Forum Kingdom by the release of guidance
standards and guidance for cybersecurity (OCIMF) that administers a Ship In- documents from the U.K. National
compliance for shipping (cf. Heckman spection Report Program (SIRE), Cyber Security Centre (2018) and a
et al., 2017). It is clear from cyber pen- which in 2018 added a cybersecurity U.K. Vessel Code of Practice for ship-
etration tests that the majority of marine requirement for all vessels subject to ping, from their Department of
shipping vessels are vulnerable to cyber- those inspections (Anonymous, Transport (Boyes & Isbell, 2017).
attacks (Naval Dome, 2017b). The 2018a). These actions by industry Within the European Union (EU),
question facing industries using ships, have been reflected in the prominence the first maritime cybersecurity assess-
as well as ports and federal and interna- of this issue in a number of industry ment was done in 2011, and subse-
tional agencies, is how best to address shipping conferences (U.K. Port & quent general security reports have
this issue. Harbor Conference [Parsons, 2016]; also been promulgated, which call for
GST Shipping 2030 Conference; training and cooperation but are not
Maritime Risk Symposium, 2017 focused on cybersecurity (European
Approaches to [Gianfalla, 2017; Hudson, 2017]; Agency for Network and Information
Cybersecurity From and Port Security Technology Con- Security [ENISA], 2011; EU, 2014).
Industry, Federal, and ference, 2017). Cybersecurity is also Beginning in May 2018, the EU adds
International Agencies a general issue of interest for the two new pieces of cybersecurity leg-
There are questions as to whether Japanese Port and Airport Research islation that will have broad effects:
it is best to look at the means used to Institute (PARI, 2017) and specific the EU General Data Protection
address maritime cybersecurity issues ports such as the Port of Long Beach Regulation (GDPR), for which stiff

FIGURE 1 attempts to clarify the specifics and
practicalities of the path forward
Cybersecurity approach from The Guidelines on Cyber Security Onboard Ships, 2017 (https://
www.bimco.org/products/publications/free/cyber-secuirty). (Anonymous, 2017e; Lohrmann,
2017; Trump, 2017).
Additionally, in the areas of cyber-
security research, the National Science
Foundation (NSF) has established a
Cybersecurity Center of Excellence
and Center for Trusted Scientific
Cyberinfrastructure (NSF, 2016,
2017). Likewise, for more applied
cybersecurity technologies, the Defense
Advanced Research Agency (DARPA)
has tapped Rockwell Collins to assist in
protecting computers, including those
on unmanned systems, from cyber-
intrusions through its partnership in
the DARPA High-Assurance Military
Systems (HACMS) program (Anony-
mous, 2017b). DARPA has also
more recently initiated solicitations
for the Harnessing Autonomy for
Countering Cyberadversary Systems
(HACCS) program for land, sea, and
satellite assets (DARPA, 2017; Lane
penalties for noncompliance can be the realm of federal guidance on cyber- et al., 2017) and also for the Configu-
levied against companies doing busi- security, the National Research Coun- rational Security (ConSec) program,
ness in the EU, and the Network In- cil (NRC) and the National Academies which is aimed at automating com-
formation Security (NIS) Directive, of Science, Engineering, and Medicine puter systems configuration manage-
which is left up to individual member (NAS) have produced a series of re- ment to minimize risks of cyberattacks
countries to enforce (Anonymous, ports dealing with cybersecurity, (Keller, 2017b).
2018a). including a review of existing cyber- Within the Department of Trans-
Within the United States, the challenges, how the country can portation, the U.S. Maritime Admin-
issue of maritime cybersecurity falls improve its cybersecurity, how it can istration (MARAD) has also issued
among several federal agencies. better deter cyberattacks, what is guidance about the cybersecurity
There is an obvious defense compo- required in terms of international of essential transportation systems,
nent to cybersecurity. In 2017, the policy initiatives, how transportation including certification of commer-
U.S. Cyber Command was split infrastructure can be protected, and cial carrier and passenger vessels
from the National Security Agency, how public policies interface with (MARAD, 2017). General guidance
and independent commands were executing cybersecurity initiatives on cybersecurity methods are provided
established within the Army and (NAS, 2007, 2010, 2015, 2016, by the U.S. National Institute of
Navy, both of which are now opera- 2017a, 2017b, 2017c; NRC, 2014). Standards and Technology (NIST)
tional (Baldor, 2017; Obsorn, 2017). Partially, as a result of these reports, as directed by the 2013 Presidential
Understandably, ship cybersecurity the Office of the President issued an EO 13686, Improving Critical Infra-
for national defense lies principally Executive Order (EO) in May 2017 structure, Cybersecurity, as well as the
with the Navy as one component of on cybersecurity for federal networks Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of
an overall Navy defense strategy for and critical infrastructure, which has 2014 (Public Law 113-294). In response
the future (Richardson, 2016). Within since been a subject of discussion in to these directives, NIST developed

and released a Cybersecurity Frame- DHS, the U.S. Coast Guard deals (Federal Register, 2017, and/or
work Version 1.0 in 2013 and a Version specifically with the safety and Manning, 2017). This document
1.1 on April 16, 2018. The key com- security of shipping as well as ports. referred to the Coast Guard Cyber
ponents of the V.1.0 Framework A recent issue of the “Coast Guard Strategy document (U.S. Coast
were to provide guidance on identi- P r o c e e d i n g s ” w a s d e d i ca t e d t o Guard, 2015) and called for public
fying cybersecurity needs for organi- maritime cybersecurity and featured a comments on how best to address
zations, methods to accomplish series of articles on various aspects of the issues of maritime cybersecurity
those cybersecurity needs in terms this topic (cf. Goldstein & Kneidinger, in relation to its proposed policies
of cyber protection, detection of cy- 2014/2015; http://uscgproceedings. and procedures intended to mitigate
bersecurity breaches, planning for re- epubxp.com/i/436751-win-2015/47). cybersecurity risks. These procedures
sponses to such breaches, and recovery However, the U.S. Coast Guard is not call for ship owners and operators
from breaches (see http://www.nisto. itself an agency with a specific expertise to conduct cyber risk profile assess-
gov). in cybersecurity technologies, and it ments as part of their facility security
Additionally, NIST has also fo- cannot impose its own suggestions plans. The NVIC also lays out best
cused on the National Initiative for or requirements about cybersecurity practices for cybersecurity derived
Cybersecurity Education (NICE), practices on other countries or inter- from NIST guidelines, including
part of which is the establishment of national companies. Instead, the guidelines on personnel responsibili-
a Cybersecurity Workforce Frame- Coast Guard has sought to engage ties relating to cybersecurity. The re-
work that recognizes that training with the broader maritime com- quest for comments also included a
personnel is also a key component munity to work synergistically toward solicitation for comments relating
of enabling cybersecurity (NIST, improved cybersecurity, establish to how the guidance provided by the
2018a, 2018b) (see Figure 2). cybersecurity best practices, and Coast Guard would need to be up-
For maritime cybersecurity, the promote compliance with these dated in the face of newly developing
Department of Homeland Security recommendations. In July 2017, the technologies.
(DHS) deals with the security of criti- Coast Guard released a Navigation
cal infrastructure (cf. http://www.dhs. and Vessel Inspection Circular
gov/stakeholder-engagement-and- (NVIC) Number 05-17, called
cyber-infrastructure-resilience), “Guidelines for Addressing Cyber Cyberattack Reporting
including ports and harbors. Risks at Maritime Transportation Requirements or Who
Furthermore, as a component of Security Act (MTSA) Facilities” Ya Gonna Call?
There have been many discussions
about preventing cyberattacks, but
FIGURE 2 there also needs to be a broader dis-
semination of what protocols need
The NIST NICE has established a Cybersecurity Workforce Framework that is intended to ensure
to be followed when there is a cyber-
a cyber-workforce is developed that can monitor and administer cybersecurity standards cor-
rectly (NIST, 2018a, 2018b).
security breach; most ship crews and
management agencies do not know
what to do if they are hacked. From
the shipping company viewpoint,
this is not only a cybersecurity issue;
there can also be serious financial
costs if shipping operations are shut
down. So what are the protocols for
responding to a cyber-breach? Heckman
et al. (2017) provide a fairly compre-
hensive list of U.S. Coast Guard and
industry approaches to this issue.
Coast Guard guidance on “Reporting

Suspicious Activity and Breaches of involved, has published their own puter systems and preventing hack-
Security” (December 2016) notes “Recommended Practices” advice (cf. ing into those systems (cf. PAS
that information reported to the https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/Introduction- Global, 2017). Version 1.1 of the
Coast Guard is “not subject to routine Recommended-Practices). As noted NIST Cybersecurity Framework in-
public disclosure,” so that the Coast above, the NCCIC and NRC report- cluded a more detailed consideration
Guard wants to be informed of security ing mandated by the Coast Guard of validating the identity of online en-
breaches, but they will not disclose also goes to the FBI. The FBI’s “Infra- tities to enable more secure manage-
such information publicly, in ways Guard” program and its webpage ment of supply chain cybersecurity,
that might affect the business of any “iGuardian” (cf. https://www.fbi.gov/ which included expanded focus on
company whose security has been resources/law-enforcement/iguardian) the NIST Trusted Identities Group
breached. This same guidance calls are a joint effort with the business (TIG). The TIG began in 2015 as a
for maritime security breaches to be re- community established in 2013 series of pilot programs where the
ported to the National Response Center specifically to protect critical national government would certify the identity
(NRC; 1-800-424-8802), as well as infrastructure by providing a cyber- of commercial partners through an
noting that reports can and should breach reporting mechanism and Identity Ecosystem Framework
also be made to respective Captains activating triage response to industry (IDEF) established through private
of the Port(s) and also the National for cybersecurity breaches. sector partnerships that established an
Cybersecurity and Communications If a shipping company or port sus- IDEF Registry, which provided au-
Integration Center (NCCIC; 1-888- pects that they may have been breached thentication credentials for compa-
282-0870), which is a 24/7 cyber situa- and wants to see what other activity in nies at three assurance levels that
tional awareness center that links federal a similar vein may have taken place, they were who they said they were.
and intelligence agencies with law en- they can access the National Suspicious Among other things, such assurance
forcement agencies. Reports to the lat- Activity Reporting (SAR) Initiative in Version 1.1 was updated to remove
ter should specifically include mention webpage (https://nsi.ncirc.gov/). Note the option of one-time passwords via
to the NCCIC that the reporting com- that this webpage is not for reporting email and limit them to SMS messages
ponent is a Coast Guard–regulated incidents but contains a log of reported (text messages to cell phones) as well as
entity, so that their data will be for- incidents jointly maintained by DHS, the use of security tokens, because
warded appropriately to the NRC the FBI, and local law enforcement those could be stolen. Three Authenti-
and Coast Guard (and also the FBI). agencies. Additionally, the Coast cation Assurance Levels (AALs) were
The EU (Europol) also has a URL for Guard recommends that vessel and established, where in AAL 1, reauthen-
reporting cyber-incidents, https:// facility operators participate in their tication was required every 30 days;
www.europol.europa.eu/report-a- local Area Maritime Security Commit- AAL 2, every 30 min of online use;
crime/report-cybercrime-online, tees (AMSCs) (http://www.dco.uscg. and AAL 3, every 15 min of online
with reporting criteria that vary by mil/Portals/9/CG-FAC/Documents/ use. These reauthentications could be
country. AMSC%20Consolidated%20reports/ done by self-assertion, remote identifi-
So these are the reporting require- 2016/AMSC%202016%20Annual% cation assertion proof, or in-person
ments from the Coast Guard and/or 20Report%20(signed).pdf?ver=2017- proofing. One consequence of the
Europol, but how does this assist in 11-08-084656-947), contact adoption of these new requirements
responding with a cybersecurity information from which can be by some federal agency vessels in the
breach? There will be some assistance obtained from the nearest Captains of early summer of 2018 was that the
forthcoming from the agencies report- the Ports or by contacting the Coast bandwidth required for such security
ed above automatically, but those that Guard Office of Port and Facility reauthorizations overwhelmed the
have been breached can also speci- Compliance (202-372-1132). available ship satellite communication
fically request assistance from the bandwidth and effectively shut down
Industrial Control Systems Cyber ship communication systems until,
Emergency Response Team (ICS- The Question of Methods weeks later, additional satellite band-
CERT) (https://ics-cert.us-cert.gov/), Certain cybersecurity approaches width contracts and software and reau-
which, like the other federal agencies are focused on securing internal com- thorization frequency adjustments

could be put in place—one indication optical communications by a Academy reports on cybersecurity have
of the unexpected consequences of consortium including NASA and the noted, pushing software updates and
the attempted implementation of U.S. Naval Research Lab, and continuing to improve cybersecurity
these new cybersecurity requirements commercial satellite communications methods remain problematic (NAS,
in an industry where satellite com- operators. For optical communi- 2017a, 2017b, 2017c).
munications bandwidth is far more cations, just as for wireless communi-
limited than nonmaritime computer cations, use of the DTN protocol will
networks. again improve performance if data
Other approaches have been di- transmissions are interrupted for any Autonomous Vessels and
rected at securing communications reason but will also help to ensure the Unmanned Shipping
with systems outside an internal com- security of optical communications. A decade ago, long-range unmanned
puter system, as is inherently the case Efforts to develop underwater optical ASVs of varying sorts were being de-
between ports and ships, and ships communications are also under way in veloped, from the wave-powered
and ship managers. Wireless commu- earnest (cf. Baghdady et al., 2016a, Wave Gliders (http://www.liquidr.
nications with satellites have one in- 2016b) and remain a goal for naval com) (McGillivary & Hine, 2007;
teresting security communications forces (Keller, 2017a), for which McGillivary et al., 2007); to “robo-
protocol initially funded by NASA DTN protocols will also be useful. kayaks” (Curcio et al., 2006) and un-
for the Interplanetary Internet that Industry has developed its own ap- manned sailboats, such as the more recent
was developed by Vinton Cerf. proaches for dealing with both internal Saildrone (http://www.saildrone.com); to
There was a need for a new protocol and shore-to-ship communications more conventionally fueled ASVs, such
for the Interplanetary Internet be- cybersecurity, and there has been a par- as the WAM-V (http://www.wam-v.
cause communicating with distant ticular emphasis on cybersecurity with- com), and now more recent similar
spacecraft involved delays and disrup- in the oil and gas industry. The oil and systems. The use for ASV technology
tions for which the usual Internet gas industry is heavily involved in ship- initially was mostly in open-ocean set-
protocols were insufficient. Therefore, ping (cf. Goel, 2017) and has been the tings, away from shipping and shipping
Cerf developed delay and disruption- subject of hacks with potentially very routes, where they did not need rapid
tolerant wireless networking (DTN) dangerous consequences (Bensalhia, autonomous control systems and colli-
protocols, which overcame those lim- 2015; Groll, 2017; Paganini, 2015). sion avoidance technologies. However,
itations of standard Internet commu- Among the approaches suggested to as command/control systems and posi-
nication protocols. As it happened, improve cybersecurity is the use of tioning and other collision avoidance
the DTN protocol also had an advan- modified hashing methods instead of technologies developed, it was rapidly
tage in providing higher bandwidth encryption (Jackson, 2014) or clear that ASVs could be used for port
than other wireless communication methods of format-preserving encryp- and harbor security (see Figure 3)
protocols, while also providing high tion (FPE; Roy, 2017). However, an- (Thomas, 2017) and military uses
levels of communications security other method that appears to be under (Tuttle, 2016). Following the develop-
(cf. the Internet Engineering Research consideration for broader implementa- ment of operational protocols for safe
Group DTN webpage, https://irtf. tion is the use of machine learning navigation of ASVs (e.g., Kuwata
org/concluded/dtnrg). Once developed, methods to analyze data networks in et al., 2014) that were gradually agreed
the DTN protocol has been used to near-real time, a method commonly upon by various national and interna-
provide secure communications called Continuous Diagnostics and tional organizations, it became clear
between unmanned systems, including Mitigation (CDM) (Anonymous, that commercial development of au-
multiple networked autonomous 2015; Goldstein & Kneidinger, tonomous shipping was possible, at
underwater vehicles (AUVs), surface 2014/2015; Martin & Rajasekaran, least on a trial basis, and many argued
vessels (ships and autonomous surface 2016). CDM methods will continue that it might actually be safer than
vessels [ASVs]), and manned and to be valuable as machine learning ships manned by humans (Anony-
unmanned aircraft (McGillivary et al., and artificial intelligence methods are mous, 2017a; Levander, 2017). Com-
2012a, 2012b). The DTN method is increasingly used in cybersecurity sys- mercial interests aimed specifically
now being adopted for free-space tems. However, as several National at developing unmanned shipping

FIGURE 3 tional framework of the U.S. ap-
proach to cybersecurity, NIST has
Autonomous systems, including underwater vessels, surface vessels, and unmanned aircraft,
are coming into use for port and harbor security, and commercial shipping with unmanned focused on the fact that successful
vessels is already being developed and tested. Communications between all these systems re- cyber-secure systems require people
quire cybersecurity assurance. trained in their development and op-
eration (see Figure 2) (NIST, 2018b).
A number of U.S. universities and
colleges have established computer
security programs. However, as com-
puter connectedness within the ship-
ping industry increases, there also
needs to be an increase in cyber-
security instruction by universities fo-
cused on maritime operations. One
recent development that may assist
in this regard was the Congressional
passage of new Maritime Centers of
Excellence, which are based around
consortia of community colleges
(Green, 2017). These centers will
have the ability to specifically train
inevitably arose from both traditional and Information Security (CCIS) personnel with cyber-expertise who
shipping companies like DNV GL, (NTNU, 2018b), so that commercial intend to work directly in the world
Rolls Royce, and Wallenius Wilhelm- operations of unmanned ships are de- of operational maritime industries.
sen and newer firms like One Sea fended against cyberattacks. Cyber- An example of one school cur-
(Anonymous, 2017c). This has led to security continues to be an essential rently training students specifically
the development of recommended pro- component of the development of un- in maritime cybersecurity is the Ste-
cedures from Lloyd’s (2016) study and manned shipping operations and one vens Institute Maritime Security Cen-
the establishment of ports and harbors that will continue to require research ter (Stevens Institute, 2018), whose
as test-beds for unmanned shipping, in- as well as education of personnel to de- approach includes summer courses
cluding the Port of Rotterdam in Hol- velop, monitor, and administer cyber- where students can focus on cyber-
land (Port of Rotterdam, 2018; security programs within the shipping security specifically for port and ship-
Rademaker, 2017). A large-scale test- industry. This means people will have ping operations. Stevens also has a
bed for unmanned shipping technol- to be educated in maritime cybersecurity, contract for developing training mate-
ogies was also established in Trondheim for both manned and unmanned ship- rials for use throughout the industry
Fjord in Norway, operated jointly with ping operations, as well as in the rap- under a contract from the ABS’s
the Norwegian University of Science idly expanding world of ASVs. Cyber Security Project. Similarly, a
and Technology (NTNU) through new program at Texas A&M Uni-
their Centre for Autonomous Marine versity has recently been set up for
Operations and Systems (AMOS) training cybersecurity engineers, part
(NTNU, 2018a). Beyond just the The Role of Education and of which is intended to focus on mar-
complexities of spatial sensors and Outreach in Advancing itime cybersecurity (Texas A&M
ship command and control software, Maritime Cybersecurity University, 2018).
the cybersecurity of this information The coming need for establishing There remains the question of
has also been an integral concern for standards and training programs to whether and how universities can best
the NTNU program, which includes produce more cybersecurity specialists assist with developing cybersecurity
an important component of collabora- for all areas of the economy is well solutions (Eidam, 2017), but the Na-
tion with the NTNU Center for Cyber known (Platt, 2015). Within the national Science Foundation established

a Center for Trustworthy Scientific been easy for most graduate students (Wagstaff, 2017). One can expect
Infrastructure in 2016, as well as or researchers to either learn to code that development of this technol-
Cybersecurity Centers of Excellence for them or have the kind of access ogy will be the subject of intense
(NSF, 2016, 2017), to assist with that would develop expertise in their focus, with potential for major changes
this effort. Moreover, NSF also listed use. However, the international push in computing methods in the near
quantum technologies as one of their toward quantum computing has future.
top 10 focus areas for the future changed this picture more rapidly Apart from simply using quantum
(Cordova, 2017). As there have than many people realize. Currently, computers as a means of increasing
been rapid technology advances in the United States still holds the inter- the capability and security of comput-
this area, it is not just possible, but national lead in quantum technologies ing systems, quantum methods can
also likely, that there will be an in- patents, dominated by patents from also be used to change the way com-
tersection between improved secu- IBM, but China and other countries munications are done in the first
rity and quantum technologies in have very rapidly increased their out- place. Technologies have been suc-
the near future. put of patents in this area (Brachmann, cessfully developed that allow en-
2017). IBM has now made access to tangled photons to be generated on
their 5-qbit quantum computer, called even small communication satellites
Q, freely accessible over the Internet (cf. Tang et al., 2016). Using these
Quantum Components (IBM, 2018). They also continue to technologies, China has installed
of Cybersecurity manufacture chips with higher num- fiber optic cables with quantum en-
in the Future bers of qbits, which are being made cryption between several of their
Currently, encryption methods available to advanced researchers. In major cities and also demonstrated
used are not based on quantum en- addition to now having access to quan- free-space quantum communications
cryption methods but are susceptible tum computers, the recent develop- via satellite that have been found to
to decryption using quantum com- ment of quantum programming be unhackable (Courtland, 2016;
puting methods. As quantum encryp- languages, such as Quil, and instruc- Nordrum, 2017; Spender, 2017).
tion methods are developed and tional manuals on how to use them While the U.S. Navy has continued
deployed, as an interim step, there (Smith et al., 2017) will broaden the to push for new methods of optical
are methods being proposed that base of users familiar with quantum communications between aircraft
will make existing encryption computing technologies. There is and submarines (Keller, 2017a), it
methods less susceptible or hopefully now even a free online 1-qbit comput- may soon be the case that quantum
resistant to hacking using quantum er available to test software instructions communications provide a viable alter-
methods (Mandelbaum, 2018). Vari- before running the code on a larger native with improved security as well
ous algorithms have been developed, quantum system (Geils, 2017). Nor (Anonymous, 2018b; Gerginov et al.,
and some of them have proven sus- is IBM alone in developing quantum 2017). While there is an existing body
ceptible to quantum hacking. One computing technologies; naturally, of literature outlining methods for
new method, termed a “modified Microsoft has entered the field as quantum (and “postquantum”) cryp-
knapsack” approach (Hamlin, 2017), well, using a somewhat different ap- tography (cf. Bernstein et al., 2009),
has been developed and is now being proach (Bright, 2017), as have Intel, some have continued to question the
tested to see if it can stand up to Google, and others (Corneliussen, practicality of quantum cryptography
quantum hacks. 2018). However, what many think (Jackson, 2013). However, with the
The use of quantum computing may really broaden the availability of Chinese demonstrations, now the
was until recently considered a fairly quantum computing was the develop- question is not whether quantum
abstract and remote possibility, re- ment of new methods of building cryptography is a good idea but, in-
quiring highly specialized equipment quantum computer chips that do not stead, how it should best be developed
and training. There are a few large require them to be supercooled and not just for connected computers
D-Wave quantum computers in the can take advantage of chip manu- but also to network manned and
United States with a 512-qbit capacity facturing technologies similar to unmanned systems in the real world
(Thompson, 2014), but it has not those already in use by the industry (Sasaki, 2017). The inevitability of

this approach is reflected in a draft mes- in the not distant future, many of the one source of information to assist
sage to the President by the National problems with the inevitable unpro- with addressing this need.
Security Telecommunications Advi- tected cybersecurity “weak links”
sory Committee (NSTAC) in 2017, found in using these traditional ap-
which noted that “the government proaches could be eliminated with a Acknowledgments
transition to quantum encryption Thanks for assistance with re-
should consider the impact of quan-
tum computing not just on military and quantum communications. Tech- search materials to Steve Danscuk
or intelligence agencies, but also on nologically, that day may come sooner and Jeff Seifried (U.S. Coast Guard
critical commercial functions…and than many people think, recalling that, Pacific Area), John Mullen (Promia),
develop a plan for implementing a decade ago, the current cell phone Paul Koola (Texas A&M University),
quantum-resistant encryption schemes” technology was essentially unimagin- and discussions with Kevin Traver
(NSTAC, 2017). The benefits of unable. However, as new cybersecurity (MTS), Walt Read (Garibaldis
hackable quantum cryptography are and communication methods arise, Rock!), and Max Bobys (Hudson
obvious (cf. Herman, 2017). they will still require dissemination of Trident) of the MTS Cybersecurity
knowledge of standards, protocols, and and Infrastructure Committee.
maritime cybersecurity expertise that
Summary and Conclusions will require broad awareness through-
Author:
With the integration of new navi- out the industry and a strong program
Dr. Phil McGillivary
gation systems onto 1,800 Coast for training maritime cyber-experts.
U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area
Guard vessels (Keller, 2014), naval While NIST Cybersecurity Work-
Science Liaison
vessels, and an ever-increasing num- shops and online resource materials
Email: [email protected]
ber of commercial ships, there will will help those willing and able to
soon be more than 200,000 vessels access them, to help improve both
now believed at cyber-risk (Naval national and international cybersecu- References
Dome, 2017a). Therefore, improve- rity in the maritime arena, the Marine Anonymous. 2014. Tilted marine. New tech-
ments in maritime security are needed. Technology Society (MTS) has started niques show the damage done by subsidies at
These include improved cybersecurity a Maritime Cybersecurity and Infra- the heart of global [shipping] trade. The Econ-
within shore-based and port opera- structure Committee, which has its omist. Aug. 9, p.62. Available at: https://www.
tions, onboard ships, and among at- goals of (1) providing a forum for the economist.com/finance-and-economics/2014/
development and exchange of mari- 08/09/tilted-marine.
sea communication paths via satellites
(Ingols et al., 2017). For federal maritime cybersecurity ideas, information, Anonymous. 2015, February. Making a suc-
time agencies in the United States, and experiences; (2) advancing aware- cess of CDM [continuous diagnostic moni-
maintaining currency on cybersecurity ness of cyber-risk; (3) promulgating toring]. Federal Computer Week. 29(2):5-7.
best practices can be improved by par- best practices to drive organizational
Anonymous. 2016, December. Call for [marine]
ticipation in annual NIST Cyber- cyber-resiliency; and (4) coordinating
comms standards to address cybersecurity risk.
security Workshops specifically for and disseminating standards, training Sea Technology. 57(12):52.
federal cybersecurity personnel. Simi- documents, guidelines, and maritime
cybersecurity resources through its Anonymous. 2017a, July. Groundbreaking
lar NIST workshops are likewise held
webpage and MTS meetings. Informa- autonomous offshore support vessel proto-
for industry partners. However, while
type. Available at: https://www.oceannews.
method of cybersecurity protocols tion on the committee can be found
com/news/science-technology/groundbreaking-
will continue to evolve, in general, at https://www.mtsociety.org/
autonomous-offshore-support-vessel-prototype.
cybersecurity methods used will be communities/procommittees/maritime-
similar to those in the past and will re- cybersecurity-and-infra.aspx and Anonymous. 2017b, June. DARPA taps Rockwell
quire continuous software patch up- also at http://www.garibaldisrock. Collins to help protect platforms against cyber-
attacks. Unmanned Systems. 35(6):8.
grades and analytics as cyber-systems com/MCSIC/. As a reflection of
move toward implementing auto- community awareness of the need for Anonymous. 2017c, June. One Sea to achieve
mated real-time anomaly detection increased maritime cybersecurity, the autonomous commercial maritime traffic by
and response capabilities. However, MTS Cybersecurity Committee is 2025. Sea Technology. 58(6):9.

Anonymous. 2017d, July. Joint working News. Available at: http://apnews.com/ Courtland, R. 2016, November. China’s
group on cybercrime and prevention. Sea 08ddd54284554c4c8b4d5c7a498c5bf. 2,000-km quantum link is almost complete.
Technology. 59(7):56. The Beijing-Shanghai project pushes the
Baraniuk, C. 2017, August 18. How hackers
limits for “unhackable” links. IEEE Spectrum.
Anonymous. 2017e, September. What’s next are targeting the shipping industry. BBC
53(11)(NA ):11-12. Available at: https://
for cybersecurity? [90 days after the Trump News. Available at: http://bbc.com/news/
spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/security/chinas-
administration’s executive order]. Federal technology-406-85821.
2000km-quantum-link-is-almost-complete.
Computer Week. 31(9):29-32.
Bensalhia, J. 2015, October 12. Cyberattacks
Curcio, J.A., McGillivary, P.A., Fall, K.,
Anonymous. 2017f, October/November. on U.S. ports risk chemical disaster. The
Maffei, A., Schwehr, K., Twigg, R., … Ballou,
L.A. strengthens community cybersecurity. Stack. London, UK: CloserStill Media, Ltd.
P. 2006. Self-positioning smart buoys, the
Government Technology. 30(8):8. Available at: https://thestack.com/security/
“un-buoy” solution: Logistic considerations
2015/10/12/cyberattacks-on-u-s-ports-risk-
Anonymous. 2017g, December. Naval Dome using autonomous surface craft technology
chemical-disaster/.
responds to Clarksons cyber attack. The Maritime and improved communications infrastructure.
Executive. Available at: https://maritime- Bernstein, D., Buchmann, J., & Dahmen, E. In: Proceedings, IEEE/MTS Oceans 06, Sept.
executive.com/corporate/naval-dome-responds- (Eds.). 2009. Post-Quantum Cryptography. 18-22. Boston, MA: IEEE.
to-clarksons-cyberattack#gs.xJTQ3QA. Heidelberg, Germany: Spring Verlag. 245 pp.
DARPA. 2017. Harnessing Autonomy for
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-88702-7_4.
Anonymous. 2017h, December. Global Countering Cyberadversary Systems (HACCS).
maritime technology cooperation centre net- Boyes, H., & Isbell, R. 2017. UK Depart- Available at: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=
work. Available at: https://www.marineinsight. ment of Transport. Code of practice: cyber opportunity&mode=form&id=d53905129
com/shipping-news/global-maritime- security for ships. Available at: https://www. da42b35511f296bfe5746dd&tab=core&_
technology-cooperation-centre-network- gov.uk/government/publications/ship-security- cview=1 and https://www.darpa.mil/program/
officially-launched/. cybersecurity-code-of-practice. harnessing-autonomy-for-countering-
cyberadversary-systems.
Anonymous. 2018a, January. Managing Brachmann, S. 2017, December. U.S. leads
maritime cyber risks in 2018. Safety 4 Sea world in quantum computing patent fil- DNV GL AS. 2016. Recommended practice.
Newsletter. Available at: https://www.safety4sea. ings with IBM leading the charge. Military DNVGL-RP-0496. Cyber security resilience
com/managing-maritime-cyber-risks-in-2018/. & Aerospace Electronics. 28(12). Available management for ships and mobile offshore
at: http://www.militaryaerospace.com/articles/ units in operation. Available at: http://www.
Anonymous. 2018b, January. ‘Quantum pt/2017/12/u-s-leads-world-in-quantum- dnvgl.com.
Radio’ may aid communications indoors, computing-patent-filings-with-ibm-leading-
underground, underwater. NIST News. Avail- the-charge.html. Dunn, J.E. 2017, August. Cyberattacks
able at: https://www.nist.gov/news-events/ on GPS leave ships sailing in dangerous
news/2018/01/quantum-radio-may-aid- Bright, P. 2017, September 25. Microsoft waters. Naked Security. Available at: http://
communications-and-mapping-indoors-and. makes play for next wave of computing with nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/08/07/
quantum computing toolkit. Ars Technica. cyberattacks-on-gps-leave-ships-sailing-in-
Baghdady, J., Kelly, J., Miller, K., Morgan, K., Available at: http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017/ dangerous-waters/.
Li, W., & Johnson, E. 2016a. Underwater op- 09/microsoft-quantum-toolkit.
tical communications links using Orbital Angular Eidam, E. 2017, October/November. Test-
momentum space division multiplexing. MTS/ Cordova, F. 2017, March. 10 big ideas for tube security. Can university research labora-
IEEE Oceans 2016, Sept. 19–22. Monterey, NSF future investments. Testimony before tories unlock the secret to better cybersecurity?
CA: IEEE. the Committee on Science, Space, and Technol- Government Technology, 28-31.
ogy Subcommittee on Research and Technol-
Baghdady, J., Miller, K., Morgan, K., Byrd, ogy, United States House of Representatives European Agency for Network and Infor-
M., Osler, S., Ragusa, R., … Johnson, E. on the National Science Foundation Part 1: mation Security (ENISA). 2011. Cyber
2016b. Multi-gigabit/s underwater opti- Overview and oversight. Available at: https:// security aspects in the marine sector.
cal communication link using orbital angu- www.nsf.gov/about/congress/reports/nsf_big_ Available at: https://www.enisa.europa.eu/
lar momentum multiplexing. Opt. Exp. ideas.pdf. publications/cybersecurity-aspects-in-the-
24(9):9794-805. https://doi.org/10.1364/ maritime-sector-1.
OE.24.009794. Corneliussen, S.T. 2018, January 30. Quan-
tum computing advances spur excitement European Union. 2014. European Union
Baldor, L.C. 2017, July 17. US to create and confusion. Physics Today. Available at: maritime security strategy. Available at:
independent military cyber command. AP https://doi.org/10.1063/PT.6.3.20180130a. https://register.consilium.europa.eu/doc/srv?

l=EN&f=ST%2011205%202014%20INIT Hamlin, N. 2017. Number in mathemati- Jackson, W. 2013, December. Can quantum
and https://ec.europa.eu/maritimeaffairs/sites/ cal cryptography. Open J Discrete Math. encryption work in the real world? Govern-
maritimeaffairs/files/leaflet-european-union- 7:13-31. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojdm.2017. ment Computer News, 10.
maritime-security-strategy_en.pdf. 71003.
Jackson, W. 2014, January. How hashing
Federal Register. 2017. Navigation and Hayes, C.R. 2016. Maritime cybersecurity: (with a pinch of salt) is better than encryption.
Vessel Inspection Circular (NVIC) 05-17: The future of national security. Thesis, Government Computer News, 10.
Guidelines for addressing maritime cyber U.S. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey,
Keller, J. 2014, February. Coast Guard to
risks at Maritime Transportation Security CA. pp. 78.
develop integrated navigation systems for
Act (MTSA) regulated facilities. Coast
Heckman, M.R., McCready, J., Mayhew, D., 1,800 boats and ships. Military & Aerospace
Guard Docket No. USCG-2016-1084,
& Callahan, W.L. 2017. Towards a maritime Electronics, 6.
32189-32191.
cybersecurity compliance. In:, eds. Maritime
Keller, J. 2017a, March. Navy looks for
Geils, B. 2017. Quantum code test site Cyber Security, DiRenzo, J., Drumhiller, N.,
companies able to build optical communi-
for QUIL software on a 1 qbit machine. & Roberts, F.S., 602. Washington, DC:
cations between aircraft and submarines.
HackHarvard 2017. Available at: http://35. Westphalia Press.
Military & Aerospace Electronics. Available
196.91.242/viz.
Herman, A. 2017, March. Quantum cryp- at: http://www.militaryaerospace.com/
Gerginov, V., da Silva, F.C.S., & Howe, D. tography: A boon for security. National articles/2017/03/optical-communications-
2017. Prospects for magnetic field commu- Review. Available at: http://www.nationalreview. aircraft-submarines.html.
nications and locations using quantum sensors. com/article/445663/quantum-cryptography-
Keller, J. 2017b, December. DARPA ConSec
Rev Sci Instrum. 88(12):125005. https://doi. intelligence-security-improvement-computing.
program seeks to reduce opportunities for
org/10.1063/1.5003821.
Hudson, C. 2017. The reality and man- cyber attack while maintaining trusted com-
Gianfalla, D. 2017. Maritime security— agement of cyber risks for shipping and puting. Military & Aerospace Electronics.
Securing ports, products and shipping. maritime. In: GST North America Ship- Available at: http://www.militaryaerospace.
Keynote at GST North America Shipping ping 2030. Available at: https://maritime. com/articles/2017/12/cyberattack-trusted-
2030. Available at: https://maritime. knect365.com/shipping2030-northamerica/ computing.html.
knect365.com/shipping2030-northamerica/ agenda/2#.
Kuwata, Y., Wolf, M.T., Zarzhitsky, D., &
agenda/2#.
IBM. 2018. The IBM Q experience [the Huntsberger, T.L. 2014. Safe maritime au-
Goel, A. 2017. Cybersecurity in the O&G world of quantum computing]. Available at: tonomous navigation with COLREGS, using
industry. In: What’s Here and What’s Com- https://quantumexperience.ng.bluemix.net/ velocity obstacles. IEEE J Oceanic Eng. 39(1):
ing: Marine Technology Society Dynamic qx/experience. 110-9. https://doi.org/10.1109/JOE.2013.
Positioning Committee Conference, Oct. 10–11, 2254214.
IMO. 2016, June. Interim guidelines on mar-
11 pp. Houston, TX: MTS.
itime cyber risk management. MSC 1/Circ. Lane, D.C., Enrique, S.L., Tacliad, F.C.,
Goldstein, E., & Kneidinger, M. 2014/2015. 1526. Available at: http://edocs.imo.org/ Solio, D.H., Rodney, I.L., Obukhov, D.I., …
The DHS continuous diagnostics and miti- FinalDocuments/English/MSC.1-CIRC. Cunningham, D.E. 2017. [DARPA] High-
gation program. Coast Guard Proc. 71(4): 1526(E).docx. Assurance Cyber Space Systems (HACSS) for
22-4. small satellite mission integrity (SSC17-V-01).
IMO. 2017, July. Guidelines on Cyber Risk
31st Annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small
Green, G. 2017. [Congressman, 29th Dis- Management. MSC.FAL.1/Circ.3. Available at:
Satellites. pp 17. Logan, UT: AIAA/Utah
trict, Texas] Press release: Domestic mari- http://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/Security/
State University.
time centers of excellence signed into Guide_to_Maritime_Security/Documents/
law. Available at: https://green.house.gov/ MSC-FAL.1-Circ.3%20-%20Guidelines% Levander, O. 2017, February. Autonomous
media-center/press-releases/domestic- 20On%20Maritime%20Cyber%20Risk% ships on the high seas. IEEE Spectrum, 54(2):
maritime-centers-excellence-legislation- 20Management%20%28Secretariat%29.pdf. 26-31. https://doi.org/10.1109/MSPEC.2017.
signed-law. 7833502.
Ingols, K., Zhivich, M., Brandon, J., &
Groll, E. 2017, December. Cyberattack tar- Koziel, E. 2017. Cyber in a world of plenty: Lloyd’s Register. 2016. Cyber-enabled
gets safety systems at Saudi Aramco. Foreign Secure high-performance on-orbit processing ships. ShipRight procedure—Autonomous
Policy. Available at: http://foreignpolicy.com/ (SSC17-XII-08). In: 31st Annual Confer- ships (Version 1.0). 23 pp. Available
2017/12/21/cyberattach-targets-safety-system- ence on Small Satellites. pp 9. Logan, UT: at: http://info.lr.org/l/12702/2016-07-
at-saudi-aramco/. AIAA/Utah State University. 07/32rrbk.

Lohrmann, D. 2017, May. New trump McGillivary, P.A., de Sousa, J., Martins, R., security Research: Improving Science, Engi-
executive order on cybersecurity: Just the Rajan, K., & Leroy, F. 2012. Integrating neering, and Institutions. Washington, DC:
beginning. Government Technology. Avail- autonomous underwater vessels, surface vessels The National Academies Press. 104 pp. https://
able at: http://www.govtech.com/blogs/ and aircraft as persistent surveillance com- doi.org/10.17226/24676.
lohrmann-on-cybersecurity/new-trump- ponents of ocean observing systems. In: Pro-
National Academies of Science, Engineering,
executive-order-on-cybersecurity-just-an- ceedings, IEEE AUV 2012, Sept. 24–27.
and Medicine. 2017. Additional Observations
opening-act.html. Southampton, UK: IEEE.
on Foundational Cybersecurity Research. Im-
Luciano, M. 2017, August. Yes, even ship- McGillivary, P.A., Fall, K., & Maffei, A. proving Science, Engineering and Institutions.
ping vessels are susceptible to cyberattacks. 2007, May. Wireless communication advances An Annex: Unclassified Abbreviated Version
Wireless Design. Available at: https://www. for maritime use. Sea Technology, 10-4. of a Classified Report. Washington, DC: The
wirelessdesignmag.com/blog/2017/08/yes-even- National Academies Press. 10 pp. https://dois.
McGillivary, P.A., Hine, R., Anderson, R., &
shipping-vessels-are-susceptible-cyberattacks. org/10.17226/24949.
Rognstad, M. 2007. Long-term, Long-range
Lyngaas, S. 2015, March. Drawing back the bathymetric mapping in the southern ocean National Academies of Science, Engineering,
curtain on cyberwar. A review of Shane Harris’ from wave-powered autonomous surface vessels. and Medicine. 2017. Software Updates as
book: “@War. The Rise of the Military-Internet In: Cooper, A., Raymond, C., and the 10th a Mechanism for Resilience and Security.
Complex.” Federal Computer Week, 28-9. ISEAE Editorial Team, “Antarctica: A Keystone Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC:
in a Changing World.” Online Proceedings The National Academies Press. 92 pp. https://
Mandelbaum, R.F. 2018, February. Quantum for the 10th International Symposium on doi.org/10.17226/24833.
hacking could be ‘catastrophic’ if we don’t Antarctic Earth Sciences. U.S. Geological Sur-
develop better cryptography. Gizmodo: Privacy National Institute of Standards and Tech-
vey Open-File Report 2007-1047. Available
and Security, 16. Available at: https://gizmodo. nology (NIST). 2018a. National Initiative
at: http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2007/1047/.
com/u-s-government-has-69-proposed- for Cybersecurity Education (NICE). Avail-
candidates-for-quantum-1823084809. National Academies of Science, Engineering, able at: http://www.nist.gov/itl/applied-
and Medicine. 2007. Toward a Safer and More cybersecurity/nice.
Manning, R.D. 2017. Navigation and Vessel Secure Cyberspace. Consensus Study Report.
Inspection Circular (NVIC) 05-17: Guide- National Institute of Standards and Tech-
Washington, DC: The National Academies
lines for addressing cyber risks at maritime nology (NIST). 2018b. NICE cybersecurity
Press. 328 pp. https://dpo/prg/10.17226/11925.
transportation security act regulated facilities. workforce framework (NIST special publication
Federal Register. 82(132):32189-91. National Academies of Science, Engineering, 800-181). Available at: http://doi.org/10.6028/
and Medicine. 2010. Proceedings of a Work- NIST.SP.800-181.
Maritime Risk Symposium. 2017. Available shop on Deterring Cyberattacks: Informing National Research Council. 2014. At the
at: http://www.tiffin.edu/criminaljustice/ Strategies and Developing Options for U.S. Nexus of Cybersecurity and Public Policy.
maritime-risk-symposium-2017. Policy. Washington, DC: The National Acad- Some Basic Concepts and Issues. Consensus
emies Press. 400 pp. https://doi.org/10.17226/ Report. ashington, DC: The National Acade-
Martin, R., & Rajasekaran, S. 2016. Data
12997. mies Press. 150 pp. https://doi.org/10.17226/
centric approach to analyzing security threats
in underwater sensor networks. In: MTS/ National Academies of Science, Engineering, 18749.
IEEE Oceans 2016, Sept. 19-23. Monterey, and Medicine. 2015. Cybersecurity Dilemmas: National Science Foundation. 2016. Center
CA: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/OCEANS. Technology, Policy, and Incentives: Sum- for Trustworthy Scientific Infrastructure.
2016.7761267. mary of Discussions at the 2014 Raymond and Available at: https://trustedci.org (accessed
Beverly Sackler U.S.-U.K. Scientific Forum. 27 January 2018).
McGillivary, P.A., & Hine, R. 2007. Wave-
Washington, DC: The National Academies
powered autonomous surface vessels as com- National Science Foundation. 2017. Cyber-
Press. 36 pp. https://doi.org/10/17226/21833.
ponents of ocean observing systems. In: security Center of Excellence. Available at:
Pacific Congress on Marine Science & Tech- National Academies of Science, Engineering, https://www.nsf.gov/attachments/190458/
nology (PACON) 2007. Honolulu, HI: and Medicine. 2016. Protection of Transpor- public/CTSC-CCoE-LFW-May-32017.pdf.
PACON International. tation Infrastructure from Cyber Attacks: A
National Security Telecommunications
Primer. Washington, DC: The National Acad-
McGillivary, P.A., de Sousa, J., & Martins, R. Advisory Committee (NSTAC). 2017.
emies Press. 183 pp. https://doi.org/10.17226/
2012, October. Connecting the dots: Net- NSTAC Report to the president on emerg-
23516.
working maritime fleets of autonomous systems ing technologies. Strategic vision executive
for science & surveillance. Marine Technol- National Academies of Science, Engineering, summary, May 18, pre-decisional draft.
ogy Reporter, 33-8. and Medicine. 2017. Foundational Cyber- Available at: https://www.dhs.gov/sites/

default/files/publications/Draft%20NSTAC% Parsons, R. 2016. Port of Long Beach: How cryption offers a more granular approach to
20ETSV%20Report%20Executive% the ‘virtual port’ enhances domain awareness, securing legacy computer systems and new
20Summary%20508%20Compliant_1.pdf. incident response & recovery. In: International solutions alike. Federal Computer Week.
Port Security Conference. June 1-2, London, 31(7):8. Available at: https://digital.1105media.
Naval Dome. 2017a. More than 200,000
UK: SMI Group, Limited. Available at: com/FCW/2017/FCW_1708/FW_170815Q1_
vessels sail exposed to cyberattack. This should
https://www.asdevents.com/data/media/ 701922973.html
be a wake-up call to the shipping industry.
E15250_agenda.pdf and https://10times.
Available at: https://www.navaldome.com/ Sasaki, M. 2017, April. Quantum networks:
com/international-port-security.
threat.html. Where should be heading? Quantum Science
PAS Global. 2017. ICS cybersecurity, safety, and Technology. 2(2):19. Available at: http://
Naval Dome. 2017b, December. Cyber
compliance: How to protect control assets orcid.org/oooo-0002-9508-570X.
penetration tests underscore maritime indus-
before the cybersecurity egg cracks. Power
try’s nightmare security scenario. Hellenic Schill, N. 2017, September. Advancing mari-
Engineering, 10. Available at: http://www.
Shipping News. Available at: http://www. time intelligence with real time satellite AIS.
power-eng.com/whitepapers/2017/11/how-to-
hellenicshippingnews.com/cyber-penetration- ECO. 22-5.
protect-control-assets-before-the-cybersecurity-
tests-underscore-maritime-industrys-nightmare-
egg-cracks.html. Smith, R.S., Curtis, M.J., & Zeng, W.J. 2017.
security-scenario/.
A practical quantum instruction set architecture.
Platt, J.R. 2015. Raising the bar for cyber-
Noll, G.T. 2017, May. A location strategy for Version 2.0. Quantum Physics. Available at:
security specialists. More training and standards
funding port infrastructure. Marine Technol- arXiv:1608.03355v2.
are needed to meet the growing demand. IEEE
ogy Reporter, 22-5.
The Institute. 39(1):9. Spender, T. 2017, July. Teleportation:
Nordrum, A. 2017, October. China demon- Photon particles today, humans tomorrow?
Port and Airport Research Institute (PARI). BBC News. Available at: http://www.bbc.
strates quantum encryption by hosting a video
2017. Introduction to operations. 18 pp. com/news/science-environment-405943-387.
call. IEEE Spectrum. Available at: https://
Available at: http://www.pari.go.jp.
spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/telecom/security/
Stevens Institute. 2018. Maritime Security
china-successfully-demonstrates-quantum- Port of Rotterdam. 2018. More vessels Center Summer Research Institute. Available
encryption-by-hosting-a-video-call. call on a safe port. Available at: https://www. at: https://www.stevens.edu/SummerResearch
portofrotterdam.com/en/news-and-press- Institute.
Norwegian University of Science and
releases/more-vessels-call-on-a-safe-port.
Technology (NTNU). 2018a. Centre for Tang, Z., Chandrasekara, R., Tan, Y.C.,
Autonomous Marine Operations and Systems Port Security Technology Conference. 2017 Cheng, C., Sha, L., Hiang, Z., … Ling, A.
(AMOS). Available at: https://www.ntnu.edu/ June 19-20. London, UK: SMI Group Limited. 2016. Generation and analysis of correlated
amos (accessed 27 January 2018). Available at: https://www.smi-online.co.uk/ pairs of photons on board a nanosatellite.
Norwegian University of Science and defence/uk/port-security-technology. Phys. Rev. 5:054022. https://doi.org/10.1103/
Technology (NTNU). 2018b. Center for PhysRevApplied.5.054022.
Quaintance, Z. 2017, October/November.
Cyber and Information Security (CCIS). Beyond the cyberheadlines. We break down Texas A&M University. 2017. Master of
Available at: https://ccis.no/ (accessed 27 the biggest cyberevents from the past year. Engineering in engineering with specializa-
January 2018). Government Technology, 40-1. tion in cybersecurity. Available at: https://
engineering.tamu.edu/academics/degrees/
Osborn, K. 2017, November. Navy and Rademaker, E. 2017. Change of an era: graduate/master-of-engineering-in-engineering-
Army Cyber Mission Force teams are now [Rotterdam] Becoming a smart port. In: Euro- with-a-specialization-in-cybersecurity.
operational. Defense Systems. Available at: pean Transportation GIS Summit. Berlin,
https://defensesystems.com/articles/2017/11/ Germany: ESRI. Available at: http://proceedings. Thomas, R. 2017. Heavy traffic. Develop-
02/army-navy-cyber-mission-teams-u.s.-cyber- esri.com/library/userconf/ets17/papers/ets_ ment in vessel traffic management and auto-
command.aspx. 16.pdf. mated identification systems are enhancing
security by making constant observation more
Paganini, P. 2015, October. U.S. ports are Richardson, J.M. 2016. A design for main- practical. International Maritime & Port
still vulnerable to cyberattacks that release taining maritime superiority (Version 1.0). Security. 4(2):16-20.
dangerous chemicals. Cybersecurity in the 8 pp. Available at: http://www.navy.mil/cno/
maritime industry is crucial for homeland docs/cno_stg.pdf. Thompson, C. 2014, May. The revolutionary
security. Security Affairs. Available at: http:// quantum computer that may not be quantum
securityaffairs.co/wordpress/40960/security/ Roy, R. 2017, August. A simple fix that’s at all. Wired. Available at: https://www.wired.
us-ports-vulnerable-hacking.html. tough for attackers. Format preserving encom/2014/05/quantum-computing/.

Trump, D.J. 2017. Presidential Executive
Order on strengthening the cybersecurity of
federal networks and critical infrastructure.
Available at: https://www.whitehouse.gov/
presidential-actions/presidential-executive-
order-strengthening-cybersecurity-federal-
networks-critical-infrastructure/.
Tuttle, R. 2016. No man and the sea.

ACTUV deployment tests boundaries of
autonomous ship capabilities. Unmanned
Systems. 34(5):30-1.
U.K. National Cyber Security Centre. 2018.

National Cyber Security Centre website. Avail-
able at: http://www.ncsc.gov.uk/guidance.
U.S. Coast Guard. 2015. United States

Coast Guard cyber strategy. Available at:
http://www.overview.uscg.mil/Portals/6/
Documents/PDF/CG_Cyber_Strategy.pdf.
U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD).

2017. Office of Maritime Security. Available at:
https://www.marad.dot.gov/environment-
and-safety/office-of-security/.
Vaas, L. 2017, September. Suspected mass-

spoofing of ships’ GPS in the Black Sea.
Naked Security. Available at: https://
nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2017/09/26/
suspected-mass-spoofing-of-ships-gps-in-
the-black-sea/.
Wagstaff, J. 2017, September. Australia

researchers say find a new way to build
quantum computers. Reuters Technology
News. Available at: https://www.reuters.
com/article/us-australia-computing-quantum/
australia-researchers-say-find-new-way-to-build-
quantum-computers-idUSKCN1BH13X.
Wingrove, M. 2017, November. Opinion:

Will Clarkson’s clients become the next cyber
attack victims? Marine Electronics & Com-
munications. Available at: http://www.marinemec.
com/news/view,opinion-will-clarksons-clients-
become-cyberattack-victims_50074.htm.
Zorabedian, J. 2015. US Navy renews train-

ing in celestial navigation over GPS hack fears.
Available at: https://nakedsecurity.sophos.
com/2015/10/22/us-navy-renews-training-in-
celestial-navigation-over-gps-hack-fears/.

PAPER
Advances in Distributed Fiber-Optic

Sensing for Monitoring Marine Infrastructure,
Measuring the Deep Ocean, and Quantifying
the Risks Posed by Seafloor Hazards
AUTHORS ABSTRACT
Arthur H. Hartog Distributed optical fiber sensors provide new opportunities for monitoring the
Schlumberger Cambridge Research UK marine environment. We review the physical foundations of this sensor technology
Currently with Worthy Photonics and discuss how it can be applied to radically augment the networks of subsea sen-
Ltd, Winchester, UK sors that help monitor fundamental marine processes and to complete our under-
Mohammad Belal standing of local, regional, and global interactions in this environment.
Department of Physics and Keywords: distributed fiber-optic sensors, subsea infrastructure monitoring, seabed
Opto-electronics Research Centre, stability, turbidity currents, subsea seismic activity
University of Southampton
Michael A. Clare very well established, and recent work effects needs to be evaluated; (c) the
National Oceanographic Centre, has allowed very fine spatial resolu- optical architecture may not allow
Southampton, UK tion (<5 cm) and extremely long two-way transmission beyond the first
lengths (>100 km) to be interrogated. optical amplifier and will certainly not
Although there is a trade-off between be possible beyond the repeater where
Introduction performance parameters and the signals are converted to the electrical
D istributed optical fiber sensors

(DOFS) form a class of sensors that
provide a continuous reading of
finest spatial resolution cannot usually
be achieved over the longest range
systems, addressing more than 1 million
domain, reformatted, and retrans-
mitted; and (d) it should be appreciated
that the undersea cable routes are
measurands (e.g., temperature, strain) points on a single sensing fiber has designed for the efficient transmission
as a function of distance along the been reported (Denisov et al., 2016). of data, not necessarily high-priority
sensing fiber (Hartog, 2017). Although A global push toward faster com- locations for valuable environmental
the technology emerged more than munication and efficient digital data monitoring. For example, there is a
30 years ago (Hartog, 1983), it con- transfer is underpinned by a growing very dense coverage across the Atlantic
tinues to evolve and improve as new network of more than 420 undersea Ocean from New England to the
physical principles, optical inter- optical telecommunications cables that United Kingdom, Ireland, France,
rogation methods, and signal process- cover a distance of over 1.1 million km and the Iberian Peninsula, with a few
ing techniques are applied to it. This (Routley, 2017). The opportunity to other transocean cables, for example,
class of sensor has gradually gained use spare capacity on this global net- Latin America to Africa, as well as
acceptance as a tool in industrial appli- work for environmental monitoring cables following the contours of the
cations and a research tool, particularly is intriguing. However, this must be continents. This still leaves vast tracts
in environmental science (Kobs et al., tempered with a few considerations, of the ocean with no cable whatsoever,
2014; Striegl & Loheide, 2012; Tyler namely, (a) the operators may have and this situation is far more marked in
et al., 2008). no capacity that they can make avail- the southern oceans. New cable routes
Techniques for distributed mea- able; (b) the risk of cross-talk from to interconnect Small Island Develop-
surements of temperature, static strain, sensor interrogators to communication ing States and the proposed deploy-
and vibration (dynamic strain) are now channels through nonlinear optical ment of bespoke scientific cables

provide future opportunities that could tively straightforward in that the tem- of the refractive index of the glass
help to fill such geographic gaps in perature at the fiber usually follows forming the fiber.
oceanic coverage (Howe et al., 2010). that on the outside faithfully and The highest proportion of the scat-
The application of DOFS technol- rapidly. In the case of strain measure- tering (Rayleigh scattering) is caused
ogy, therefore, offers opportunities for ments, the cable has the additional by static inhomogeneities, which arise
monitoring long, inaccessible assets in function of a transducer and its design from fluctuations of density or compo-
a cost-effective manner; however, so affects the calibration of the sensors. sition of the glass. These inhomogene-
far, the approach has found relatively The design of the cable becomes even ities are thermodynamically induced
limited acceptance in a subsea context. more complex when it comes to trans- during the high-temperature drawing
This article provides a review of the ferring external pressure to the fiber of the fiber, when the material is still
technology, outlines some of the limi- while maintaining mechanical and fluid and frozen in as the fiber cools.
tations, and discusses some of the chemical protection. For chemical They appear on a distance scale much
attractive opportunities for applying sensing, the cabling problem is yet smaller than a wavelength of the inci-
DOFS in the marine environment. more challenging and has been solved dent light. The static nature of this
in only very benign physical conditions. type of inhomogeneity results in no
The interrogation system is the set exchange of energy between the glass
Technology of of optics, electronics, and embedded and the incident light during the opti-
Distributed Sensing software that probes the sensing fiber cal interaction, and so the frequency
DOFS systems consist of a sensing and converts the returning, modulated of the incident light is preserved in
fiber cable and an interrogation sys- light into a digital data stream that de- the process; that is, this is an elastic
tem. The sensing fiber is usually an scribes the state of the measurand(s) process.
optical fiber of the type used for along the fiber. Other inhomogeneities are dy-
long-distance telecommunications or namic, caused by thermally generated
local area networks. Therefore, sensing Interactions Between Measurands acoustic waves in the fiber. Very high-
can be performed on unmodified fibers and the Light Traveling in an frequency acoustic vibrations (at c.
that were initially installed specifically Optical Fiber 13 THz in silica) occur in the mole-
for telemetry or telecommunications, Optical fiber communication cular bonds between the atoms form-
on spare wavelength channels, or even systems are known for their ability to ing the glass; their energy quanta are
on spare fibers within an existing cable. operate in harsh conditions, and the known as optical phonons. Raman
Sensing fibers sometimes deviate from transmission formats and error correc- scattering is an interaction between
such conventional designs in harsh tion codes make them insensitive, in the incident light and these molecular
environments. For example, fibers their primary role, to environmental vibrations; it results in an exchange of
with special coatings or glass composi- effects (e.g., temperature, strain energy between the glass and the inci-
tions are required to handle elevated electromagnetic interference). None- dent light in which the scattered pho-
temperatures. In the marine environ- theless, a large body of research has ton loses energy equal to one phonon
ment, the existing fiber cables used demonstrated that, by interrogating (Stokes Raman scattering) or gains that
for telecommunications, energy inter- the fiber appropriately, the effects of amount of energy (anti-Stokes Raman
connects, and tiebacks from offshore external conditions on many of the scattering), and so this process is in-
wind farms are usually suitable for properties (e.g., intensity, phase, tran- elastic. The anti-Stokes process re-
some distributed sensing applications. sit time, polarization) of the light that quires energy to be transferred from
The cable structure is critical in is transmitted can be exploited for the glass to the scattered light, and so
distributed sensing. The fiber must sensing (Hartog, 2017). it is strongly dependent on the temper-
be protected from mechanical and Light scattering is central to the ature of the fiber at the point where the
chemical damage and yet transfer the operation of distributed sensors, in scattering occurs; in contrast, the tem-
measurands from the external environ- providing the return signal and the perature sensitivity of the Raman Stokes
ment to the sensing fiber with minimal sensitivity to the main measurands. process is far lower (see Figure 1).
distortion. In the case of temperature Scattering is caused by very small- Brillouin scattering is another type
sensing, the design of the cable is rela- scale, naturally occurring fluctuations of optical interaction with thermal

FIGURE 1 fines of the optical waveguide. [Note
that methods that use the difference
Schematic illustration of the spectra of the backscattered light in typical optical fiber for 1,550-nm
(192.4 THz) illumination and their sensitivity to temperature. (Left) Broad frequency range encom- in forward propagation time between
passing all the spectral bands of interest. (Right) Expanded view showing the relationship between different modes in a fiber have also
the Brillouin backscatter and the Rayleigh backscatter that returns at the same wavelength as the been explored (Gusmeroli et al.,
incident light. Lower right diagram applies to zero strain for two different values of temperature, and 1989) but not commercialized proba-
the diagram above it applies to 22°C for zero and 0.1% strain. Adapted from Hartog (2017). bly owing to the far more challenging
time requirements (three to four orders
of magnitude) and their resulting infe-
rior performance. There are, however,
some examples of their use in the con-
text of this article, for example, Dai
et al. (2008)].
In most distributed sensors, the
distance resolution is achieved through
time-domain reflectometry: a probe
pulse is launched into the fiber, and
the optical signal that is returned to
the interrogator is light that has been
scattered, recaptured by the waveguide
in the return direction, and guided
back to the launching end.
Optical time-domain reflectometry
acoustic waves that is also inelastic. In analysis of this spectrum therefore (OTDR) is a technique carried over
this case, the frequency of the acoustic allows several distinct physical effects from telecommunication practices
waves is much lower (c. 11 GHz for an to be resolved independently, and (Barnoski & Jensen, 1976), where it
incident wavelength of 1,550 nm) this forms the basis of most DOFS. is commonly used for checking the
than for Raman scattering, and the The relative wavelengths and signal installation of new fiber cables and mon-
relevant phonons are known as acous- strengths of the backscattered light in itoring the state of installed links. It has
tic phonons. Brillouin scattering typical optical fibers are illustrated in been adapted for sensing by studying the
occurs between the incident light and Figure 1. signals returned from the fiber, and
those acoustic waves that have the particularly their optical spectra, in far
same acoustic wavelength as the optical Distance Resolution more detail than is required for the
wavelength of the incident light. The entire purpose of distributed purposes of verifying the performance
Again, the scattered light can be up- optical fiber sensing is to provide an of optical communication circuits.
shifted in frequency (anti-Stokes estimate of the value of the measurand Distance z along the fiber is
scattering) or downshifted (Stokes) in as a continuous function of distance. encoded into time t on the returning
the interaction. As shown in Figure 1, Fundamental to the operation of signal through the relation z(t) = c ⋅
the intensity of the Brillouin spectra DOFS is therefore a mechanism for t / (2Ng), where c is the speed of light
lines, as well as their frequency shift resolving distance along the fiber. In in vacuum and Ng is the group refrac-
from the incident light, depends on almost all cases, it is the two-way tive index for the sensing fiber at the
temperature (lower right-hand dia- transit time from the interrogator to operating wavelength. At 1,550 nm,
gram) and strain (upper right-hand the resolved location and back that Ng is typically 1.468 in a single-mode
diagram). provides distance discrimination. fiber, and this results in a delay of
Thus, both Raman and Brillouin Thus, the measurement is conducted about 10 ns in the two-way transit
scattering processes result in new in a reflectometric configuration, sim- time for each metre of sensing fiber.
features appearing in the frequency ilar to radar, sonar, or ultrasonics, but The essential functional blocks in
spectrum of the scattered light. The operating in this case in the 1-D con- an OTDR (Figure 2) are a pulsed

FIGURE 2 fiber propagation path. This makes
for a very sensitive measurement, but
Schematic diagram of an optical time-domain reflectometer and typical signals measured as a
function of distance along the fiber. Black curve: with an incoherent source; blue curve: with a one that is not location resolved, unless
coherent source. Adapted from Hartog (2017). multiple such measurements are avail-
able over diverse paths and can be
triangulated for a location of the epi-
center of the quake. It should also be
noted that distributed vibration sen-
sors, when connected to fibers that
are straight, are insensitive to waves ar-
riving perpendicularly to the fiber
(Dean et al., 2015; Hartog, 2017).
The sensitivity that is detected arises
from the wave components that are
parallel to the fiber, and this applies
also the work of Marra et al. (2018).
Thus, signals that are detected most
likely originate from the curvature of
the wave fronts of the seismic signals
or from deviations of the sensing
cable from a perfect straight line.
laser source, a device for separating another being the bandwidth of the Sensitivity to Measurands
forward- and backward-traveling probe signal (in usual cases, the recip- Collecting the light backscattered
light, a receiver to convert the back- rocal of the pulse duration) or that of from a probe pulse provides informa-
scatter signal into an electrical voltage, the physical process generating the par- tion on the integrity of the optical
and a data acquisition unit. In tele- ticular part of the scattered light used transmission line, but it is not, in itself,
communication applications, the in the measurement. useful for sensing. The sensitivity of
source has low coherence (typically Spread-spectrum methods, such as distributed sensors to specific measur-
a relative bandwidth of 1–2%, i.e., frequency-modulated, continuous- ands arises from a more detailed use of
10–30 nm), and the signal takes the wave encoding or pseudorandom cod- the spectrum of the backscattered
appearance of the black sloping line ing, borrowed from the field of radar, light. As discussed in the section on
in Figure 2, which includes spikes are also able to provide distance resolu- “Issues of Performance: Limitations,”
caused by reflections and drops in sig- tion based on two-way transit time and three types of scattering (Raman,
nal power at localized loss points; its have been employed in distributed Brillouin, and Rayleigh) are commonly
slope is indicative of the attenuation sensing (Glombitza, 1998; Park et al., used in distributed sensors to extract
of the fiber. In distributed sensors, a 2006). the information of interest from the
frequency selection function is also The techniques described here that backscattered light spectrum.
used to choose the spectral compo- are based on reflectometry differ from Raman-based distributed tempera-
nents that are passed to the receiver. the recent article on earthquake detec- ture sensors select the anti-Stokes
Although the signal returning to tion using existing telecommunica- Raman scattering; its intensity as a
the interrogator is continuous, it is tions cables (Marra et al., 2018), in function of distance along the fiber is
invariably converted to a stream of dig- which the optical fiber is looped back a proxy for local temperature (Dakin,
itized values and the sampling rate of at the remote end and the signal is re- 1984). Usually, a less temperature-
the analog-to-digital converter deter- turned on a second fiber. In the case of sensitive spectral line (Raman Stokes
mines the spatial separation of adjacent the work of Marra et al. (2018), the [Dakin, 1984] or Rayleigh [Hartog
samples. This is one of the limitations signal that is measured is the integral et al., 1985] wavelength) is also
on the spatial resolution of the system, of the dynamic strain over the entire captured to provide a reference to

compensate for propagation losses in tering. First, it is a very narrow-band We conclude this brief description
the path to and from each sensing process (of order 20-MHz linewidth), of the main distributed sensing tech-
point. The ratio of the anti-Stokes and this, combined with the closer niques with systems that measure rap-
Raman and reference signals is used spacing between the incident light idly changing, that is, dynamic, strain.
to calculate the temperature distribu- and the scattered light, simplifies the Under broadband illumination, the
tion. The Raman ratio derives funda- loss compensation problem in long- Rayleigh backscatter signal is simply a
mentally from the thermal excitation range systems based on the intensity measure of the probe power along the
of molecular bonds in the material, of the backscattered light. Second, fiber and how effectively scattered light
from which the fiber is made, and it the frequency shift (νB) between inci- is captured by the waveguide in the re-
is therefore an absolute measure of dent and scattered light is itself sensi- turn direction (Figure 2, black line).
the temperature of the core of the tive to temperature and strain, and However, with narrowband illumina-
fiber at the point at which the scatter- this provides an independent measure- tion (where the native source band-
ing occurs. In practice, further com- ment that allows temperature and width is far narrower than the inverse
pensation for the loss distribution strain to be extracted from measure- pulse duration; i.e., the coherence
along the sensing fiber and in the opments of intensity and ν B (Belal & time of the source is much longer
tics within the interrogator is required Newson, 2012). Subject to prior cali- than the duration of the probe pulses),
(Bolognini & Hartog, 2013; Hartog, bration and separation of strain from the backscatter signal acquires a
2017). Over short distances and temperature, νB is a measure of abso- completely different character (blue
limited time differences, the referenc- lute temperature at the point of scatter- line in the lower part of Figure 2).
ing to an anti-Stokes Raman back- ing. Finally, the fact that the Brillouin In this case, the light returned from
scatter trace acquired with a known scattering spectrum is very narrow each resolvable section of fiber (δ z = c ⋅
temperature profile can be used for allows optical amplification techniques τ / (2Ng), where τ is the pulse dura-
temperature compensation of other to be used to extend the sensing range tion) is the coherent summation of
measurements that suffer from cross- while adding only acceptable levels of the electric fields reradiated from
sensitivity to temperature (Belal et al., noise to the signal of interest. each of the myriad of scatterers within
2010). The most important characteristic δ z. The relative phase of each of these
Raman distributed sensing tech- of Brillouin scattering is that it can re-emitters is therefore critical to the
nology is very well established with readily be used in a stimulated mode amplitude and phase of the optical
many thousands of installations in in which two counterpropagating wave arriving at the detector. Each
applications, from fire detection in waves interact if their frequency differ- section δ z of fiber is thus functionally
tunnels, through the dynamic thermal ence is exactly equal to νB. Stimulated equivalent to a multipath interferome-
rating of energy cables, to the determi- Brillouin scattering is a three-wave ter, and minute changes in the relative
nation of the flow profile in hydro- process involving the two incident locations of the scatterers can radically
carbon wells (Bolognini & Hartog, light waves and a stimulated acoustic change the returned signal. Coherent
2013; Hartog, 2017). Systems vary in wave. Control of the two incident Rayleigh backscatter is thus a very sen-
sophistication from relatively low-cost waves has allowed researchers to dem- sitive indicator of strain, with modern
units able to monitor a few kilometers onstrate remarkable features such as sensors resolving extensions of order
of sensing fiber with a resolution of extremely fine spatial resolution (a 1 nm over distances of a few meters.
order 2 m (and a few tenths of 1 K) few millimeters) and very fast update Changes of local temperature, which
to more advanced systems able to times (of order 10 ms) (Hotate, alter primarily the refractive index of
resolve 1 m or better over 10 km at a 2013; Motil et al., 2016) and, in the sensing fiber, are also able to mod-
resolution of order 0.01 K as well as some cases, apply them to practical ulate the backscatter signal.
systems optimized for the long dis- problems (Imai et al., 2010; Kumagai In coherent Rayleigh backscatter,
tances (30–50 km) required for moni- et al., 2013). A related technique the phase of the backscattered light,
toring subsea energy cables and flow allows single, addressable points to be as well as its amplitude, is modulated
lines. interrogated on a microsecond update by the measurand. The coherent
Brillouin scattering is a far richer time scale over short ranges (Mizuno Rayleigh backscatter signal is random
process for sensing than Raman scat- et al., 2016). (determined by the random dispositions

of the scattering elements within each These techniques are described as (Froggatt & Moore, 1998; Hartog,
resolvable section) but stable if the “vibration” or “acoustic” sensing, but 2017; Koyamada et al., 2009). In the
fiber condition is itself stable and the they also respond to temperature very case of Koyamada et al. (2009), a tem-
frequency of the probe source is also sensitively (about 800 rad/K for a perature resolution of 0.01 K at a spa-
constant. One is therefore exploiting gauge length of 10 m), and the separa- tial resolution of 1 m over a range of
dynamic changes of this random sig- tion of the two effects usually exploits 8 km was demonstrated.
nal. The transfer function from strain the fact that the temperature signals
to amplitude is itself random and non- have a much lower frequency content Issues of Performance:
linear; nonetheless, these effects are compared to the acoustic signal. Limitations
commonly used in applications such The three scattering techniques, Nonlinear optical effects set a fun-
as intrusion detection where the when used together, reinforce each damental limit on the performance of
threats can be classified despite the other. For example, combining DOFS. At high optical intensities, the
nature of the sensor response. Raman and Brillouin measurements fiber responds nonlinearly: owing to
In applications where signal fidelity is a robust means of measuring temper- the small size of the core (8–50 μm
is important, it is usual to determine ature and strain independently in diameter), moderate (1–10 W)
strain from the phase change differen- (Alahbabi et al., 2005b; Belal et al., light levels result in large optical
tiated over a defined fiber interval 2010). Similarly, the Brillouin tech- power densities, and this brings about
known as the gauge length, wherein nique provides static strain measure- several undesirable effects such as stim-
the differential phase varies relatively ments at a moderate strain resolution ulated Brillouin and Raman scattering.
linearly with strain (Hartog & Kader, (Belal & Newson, 2011; Maughan These stimulated processes build up
2012). A number of different tech- et al., 2001) that can be complemented along the length of the sensing fiber re-
niques have been devised based on by the much more sensitive dynamic sulting in the transfer of available
this approach to achieve a distributed strain obtained from coherent probe power to their corresponding
vibration sensor. Such a sensor not Rayleigh backscatter. Here, we use Stokes lines, instead of delivering that
only returns the spatial existence of a the term “static strain measurement” power to the intended locations fur-
disturbance but also quantifies the to denote the fact that the results can ther along the fiber. This distorts any
time-varying magnitude of the strain be referenced to a datum for long measurements based on the spontane-
at each location along the fiber durations and even if the equipment ous versions of the processes. The
(Hartog, 2017; Hartog & Kader, is disconnected. In contrast, a dynamic refractive index itself is modified by
2012; Hartog & Liokumovich, 2013; measurement loses its reference to a the presence of high optical power
Hartog et al., 2013), an extension by known initial state if the equipment densities (the Kerr effect) and results
1 nm of the gauge length resulting in is turned off or disconnected. Dis- in broadening of the spectrum of the
~9.4 mrad of phase change. tributed vibration sensing offers a probe light, which degrades the mea-
In the differential phase measure- measurement that is three orders of surement, catastrophically in some
ment, the measurand information that magnitude more sensitive (nanostrain cases. The way in which these unde-
is represented by the phase is of course rather than microstrain), but this sired effects limit the sensor perfor-
restricted to the [−π, π] range, and when measurement is dynamic only; more- mance depends on the physics that
the underlying physical parameter varies over, low-frequency measurements are used and the type of fiber. For ex-
sufficiently that this interval is exceeded, (<1 Hz) are challenging owing to the ample, the large core sizes of multi-
the measured value simply wraps around presence of a number of noise sources mode fibers allow this fiber type to
to remain within [−π, π]. In order to with 1/f-like spectra. carry an order of magnitude more
reconstitute the true time dependence A further variant of the coherent power than single-mode fibers, but
of the measurand, it is therefore neces- Rayleigh backscatter technique, in their use complicates the design of
sary to unwrap the phase, a nonlinear which the measurement is conducted the interrogators and the interpreta-
operation that can be performed reli- over a range of source frequencies, is tion of the results (Hartog, 2017).
ably (Itoh, 1982) subject to the condi- capabable of a static measurement, The noise at the receiver limits the
tion that the phase varies by less than π subject to an initial calibration of sensitivity of the measurement, and its
between successive samples. each resolvable section of the fiber fundamental lower bound is shot

noise, which is directly related to the monitoring equipment can readily be amplification approaches are particu-
number of photons that are returned installed. For sensors operating in the larly suited to sensors using Brillouin
by each section of fiber for each probe main telecommunication band and coherent Rayleigh scattering on
pulse. In most cases, the receiver itself (~1,550 nm), erbium-doped fiber single-mode fibers. The optical ampli-
further degrades the signal-to-noise amplifiers can conveniently be used fication of the Raman backscatter is
ratio (SNR). In this context, it should both to amplify the pump and to pre- ineffective owing to the latter’s very
be appreciated that the signal returned amplify the backscatter signal before it broad spectrum and the inevitably
by distributed sensors is a small fraction travels back to the launch end. Boost- wide noise bandwidth that would
of the energy launched. In the case of ing the probe signal after it has decayed accompany the optical gain. Similarly,
a sensor using 10-ns probe pulses (cor- allows its power to be readjusted to the the performance of optical amplifiers
responding to δz = 1 m), the energy re- maximum allowable level (as limited on typical multimode fibers (with a
turned by each resolvable interval is by nonlinear effects), and amplifying core diameter ≥ 50 μm) is far worse,
about seven orders of magnitude the return signal remotely degrades and in practice, in-line optical amplifi-
below that of the forward-traveling the SNR far less than if the same am- cation is not used with multimode
probe pulse for Rayleigh backscatter; plification process were implemented distributed sensing systems.
in the case of Brillouin and Raman in the interrogator, because this occurs Another route to enhancing the
scattering, the energy is further re- while the signal is still relatively strong. backscatter signal returned to the
duced by two and three orders of mag- In one example, a system combin- interrogator is pulse compression, a
nitude, respectively. The design of ing Brillouin reflectometry for temper- technique that is well known from
distributed sensors is therefore funda- ature and strain measurement and radar (Richards et al., 2010) and
mentally affected by the SNR, and coherent Rayleigh backscatter (for other reflectometric measurements.
many schemes have been devised to vibration sensing) was demonstrated The spatial resolution of a distributed
overcome these limitations. over a 100-km route using discrete sensor is limited by the pulse duration,
Long-distance (>10-km) sensors rare earth element–doped amplifiers so the narrower the pulse, the finer the
further compound the SNR problem sited at roughly 25-km intervals and spatial resolution. In a peak-power–
with the cumulative propagation pumped (powered) by light carried in limited system, a finer spatial resolu-
losses, and this applies to marine appli- separate fibers (Strong et al., 2008). In tion therefore implies a degraded
cations, where long sensing paths are this case, the amplification is electrically SNR. The backscatter signal power,
expected. In addition to the progres- completely passive, requiring no re- however, is proportional to pulse dura-
sive loss of signal, long sensor lengths motely sited electronics at all. Raman tion, and so there is a direct trade-off
impose a wide dynamic range on the amplification, where energy is trans- between spatial resolution and SNR.
signal that can then be difficult to ferred from a pump wave at a some- Pulse compression overcomes this
digitize without loss of accuracy. what shorter wavelength (1,450 nm dilemma by increasing the duration
for a sensing wavelength of 1,550 nm), of the probe light without decreasing
Performance: Opportunities has also been used to allow longer its bandwidth. The fine spatial resolu-
for Enhancements sensing lengths (Alahbabi et al., tion is encoded in the probe waveform;
A few broad approaches have been 2005a). The combination of Raman it is buried in the backscatter signal
applied to address issues of poor SNR and erbium-doped fiber amplifiers but can be recovered by applying a
and large dynamic range of the sig- has also been used to stretch the matched filter to the detected signals.
nal, for example, remote amplifica- range of distributed sensors, including A further constraint applies to long-
tion, pulse coding, and specialty fiber one example where the pump power range distributed sensors, namely,
design/use. The remote optical ampli- for the initial distributed Raman that the probe signal should not be
fication (Hartog & Wait, 2009) has amplification is also used to pump a continuous (e.g., frequency-modulated,
proven particularly effective in long- further set of two erbium-doped fiber continuous wave) because the strong
range applications such as the moni- amplifiers, using a single fiber for sens- backscatter from the near end of the
toring of terrestrial pipeline that can ing and conveying the optical power fiber will swamp the weak backscatter
run for thousands of kilometers and required for amplification (Cho et al., from the remote end, given that these
up to ~200 km between sites where 2006). It should be noted that optical signals are present simultaneously at

the receiver. The probe waveform the measured frequency to be dis- changing in response to ongoing cli-
must therefore be of limited duration, ambiguated (Law et al., 2011; Sikali mate change, yet understanding how
and this has led to the design of code Mamdem et al., 2014). local, discontinuous measurements
sets [Golay complementary codes Another strand of research in spe- can be upscaled to understand an
(Nazarathy et al., 1989) or simplex cial fibers for distributed sensing con- ocean-scale response is unclear (Favali
codes (Soto et al., 2010)] that are of cerns increasing the strength of the & Beranzoli, 2006). Traditionally,
finite duration and yet have the neces- backscatter return for a given probe oceanographic measurements have
sary correlation properties to allow a energy. Including dense, weak reflec- been made at isolated single-point
precise recovery of a signal that is tors in the fiber achieves that objective moorings and/or landers at seafloor,
equivalent to that produced by a single without substantially increasing the or using arrays of surface floats (Riser
pulse, but stronger by a factor equal to propagation losses or lowering the et al., 2016). In light of a need to
the number of pulses in the code. The threshold for nonlinear effects, because understand the oceans more holis-
resulting improvement in the SNR is most of the energy extracted by the tically, there has been a recent up-
proportional to the square root of the reflectors from the forward propagat- surge in the deployment of seafloor
code length. ing light is coupled back into the observatories—monitoring nodes con-
Special fiber designs can also be fiber (Englich & Hartog, 2016). In nected by cables (Delaney & Kelley,
used to tackle deteriorated SNR contrast, the normal scattering process 2015; Favali & Beranzoli, 2006; Favali
performance and/or dynamic range of redirects the lost light almost uni- et al., 2015; Kelley et al., 2014). Nodes
the sensor. The physical processes formly in all directions. The efficiency typically feature an array of instru-
described so far rely only on the natural in the reuse of the lost light increases ments to make specific measurements
state of the glass in the optical fiber. by more than a factor of 100 in this of ocean properties and monitor active
The measurements can, and usually approach, which however adds sub- processes at the seafloor and within the
do, use conventional fibers designed stantial cost to the sensing fiber. It water column at a fixed location
for telecommunication systems; how- will therefore most likely find applica- (Lintern & Hill, 2010). While the
ever, specially designed fibers are used tions where enhanced performance is primary purpose of the connecting
in more challenging applications. required in a relatively limited zone, cables is to provide power and to trans-
Thus, the coatings designed for the rel- for example, to monitor a particular sec- mit data in real time, these links could
atively benign telecommunication tion of a subsea asset (perhaps a mani- also be used as distributed sensing
application are generally unsuited fold running between a wellhead and a pathways using DOFS. Therefore,
to high temperatures, and so special- separator, electrical/communication measurement along these cables, exist-
ized coatings able to operate at up to cable or oil pipeline interacting with a ing commercial networks, and bespoke
300°C for polymer coatings and higher rapid-flowing sediment density flow, scientific arrays using technology such
still for metallic coatings have been etc.) with a higher resolution than as DOFS enables sensing of large areas
devised for these cases. In the harshest the remainder of the infrastructure. of the ocean floors in a truly distributed
cases, a hermetic inner coating is used manner, thus providing an exciting
to retard the ingress of hydrogen and opportunity to fill in some key gaps
special glass formulations that are Opportunities in the (You, 2010). This approach has obvious
more resistant to the conversion of hy- Marine Environment synergies with scientific programs such
drogen into OH bonds (which render Oceans cover more than 70% of as the international Joint Task Force
strong absorptions at some wave- the Earth’s surface. They play a critical on SMART (Science Monitoring And
lengths of interest) are adopted. role in climate regulation and global Reliable Telecommunication) cables
In the case of Brillouin-based sen- food supplies and are important foci that aim to install sensor packages at
sors, the cross-sensitivity between tem- for the production of energy (both fossil optical repeaters on the existing global
perature and strain has led to research fuel and renewables) that impact our seafloor cable network to measure pres-
on fiber designs that have markedly day-to-day lives (Favali & Beranzoli, sure, temperature, and three-axis accel-
different frequency sensitivity coeffi- 2006; Ocean Studies Board, National eration (Howe et al., 2010, 2016).
cients compared with conventional de- Research Council, 2000). These con- We now discuss how DOFS could
signs, to allow the cause of changes in nected and dynamic water masses are be used to address some specific

challenges in ocean science and high- may be tackled by ongoing and future turbidity currents), and seafloor expul-
light some recent successful studies developments in DOFS technology. sion of fluids all pose a threat to critical
(Table 1). We first look at episodic seafloor infrastructure, including tele-
hazards that can cause significant sea- Monitoring Offshore Geohazards communication networks, oil and gas
floor disturbance (and are therefore The deep seafloor can be the site of pipelines and umbilicals, and wind
likely to be detected most easily by highly dynamic processes. Natural farm interarray cables, as well as to
DOFS) and how DOFS can be used hazards such as earthquakes, seafloor coastal communities (Clare et al.,
to monitor impacts of seafloor hazards remobilization by tropical cyclones, 2017). A growing number of studies
and then focus on more subtle varia- slope instability (landslides) that may (many using legacy or in-service
tions in ocean conditions (including trigger tsunamis, powerful avalanches telecommunications cables) are
ocean temperature and acidity) that of sediment (density flows known as demonstrating the utility of DOFS
TABLE 1
Some recent successful applications of optical fiber sensors to monitor a range of processes that occur on and below the seafloor.
Processes Monitored Sensing Configuration Location Reference

Slope failure/displacement
Slow seafloor displacement Bespoke cable: strain measured over <10 km with Offshore San Diego, Blum et al., 2008
strain resolution < 1 μɛ California
Slope failure Bespoke cable: stress measured over 0.5 km Onshore Yangtze Dai et al., 2008
Province, China
Progressive ground Bespoke cable: strain measured over tens of meters Onshore London, UK Hauswirth et al., 2014
displacement with strain resolution > 2 μɛ
Seismicity
Earthquake P and S wave Down-borehole deployment of bespoke cable over Onshore California Blum et al., 2008
detection ~1,000 m used as an interferometer
Earthquake P and S wave Bespoke cable array over 8,400 m Onshore Nevada Wang et al., 2018
detection
Earthquake P and S wave Bespoke cable array: 160-m length Onshore Fairbanks, Lindsey et al., 2017
detection Alaska
Earthquake identification Conventional telecommunications cable: over 15 km Onshore Reykjanes Jousset et al., 2018
and localization Peninsula, Southwest
Iceland
Earthquake identification Conventional telecommunications cable: over 79 km Offshore Central Italy Marra et al., 2018
and localization
Fluid flow
Subsurface pressure and Bespoke cable: deployed as a passive hydrophone Offshore Sognefjord, Goertz & Wuestefeld,
fluid movement detection seafloor array Norway 2018
Oceanographic and cryospheric processes
Lake bed temperature Conventional telecommunications cable: temperature Lake Geneva, Selker et al., 2006
measured with a spatial resolution of 1 m over 30 km France/Switzerland
with a temperature resolution of <0.1°C
Tracking individual coastal Power cable linking offshore wind farm to the mainland North Wales, UK Hartog, 2017
waves
Ice sheet displacement Down-borehole deployment of bespoke cable over Ice sheet: Siple Dome, Blum et al., 2008
~1,000 m used as an interferometer Antarctica

approaches to identify and characterize initiatives are ongoing, such as the fiber; hence, DOFS sensing could pro-
a range of seafloor hazards (Table 1). use of legacy cables using Brillouin vide new insights into the timing, du-
As well as making direct measure- OTDR to determine strain induced ration, magnitude, and spatial extent
ments of temperature and strain, exist- by small-scale (mm-cm) displacements of such seafloor events with unprece-
ing telecommunications cables may be at tectonic faults that intersect the dented spatial coverage (Clare et al.,
used as passive seismic arrays. By using seafloor (Gutscher et al., 2017). 2017; Talling et al., 2015) as well as
existing submarine cable networks, a These initiatives extend previous stud- much needed information on the in-
significant gap in seismic monitoring ies where standard fiber-optic cables tegrity of the seafloor structure itself
can be addressed. Most of the Earth’s were used to measure seafloor displace- during these hazardous events and
surface is under water, yet most seismic ments due to creep (Blum et al., 2008; over its engineering lifetime (20–
monitoring stations are on land. Jousset Gutscher et al., 2017). 40 years; Hartog, 2017).
et al. (2018) demonstrated how existing Cables are often the potential weak
telecommunications cables can be used Potential for Monitoring points in offshore wind developments.
to record earthquake spectra by mea- Geohazard Impacts to Fibers are commonly embedded in
suring dynamic strain. Earthquake Offshore Infrastructure electrical energy interconnectors and
events have also been observed on a Due to their fast speed (up to in the cables transmitting the power
communications cable belonging to 20 m/s) and potential to travel over generated by offshore wind farms
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science vast areas of seafloor (up to thousands back to land. These fibers have already
and Technology (JAMSTEC) (Kimura of kilometers), processes such as land- been used to detect the occurrence of
et al., 2018). Field experiments using slides and turbidity currents can be damage (e.g., from fishing vessels;
distributed acoustic sensing along particularly damaging for valuable Hartog, 2017) using distributed strain
fiber-optic cables in Alaska and seafloor infrastructure such as cables and/or vibration sensing. This locating
California found a high degree of cor- and pipelines (Pope et al., 2017). capability enables accelerated repair or
relation with earthquake measure- While few direct measurements have intervention. Using existing fibers for
ments acquired with a conventional been made of these processes (Azpiroz- the detection of anthropogenic, natu-
seismometer and that only a minimal Zabala et al., 2017; Talling et al., 2015), ral hazards or incipient structural dam-
degree of cable-sediment coupling is much of what we know about the age is particularly attractive because it
required for P and S wave detection velocity and run-out distance of these provides the potential for an early
(Blum et al., 2010). This demonstrated hazards comes from the documented warning system, for example, ensuring
application of fiber-optic cables thus timing and location of sequential tele- that buildup in strain due to repeated
opens up many further possibilities communications cable breaks (Burnett impacts by hazards such as turbidity
for indirectly measuring other active & Carter, 2017; Carter et al., 2014). currents does not reach a critical
seafloor processes such as volcanic As the global network of telecommuni- threshold. In such a situation, mitiga-
activity, tsunamis, slope collapses, sed- cations cables transmits more than tion measures (e.g., reconfiguration of
iment transport, and fluid expulsion 99% of all digital data traffic world- cables on the seafloor) could be taken
and for detecting a wide range of seis- wide (including the Internet), better before a break occurs, thus minimizing
mic events, in a similar manner to understanding the threat posed by any losses in connectivity.
recent monitoring efforts using hydro- such processes is of global importance A distributed vibration sensor con-
phones, ocean bottom seismometers, (Kelley et al., 2014). Recent measure- nected to a subsea energy cable was
and broadband seismic arrays (Burtin ments have revealed that not all of able not only to reveal the sea state
et al., 2011; Caplan-Auerbach et al., these seafloor processes will necessarily but also to track individual waves
2014; Clare et al., 2017; Kimura, cause a cable or pipeline to rupture, (Hartog, 2017).
2017a, 2017b; Lin et al., 2010; Lindsey however (Clare et al., 2017). Instead,
et al., 2017; Sgroi et al., 2014). Clearly, they may cause drag, loading, and/or Addressing the Challenges
calibration will be required for each of displacement on the structure (e.g., of Measuring Ocean-Wide
these processes and in a range of ocean Dai et al., 2008). These pronounced Climate Change
settings, but the potential application is effects would all be recorded as local- There is much uncertainty in how
extremely promising. Other ambitious ized and variable strain along an optical temperatures are changing close to

seafloor due to the paucity of monitor- such as inside buildings. While designed (Kuvshinov, 2016) and tested
ing stations globally; hence, the possi- advances in cable-connected seafloor (Hornman et al., 2013), in which the
bility of temporally continuous and systems now enable high-resolution fiber is wrapped helically around a
spatially distributed measurements discrete measurement of CO 2 at central former, with the fiber seg-
using DOFS is appealing. Legacy specific deep-sea locations (Mihaly, ments being exposed roughly equally
fiber-optic telecommunications cables 2010), there is at present no truly dis- to components of the sound wave
have been used to make measurements tributed sensing capability for CO2 arriving from any direction. In seismic
of submarine processes and temperature content or pH suitable for deployment applications, there is also an interest in
in Lake Geneva, where high-resolution on the seabed. In the short term at multicomponent sensors; to this end,
daily fluctuations in lake-bed tempera- least, it will be necessary to rely on cables with specific sensitivity to one
ture were recorded to a resolution of discrete measurement at seafloor geometrical component and several
0.1°C (Selker et al., 2006). While observatories or proxies based on the concepts have been proposed, with
such lacustrine and shallow water envi- distributed measurements of physical some based on imposing particular pat-
ronments may show >1°C daily tem- quantities. terns to the fiber in the cable (Kragh
perature variations, we recognize that et al., 2012; Hartog et al., 2014),
similar short-term background vari- Development of Bespoke Cables including inertial mass (Crickmore &
ability in deep-sea temperature may for Distributed Sensing Hill, 2014; Den Boer et al., 2012), or
be at the limits of detection using Notwithstanding the benefits of attaching the fiber periodically along
DOFS systems (10–20 mK); longer- repurposing existing cables for sensing, the cable, allowing it to vibrate between
term (annual to decadal) changes in dedicated sensing cables can offer im- attachment points (Farhadiroushan
ocean temperature (in the order of proved sensitivity and discrimination et al., 2015).
0.1–0.5°C rise per decade; e.g., between measurands, for example,
Bethoux et al., 1990; Danovaro et al., cable designs including fibers that are
2004) are well within the measure- strain-coupled to the cable structure Concluding Observations
ment capabilities of DOFS, however. and others that are packaged in loose DOFS is a proven set of technol-
Longer-term variations are key inputs tube. In this design, the temperature ogies that now allows us to make
to future climate models. Furthermore, and strain are measured independently high-resolution measurements of key
ephemeral processes in the deep sea using Brillouin OTDR to interrogate variables for both structural health
may induce much greater short-lived one of each type of fiber. The strain- monitoring and sensing the natural
temperature variability (>1°C) that is relieved fibers measure only tempera- environment. A growing number of
more easily detected, such as that due ture, and this information is then studies and projects are proving how
to cascading of cold, dense shelf water used in its own right and to correct powerful the technique can be in the
(Canals et al., 2006); influx of warmer the measurements on the strain- marine environment as passive sensor
water introduced by turbidity currents coupled fibers that respond to temper- arrays (e.g., seismicity), in measuring
(Xu et al., 2010); or sudden seafloor ature and strain (Strong et al., 2008). the direct impact caused by dynamic
emission of warmer subsurface fluid Although distributed vibration processes (e.g., turbidity currents),
(Von Damm et al., 1995). In the case measurements are found to respond and in ambient conditions (e.g., subtle
of distributed temperature sensors, well to small, dynamic strains even in changes in temperature).
marinized systems have been deployed loose-tube packages (Mullens et al., Recent strides forward in DOFS
for research purposes in, for example, 2010; Strong et al., 2009), it should sensing technology enable the use of
subsea methane hydrate production be noted that the distributed vibration existing and legacy infrastructure (of
(Kanno et al., 2014; Sakiyama et al., measurement is in fact a measure of which there is a considerable amount
2013) and studying the heat emitted dynamic axial strain (Dean et al., of >1 Gm), thus adding a significant
by mid-ocean ridges (Nishimura 2015, 2016). As a result, the measure- value to already laid networks such
et al., 1995). While some distributed ment is insensitive (Papp et al., 2016) that we can better understand scien-
chemical sensors have been demon- to compressional acoustic waves arriv- tific, societal, and industrial opportu-
strated and developed, they are in gen- ing at right angles from the fiber axis. nities and risks. Further technological
eral suitable for benign environments Omnidirectional cables have been advances in interrogation, cabling,

FIGURE 3 References
Alahbabi, M.N., Cho, Y.T., & Newson, T.P.
Space-time relationship for various processes across the range of scales in the marine environ-
2005a. 150-km-range distributed tempera-
ment that have been successfully monitored using DOFS, as detailed in the text and in Table 1.
ture sensor based on coherent detection of
Adapted from Lampitt et al. (2010).
spontaneous Brillouin backscatter and in-line
Raman amplification. J Opt Soc Am B. 22(6):
1321-4. https://doi.org/10.1364/JOSAB.22.
001321.
Alahbabi, M.N., Cho, Y.T., & Newson, T.P.

2005b. Simultaneous temperature and strain
measurement with combined spontaneous
Raman and Brillouin scattering. Opt Lett.
30(11):1276-8. https://doi.org/10.1364/OL.
30.001276.
Azpiroz-Zabala, M., Cartigny, M.J., Talling,

P.J., Parsons, D.R., Sumner, E.J., Clare, M.A.,
… Pope, E.L. 2017. Newly recognized tur-
bidity current structure can explain prolonged
flushing of submarine canyons. Sci Adv. 3(10):
and installation methods will enhance Acknowledgments
e1700200. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.
the capability of newly installed sys- Michael A. Clare acknowledges
1700200.
tems to have better performance and funding from the Natural Environ-
a longer range and the ability to profile ment Research Council (NERC), Barnoski, M.K., & Jensen, S.M. 1976. Fiber
more measurands. including “Environmental Risks to waveguides: A novel technique for investigat-
A holistic approach is required to Infrastructure: Identifying and Filling ing attenuation characteristics. Appl Optics.
15(9):2112-5. https://doi.org/10.1364/AO.
understand the oceans dynamic the Gaps” (NE/P005780/1), “New
15.002112.
response to global warming, quantify Field-Scale Calibration of Turbidity
the risks posed by hazards, and ensure Current Impact Modelling” (NE/ Belal, M., Cho, Y.T., Ibsen, M., & Newson,
that critical global networks (that P 0 0 91 9 0/ 1) , a n d t h e N a t i o n a l T.P. 2010. A temperature-compensated high
supply power and communications) Capability Science “Climate Linked spatial resolution distributed strain sensor.
continue to run safely and effectively. Atlantic Sector Science (CLASS)” Meas Sci Technol. 21:015204. https://doi.org/
The time scale and spatial range of project. Lionel Carter and the wider 10.1088/0957-0233/21/1/015204.
the processes that DOFS could con- International Cable Protection Com- Belal, M., & Newson, T.P. 2011. A 5 cm
tribute to monitoring are mapped in mittee (ICPC) are thanked for their spatial resolution temperature compensated
Figure 3. The ability of DOFS to continued support. Discussions arising distributed strain sensor evaluated using a
perform continuous temporally and at the ICPC 2018 Annual Plenary temperature controlled strain rig. Opt Lett.
spatially resolved sensing across large meeting, particularly those with 36(24):4728-30. https://doi.org/10.1364/
distances of the seafloor at low power Bruce Howe, provided specific inspira- OL.36.004728.
and cost offers a new and complemen- tion and motivation for aspects of this Belal, M., & Newson, T.P. 2012. Experi-
tary approach to traditional oceano- article. Arthur H. Hartog thanks mental examination of the variation of the
graphic monitoring. Adoption of Schlumberger for permission to spontaneous Brillouin power and frequency
DOFS technology provides a valuable publish this article. coefficients under the combined influence
opportunity to fill in spatially extensive of temperature and strain. J Lightwave Tech-
gaps between existing isolated oceano- nol. 30(8):1250-5. https://doi.org/10.1109/
graphic monitoring stations, to unlock Corresponding Author: JLT.2011.2169393.
additional potential of cabled seafloor Arthur H. Hartog Bethoux, J., Gentili, B., Raunet, J., & Tailliez,
observatory networks, and, in turn, Worthy Photonics Ltd., D. 1990. Warming trend in the western Med-
to deepen our understanding of the Winchester SO21 1DZ, UK iterranean deep water. Nature. 347(6294):660.
world’s oceans. Email: [email protected] https://doi.org/10.1038/347660a0.

Blum, J., Chadwell, C., Driscoll, N., & of 10 m, enhanced using two stages of remotely Berlin, Germany: Springer. https://doi.org/
Zumberge, M. 2010. Assessing slope stability pumped Erbium-doped fiber combined with 10.1007/978-3-642-11374-1_18.
in the Santa Barbara Basin, California, using Raman amplification. In: 18th International
Den Boer, J.J., Koelman, J.M.V.A., Pearce,
seafloor geodesy and CHIRP seismic data. Conference on Optical Fiber Sensors. Cancun,
J.G., Franzen, A., Lumens, P.G.E., &
Geophys Res Lett. 37(13):L13308. https:// Mexico: Optical Society of America. 1-55752-
Joinson, D. 2012. Fiber optic cable witn
doi.org/10.1029/2010GL043293. 817-9: ThC4. https://doi.org/10.1364/OFS.
increased directional sensitivity. Patent
2006.ThC4.
Blum, J.A., Nooner, S.L., & Zumberge, M.A. US9091589B2.
2008. Recording Earth strain with optical Clare, M., Talling, P., Cartigny, M., Dix, J.,
Denisov, A., Soto, M.A., & Thévenaz, L.
fibers. IEEE Sens J. 8(7):1152-60. https:// Belal, M., Himsworth, M., … Whitehouse, R.
2016. Going beyond 1000000 resolved points
doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2008.926882. 2017. Direct monitoring of active geohazards:
in a Brillouin distributed fiber sensor: Theoret-
Emerging geophysical tools for deep-water
Bolognini, G., & Hartog, A.H. 2013. Raman- ical analysis and experimental demonstration.
assessments. Near Surf Geophys. 15:417-44.
based fibre sensors: Trends and applications. Light-Sci Appl. 5(5):e16074. https://doi.org/
Opt Fiber Technol. 19(6B):678-88. https:// Crickmore, R.I., & Hill, D. 2014. Fibre optic 10.1038/lsa.2016.74.
doi.org/10.1016/j.yofte.2013.08.003. cable for acoustic/seismic sensing. Patent
Englich, F., & Hartog, A. 2016. Fiber optic
US9816853B2.
Burnett, D.R., & Carter, L. 2017. International array having densely spaced, weak reflectors,
submarine cables and biodiversity of areas Dai, Z.-Y., Liu, Y., Zhang, L.-X., Ou, Z.-H., US Patent App. 15/205,164.
beyond national jurisdiction. Brill Research Zhou, C., & Liu, Y.-Z. 2008. Landslide
monitoring based on high-resolution distrib- Farhadiroushan, M., Finfer, D., Strusevich, D.,
Perspectives in the Law of the Sea. 1(2):1-72.
uted fiber optic stress sensor. In: Optical Fiber Shatalin, S., & Parker, T. 2015. Non-isotropic
https://doi.org/10.1163/24519359-12340002.
Sensors Conference, 2008. APOS’08. 1st cable. Patent US9823114B2.
Burtin, A., Cattin, R., Bollinger, L., Vergne, J.,
Asia-Pacific. Chengdu, China. Piscataway, Favali, P., & Beranzoli, L. 2006. Seafloor
Steer, P., Robert, A., … Tiberi, C. 2011.
NY, US: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ observatory science: A review. Ann Geophys-
Towards the hydrologic and bed load monitor-
APOS.2008.5226289. Italy. 49(2-3):515-567.
ing from high-frequency seismic noise in a
braided river: The “torrent de St Pierre,” French Dakin, J.P. 1984. Temperature measuring Favali, P., Beranzoli, L., & De Santis, A.
Alps. J Hydrol. 408(1-2):43-53. https://doi.org/ arrangement. Patent GB2140554. 2015. Seafloor Observatories: A New Vision
10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.07.014. of the Earth From the Abyss. Berlin, Germany:
Danovaro, R., Dell’Anno, A., & Pusceddu, A.
Canals, M., Puig, P., de Madron, X. D., 2004. Biodiversity response to climate change Springer Science & Business Media. https://
Heussner, S., Palanques, A., & Fabres, J. in a warm deep sea. Ecol Lett. 7(9):821-8. doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-11374-1.
2006. Flushing submarine canyons. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1461-0248.2004. Froggatt, M.E., & Moore, J. 1998. High-
444(7117):354. https://doi.org/10.1038/ 00634.x. spatial-resolution distributed strain measure-
nature05271. ment in optical fiber with Rayleigh scatter.
Dean, T., Brice, T., Hartog, A.H., Kragh, E.,
Caplan-Auerbach, J., Dziak, R., Bohnenstiehl, Molteni, D., & O’Connell, K. 2016. Dis- Appl Optics. 37(10):1735-40. https://doi.org/
D., Chadwick, W., & Lau, T.K. 2014. Hydro- tributed vibration sensing for seismic acquisi- 10.1364/AO.37.001735.
acoustic investigation of submarine landslides tion. The Leading Edge. 35(7):600-4. https:// Glombitza, U. 1998. Method for evaluating
at West Mata volcano, Lau Basin. Geophys Res doi.org/10.1190/tle35070600.1. backscattered optical signals for determining
Lett. 41(16):5927-34. https://doi.org/10.1002/ a position-depending measuring profile of a
Dean, T., Hartog, A., Papp, B., & Frignet, B.
2014GL060964. backscattering medium. Patent EP0692705B1.
2015. Fibre optic based vibration sensing:
Carter, L., Gavey, R., Talling, P.J., & Liu, Nature of the measurement. In: 3rd EAGE
Goertz, A., & Wuestefeld, A. 2018. Real-time
J.T. 2014. Insights into submarine geohazards Workshop on Borehole Geophysics. Houten,
passive monitoring with a fibre-optic ocean
from breaks in subsea telecommunication The Netherlands: EAGE. https://doi.org/
bottom array. First Break. 36(4):55-61.
cables. Oceanography. 27(2):58-67. https:// 10.3997/2214-4609.201412183.
doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2014.40. Gusmeroli, V., Martinelli, M., & Vavassori, P.
Delaney, J., & Kelley, D. 2015. Next-
1989. Quasi-distributed single-length polari-
Cho, Y.-T., Lees, G.P., Hilton, G., Shu, generation science in the ocean basins: Ex-
metric sensor. Opt Lett. 14(23):1330-2. https://
X.-W., Sugden, K., Strong, A.P., … Newson, panding the oceanographer’s toolbox utilizing
doi.org/10.1364/OL.14.001330.
T.P. 2006. 100 km Distributed fiber optic submarine electro-optical sensor networks.
sensor based on the coherent detection of In: Seafloor Observatories, eds. Favali, P., Gutscher, M.-A., Royer, J.-Y., Graindorge, D.,
Brillouin backscatter, with a spatial resolution Beranzoli, L., & De Santis, A., 465-502. Murphy, S., Klingelhoefer, F., Cattaneo, A., …

Riccobene, G. 2017. A novel approach for Hornman, K., Kuvshinov, B., Zwartjes, P., & and the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de
studying submarine faults: The FOCUS Franzen, A. 2013. Field trial of a broadside- Fuca Ridge. Mar Geol. 352:426-50. https://
project (FOCUS = Fiber Optic Cable Use sensitive distributed acoustic sensing cable for doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2014.03.010.
for Seafloor studies of earthquake hazard surface seismic. In: 75th EAGE Conference &
Kimura, T. 2017a. Potential for real-time
and deformation). In: AGU Fal Meeting. Exhibition Incorporating SPE EUROPEC
earthquake monitoring using optical fiber
New Orleans, LA: AGU (American Geophysical 2013. London, UK. Houten, The Netherlands:
network and DAS technology. In: JpGU-AGU
Union). EAGE. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214-4609.
Joint Meeting 2017. Tokyo, Japan: JpGU
20130383.
Hartog, A., Martin, J.E., Donno, D., & (Japanese Geophysical Union) SCG72-P03.
Papp, B. 2014. Fiber optic distributed vibra- Hotate, K. 2013. Fiber distributed Brillouin
Kimura, T. 2017b. Potential for real-time
tion sensing with directional sensitivity. PCT sensing with optical correlation domain tech-
tsunami monitoring using DAS technology.
Patent appl. WO2014201313. niques. Opt Fiber Technol. 19(6):700-19.
In: JpGU-AGU Joint Meeting 2017. Chiba
Hartog, A.H. 1983. A distributed tempera- Howe, B., Butler, R., & U. Joint Task Force. City, Japan. Tokyo, Japan: JpGU (Japanese
ture sensor based on liquid-core optical fibers. 2016. Emerging subsea networks: SMART Geophysical Union). HDS16-P01.
J Lightwave Technol. 1(3):498-509. https:// cable systems for science and society (abstract#
doi.org/10.1109/JLT.1983.1072146. OD14A-2402). In: American Geophysical Kimura, T., Araki, E., & Yokobiki, T. 2018.
Union, Ocean Sciences Meeting 2016. Submarine earthquake event recording while
Hartog, A.H. 2017. An introduction to Washington, DC: AGU (American Geo- wave monitoring using submarine optical fiber
distributed optical fibre sensors. Boca Raton, physical Union). cable and DAS Technology. In: Japanese
FL: CRC Press/Taylor and Francis. Geophysical Union Meeting 2018. Chiba,
Howe, B.M., Chao, Y., Arabshahi, P., Roy, S., Japan. STT50-04.
Hartog, A.H., & Kader, K. 2012. Distributed McGinnis, T., & Gray, A. 2010. A smart
fiber optic sensor system with improved line- sensor web for ocean observation: Fixed and
Kobs, S., Holland, D., Zagorodnov, V.,
arity. Patent US9170149B2. Stern, A., & Tyler, S. 2014. Novel moni-
mobile platforms, integrated acoustics, satellites
toring of Antarctic ice shelf basal melting
Hartog, A.H., Leach, A.P., & Gold, M.P. and predictive modeling. IEEE J Sel Top Appl.
using a fiber-optic distributed temperature
1985. Distributed temperature sensing in 3(4):507-21.
sensing mooring. Geophys Res Lett. 41(19):
solid-core fibres. Electron Lett. 21(23):1061-2. Imai, M., Nakano, R., Kono, T., Ichinomiya, 6779-86.
https://doi.org/10.1049/el:19850752. T., Miura, S., & Mure, M. 2010. Crack
Koyamada, Y., Imahama, M., Kubota, K.,
detection application for fiber reinforced con-
Hartog, A.H., & Liokumovich, L.B. 2013. & Hogari, K. 2009. Fiber-optic distributed
crete using BOCDA-based optical fiber strain
Phase-sensitive coherent OTDR with strain and temperature sensing with very
sensor. J Struct Eng. 136(8):1001-8.
multi-frequency interrogation. GB2510999B. high measurand resolution over long range
Itoh, K. 1982. Analysis of the phase unwrapping using coherent OTDR. J Lightwave Technol.
Hartog, A.H., Liokumovich, L.B., & Kotov,
algorithm. Appl Optics. 21(14):2470. 27(9):1142-6.
O.I. 2013. The optics of distributed vibration
sensing. In: EAGE - Stavanger, EAGE. Second Jousset, P., Reinsch, T., Ryberg, T., Blanck, H., Kragh, E., Muyzert, E., Robertsson, J., Miller,
EAGE Workshop on Permanent Reservoir Clarke, A., Aghayev, R., … Krawczyk, C.M. D.E., & Hartog, A.H. 2012. Seismic acquisi-
Monitoring. https://doi.org/10.3997/2214- 2018. Dynamic strain determination using tion system including a distributed sensor
4609.20131301 Houten, The Netherlands: fibre-optic cables allows imaging of seismo- having an optical fibre. Patent US8924158.
EAGE. logical and structural features. Nat Commun.
9(1):2509. Kumagai, Y., Matsuura, S., Yari, T., Saito, N.,
Hartog, A.H., & Wait, P.C. 2009. Optical Hotate, K., Kishi, M., & Yoshida, M. 2013.
time-domain reflectometry for two segment Kanno, T., Takekoshi, M., Wang, X., Chee, Fiber-optic distributed strain and temperature
fiber optic systems having an optical am- S.S., Fukuhara, M., Osawa, O., … Suzuki, K. sensor using BOCDA technology at high speed
plifier therebetween. Patent US7595865B2; 2014. In-situ Temperature Measurement of and with high spatial resolution. Yokogawa
GB2416588B. Gas Hydrate Dissociation during the World- Tech Rep Eng Ed. 56(2):82.
First Offshore Production Test. In: Offshore
Hauswirth, D., Puzrin, A., Carrera, A., Kuvshinov, B.N. 2016. Interaction of helically
Technology Conference. Houston, TX:
Standing, J., & Wan, M. 2014. Use of fibre-
Offshore Technology Conference. wound fibre-optic cables with plane seismic
optic sensors for simple assessment of ground
waves. Geophys Prospect. 64(3):671-88.
surface displacements during tunnelling. Kelley, D.S., Delaney, J.R., & Juniper, S.K.
Geotechnique. 64(10):837-42. https://doi.org/ 2014. Establishing a new era of submarine Lampitt, R., Favali, P., Barnes, C., Church, M.,
10.1680/geot.14.T.009. volcanic observatories: Cabling Axial Seamount Cronin, M., Hill, K., … McPhaden, M. 2010.

In situ sustained Eulerian observatories. In: Mullens, S.J., Lees, G.P., & Duvivier, G. Routley, N. 2017. MAPPED: The world’s
Proceedings of the OceanObs. Venice, Italy: 2010. Fiber-optic distributed vibration sens- network of undersea cables. Available at: http://
ESA (European Space Agency). 9:27. ing provides technique for detecting sand uk.businessinsider.com/map-the-worlds-
production. In: Offshore Technology Con- network-of-undersea-cables-2017-8?r=US&
Law, P.-C., Liu, Y.-S., Croteau, A., & Dragic,
ference. Houston, TX. OTC-20429. IR=T (accessed 24 April 2018).
P.D. 2011. Acoustic coefficients of P2O5-
doped silica fiber: Acoustic velocity, acoustic Nazarathy, M., Newton, S.A., Giffard, R.P., Sakiyama, N., Fujii, K., Pimenov, V., Parshin,
attenuation, and thermo-acoustic coefficient. Moberly, D.S., Sischka, F., Trutna, W.R., Jr., A., Yamamoto, K., & Wright, J.F. 2013. Fluid-
Opt Mater Express. 1(4):686-99. & Foster, S. 1989. Real-time long range level monitoring using a distributed tempera-
complementary correlation optical time do- ture sensing system during a methane hydrate
Lin, C., Kumagai, H., Ando, M., & Shin, T.
main reflectometer. J Lightwave Technol. production test. In: International Petroleum
2010. Detection of landslides and submarine
7(1):24-38. Technology Conference, pp. 16769. Beijing,
slumps using broadband seismic networks.
China: IPTC.
Geophys Res Lett. 37(22). L22309. https:// Nishimura, K., Matsubayashi, O., Urabe, T.,
doi.org/10.1029/2010GL044685 & Kinoshita, M. 1995. Development of sea- Selker, J.S., Thevenaz, L., Huwald, H., Mallet,
floor thermometry system using optical fiber A., Luxemburg, W., van de Giesen, N., …
Lindsey, N.J., Martin, E.R., Dreger, D.S.,
distributed temperature sensor for study of Parlange, M.B. 2006. Distributed fiber-optic
Freifeld, B., Cole, S., James, S.R., … Ajo-
mid-ocean ridges. In: Proceedings of OCEANS temperature sensing for hydrologic systems.
Franklin, J.B. 2017. Fiber-optic network
’95 MTS/IEEE Conference. San Diego, CA: Water Resour Res. 42:W12202.
observations of earthquake wavefields. Geophys
IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/OCEANS.1995.
Res Lett. 44(23):11792-9. https://doi.org/ Sgroi, T., Monna, S., Embriaco, D., Giovanetti,
526772.
10.1002/2017GL075722. G., Marinaro, G., & Favali, P. 2014. Geohazards
Ocean Studies Board, National Research in the western Ionian Sea: Insights from non-
Lintern, D.G., & Hill, P.R. 2010. An under-
Council. 2000. Illuminating the Hidden earthquake signals recorded by the NEMO-SN1
water laboratory at the Fraser River delta.
Planet: The Future of Seafloor Observatory seafloor observatory. Oceanography. 27(2):
In: Eos, Transactions American Geophysical
Science. Washington, DC: National Acade- 154-66.
Union. 91(38):333-4.
mies Press.
Sikali Mamdem, Y., Taillade, F., Jaouën, Y.,
Marra, G., Clivati, C., Luckett, R., Tampellini,
Papp, B., Donno, D., Martin, J.E., & Hartog, Gabet, R., Moreau, G., Faustov, A., …
A., Kronjäger, J., Wright, L., … Xuereb, A.
A.H. 2016. A study of the geophysical response Delepine-Lesoille, S. 2014. Al-doped optical
2018. Ultrastable laser interferometry for
of distributed fibre optic acoustic sensors fiber to enhance strain sensitivity of Brillouin
earthquake detection with terrestrial and sub-
through laboratory-scale experiments. Geophys based optical fiber sensors. In: 23rd Inter-
marine cables. Science. 361(6401):486-90.
Prospect. 65(5):1186-204. national Conference on Optical Fibre Sensors.
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aat4458.
Santander, Spain: SPIE. 9157:30-4.
Maughan, S.M., Kee, H.H., & Newson, Park, J., Bolognini, G., Duckey, L., Pilhan, K.,
Pilki, C., Di Pasquale, F., & Park, N. 2006. Soto, M.A., Bolognini, G., Pasquale, F.D.,
T.P. 2001. Simultaneous distributed fibre
Raman-based distributed temperature & Thévenaz, L. 2010. Simplex-coded
temperature and strain sensor using micro-
sensor with simplex coding and link optimi- BOTDA fiber sensor with 1 m spatial
wave coherent detection of spontaneous
zation. IEEE Photonic Tech L. 18(17): resolution over a 50 km range. Opt Lett.
Brillouin backscatter. Meas Sci Technol. 12(7):
1879-81. 35(2):259-61.
834-42.
Striegl, A.M., & Loheide, S.P., II 2012. Heated
Mihaly, S. 2010. Water Column Sampling Pope, E.L., Talling, P.J., Carter, L., Clare,
distributed temperature sensing for field scale
Capabilities of the NEPTUNE Canada Regional M.A., & Hunt, J.E. 2017. Damaging sediment
soil moisture monitoring. Groundwater. 50(3):
Cabled Observatory. In: AGU Fall Meeting density flows triggered by tropical cyclones.
340-7.
Abstracts. Washington, D.C.: AGU. Earth Planet Sc Lett. 458:161-9.
Strong, A. P., Sanderson, N., Lees, G.,
Mizuno, Y., Hayashi, N., Fukuda, H., Song, Richards, M.A., Scheer, J.A., & Holm, W.A.
Hartog, A., Twohig, R., Kader, K., …
K.Y., & Nakamura, K. 2016. Ultrahigh-speed 2010. Principles of Modern Radar. Raleigh,
Khlybov, A. 2008. A comprehensive dis-
distributed Brillouin reflectometry. Light-Sci NC: Scitech Publishing.
tributed pipeline condition monitoring sys-
Appl. 5:e16184.
Riser, S.C., Freeland, H.J., Roemmich, D., tem and its field trial. In: 7th International
Motil, A., Bergman, A., & Tur, M. 2016. Wijffels, S., Troisi, A., Belbéoch, M., … Pipeline Conference, 26th September–3rd
State of the art of Brillouin fiber-optic Thresher, A. 2016. Fifteen years of ocean October 2008. Calgary, Canada: IPC2008-
distributed sensing. Opt Laser Technol. observations with the global Argo array. Nat 64549. International Pipeline Co. Calgary,
78:81-103. Clim Change. 6(2):145. Alberta, Canada.

Strong, A. P., Sanderson, N., Lees, G., Hartog,
A., Twohig, R., Kader, K., … Khlybov, A.
2009. An integrated system for pipeline con-
dition monitoring and pig tracking. J Pipeline
Eng. 8(2).
Talling, P.J., Allin, J., Armitage, D.A.,

Arnott, R.W., Cartigny, M.J., Clare, M.A., …
Hansen, E. 2015. Key future directions for
research on turbidity currents and their deposits.
J Sediment Res. 85(2):153-69.
Tyler, S.W., Burak, S.A., McNamara, J.P.,

Lamontagne, A., Selker, J.S., & Dozier, J.
2008. Spatially distributed temperatures at the
base of two mountain snowpacks measured with
fiber-optic sensors. J Glaciol. 54(187):673-9.
Von Damm, K., Oosting, S., Kozlowski, R.,

Buttermore, L., Colodner, D., Edmonds, H.,
… Grebmeier, J. 1995. Evolution of East
Pacific Rise hydrothermal vent fluids following
a volcanic eruption. Nature. 375(6526):47.
Wang, H.F., Zeng, X., Miller, D.E., Fratta, D.,

Feigl, K.L., Thurber, C.H., & Mellors, R.J.
2018. Ground motion response to an ML 4.3
earthquake using co-located distributed acoustic
sensing and seismometer arrays. Geophys J Int.
213(3):2020-36.
Xu, J., Swarzenski, P.W., Noble, M., & Li,

A.-C. 2010. Event-driven sediment flux in
Hueneme and Mugu submarine canyons,
southern California. Mar Geol. 269(1-2):
74-88.
You, Y. 2010. Harnessing telecoms cables for

science. Nature. 466(7307):690.

PAPER
Foundational Experiences and Recent

Advances in Long-Term Deep-Ocean
Borehole Observatories for Hydrologic,
Geodetic, and Seismic Monitoring
AUTHORS ABSTRACT
Earl Davis For nearly three decades, various phases of the scientific Ocean Drilling Pro-
Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological grams have deployed sealed-hole observatories in deep-ocean boreholes for long-
Survey of Canada term subseafloor monitoring to address a range of hydrologic and geodynamic
Keir Becker objectives. We summarize the scientific motivation for these observatories and
Rosenstiel School of Marine and review some important early results from those installed in young oceanic
Atmospheric Science, University crust and subduction zones. We also summarize the evolution of the borehole
of Miami observatory designs and associated instrumentation, from simple single-interval
installations with autonomous low-rate temperature and pressure monitoring to
Masanori Kyo
recent multiple-zone installations with sophisticated downhole instrument pack-
MTS Member, MTS Japan Section
ages connected to seafloor cabled networks that provide power and high-rate,
Secretary
real-time data access. We emphasize recent advances, illustrated with example
Toshinori Kimura
data drawn mainly from transects of borehole observatories offshore Japan and
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth
Cascadia. These examples illustrate the value of borehole observatory data in re-
Science and Technology
solving a wide range of crustal geodynamic responses from long periods of grad-
ual geodetic change and accumulation of stress to episodes of rapid deformation
associated with both seafloor spreading and subduction processes.
Background Keywords: borehole observatories, marine geodesy and geodynamics, marine seismol-
A range of goals in the earth sci-

ences requires long-term observations,
and this is certainly true in the study
ogy, ocean crustal hydrogeology and deformation, long-term subseafloor monitoring
of crustal geodynamics. Major defor- years to decades for earthquakes along do not provide the resolution required
mational episodes take place as long transform faults and eruption events for characterizing phenomena that
periods of gradual geodetic change at seafloor spreading centers, and de- occur in offshore locations, such as at
and accumulation of stress, punctuated cades to centuries for damaging earth- mid-ocean ridges and subduction zones.
by episodes of rapid deformation quakes at many subduction zones. Seafloor observational instrumenta-
related to such things as seafloor Clearly, to study both the gradual tion, including commonly used ocean
spreading “events” and earthquakes changes in stress, strain, and bottom seismometers and pressure sen-
at transform and convergent plate hydrologic state between events, and the sors, and benchmarks that are acousti-
boundaries. This behavior is in a catastrophic events themselves require cally linked to sea-surface GPS
way analogous to the “punctuated very long-term, continuous observations receivers (Bürgmann & Chadwell,
equilibria” used to characterize bio- of relevant parameters. Land-based 2014) and linked in pairs by fiber-
logical evolution (Eldredge & seismic and geodetic observations optic strain sensing cables (Zumberge
Gould, 1972). The times that sepa- have provided solid guidelines for the et al., 2018) are being used to a great
rate seismic and other geodynamic typical frequency of events and for the advantage. Over the past three decades,
events range from 1 to several years locations where further studies can be it has also been learned that observa-
for slow earthquakes, from several sited with the greatest effect, but they tions in boreholes provide highly

complementaryand often unique and ic states. Hole sealing was the key (Becker et al., 2001, 2004), and
intrinsically valuable data. element of the first “CORK” hole flow-induced seismic noise was gener-
Some early seafloor borehole mon- completion system (named accordingly ated over a broad bandwidth, making
itoring experiments were initiated to “Circulation Obviation Retrofit Kit”), the deep subseafloor environment less
study crustal deformation and to im- developed for first use in the sediment- quiet than it ideally could be (e.g.,
prove the quality of seismic observa- filled rift valley of the northern Juan de Crawford et al., 2006). Holes com-
tions. With limits imposed by power Fuca Ridge (Davis et al., 1992). In the pleted in sedimentary formations
consumption, battery capacity, and case of this and other early CORK pose a different challenge. Low per-
site servicing, however, experimental experiments, experiments survived for meability prohibits rapid flow in un-
lifetimes were relatively short com- many years, and they led to observa- sealed holes, but even small amounts
pared to event recurrence intervals, tions of natural variations in physical of discharge or recharge can cause
which themselves were poorly de- and chemical states, variations that large and long-lived changes in pres-
fined. Most experiments were set up were intrinsically interesting and that sure. Hence, for a variety of reasons,
with relatively short-term objectives, provided motivation and justification a critical element to the success of
for example, to document the thermal for more sophisticated multidecadal any borehole observatory installation
state of formations in the absence of monitoring experiments that followed. is proper hydrologic sealing.
drilling perturbations, to track seismic In the first experiment that began A range of schemes has evolved
wave arrivals below the dominant in- in 1991, two holes were drilled, since the early borehole observatory
fluence of noise induced by ocean sealed, and instrumented for fluid installations, with increasing flexibil-
currents and short-wavelength pres- sampling and long-term observations ity for monitoring pressure and tem-
sure perturbations, and to define the of pressure and temperature. Both perature at multiple formation levels
natural hydrologic state of subseafloor holes intersected highly permeable ig- and for hosting instruments that re-
formations. Examples of early bore- neous rocks buried by a thick, exten- quire physical contact with the forma-
hole installations included downhole sive, and low-permeability layer of tion, such as seismometers, tilt
temperature sensors, seismometers, turbidite sediment. The igneous for- sensors, and strain meters. The earli-
and strain meters (Araki et al., 2004; mation intersected by one of the est and simplest original CORK con-
Shipboard Scientific Party, 1991, holes was strongly sub-hydrostatic figuration (Figure 1a) sampled
2000; Stephen et al., 2003). In most (−250 kPa relative to the local geo- pressure in an open-hole interval,
instances, long-term observations were thermal hydrostat), and the other was below casing cemented into the for-
planned, but multiyear operational life- strongly super-hydrostatic (+200 kPa). mation. This provided a means to de-
time was technically challenging, and Prior to sealing, downhole and uphole ploy downhole thermistor cables and
the quality of observations was com- flow was unchecked, making fluid fluid samplers but had two significant
promised by the flow of water into or sampling and many in situ measure- limitations. With the borehole seal
out of the formation via the open holes. ments meaningless. A large number situated at the seafloor, pressure ob-
of holes drilled in similar settings servations were limited to a single
have told the same story: The local zone, and signals were transmitted
pressure state is set in the context of to the formation pressure sensor
Three Decades of the hydrologic structure by thermal mounted at the wellhead via the full
Sealed-Borehole buoyancy forces; where sealed, the volume of water inside the casing.
System Developments holes can provide valuable informa- Roughly 10 years later, scientists and
One of the most useful technical tion about the formation thermal, ODP engineers developed two multi-
lessons learned from early Ocean chemical, and hydrologic states, and zone designs, the Advanced CORK or
Drilling Program (ODP) borehole where not, uphole or downhole flow ACORK and the CORK II (Figures
observatory attempts was that, if was often rapid and persistent (a fact 1b and 1c). Both utilized inflatable
holes were sealed after drilling, their known from logging results com- packers to isolate separate zones inter-
recovery from drilling perturbations pleted much earlier; e.g., Hyndman sected by the holes. For the ACORK,
would permit observations of the nat- et al., 1976), massive perturbations casing packers were added to the stan-
ural formation thermal and hydrolog- occurred over long periods of time dard casing system, and formation

FIGURE 1
CORK sealed-hole evolution schematic, showing the “original CORK” that provided measurements in a single formation interval (a); the ACORK
that includes multiple formation screens for pressure monitoring and leaves an empty casing, sealed at the bottom, for instrument installations
(b); the “CORK II” that allows instruments and fluid samplers to be installed within multiple packed-off intervals established below the primary
casing string (c); the “Genius Plug” that permits single-level pressure and temperature monitoring and fluid sampling when there is a lapse of time
between initial drilling and casing operations and later hole deepening (d); the “LTBMS” in which a long instrument string is cemented into the
formation in open hole below casing (e); and a temperature-hardened adaptation of the basic CORK concept for controlling and sampling high-
temperature hydrothermal fluids from super-hydrostatic formations (f).
pressure signals were brought from 10¾-inch casing; the smaller casing Further details of these systems are
screens mounted on the outside of the incorporated inflatable and swellable reviewed in Becker and Davis (2005).
casing to wellhead valves and sensors packers, screens, and hydraulic umbil- More recent designs have included
via rigid hydraulic umbilicals. The icals running from multiple zones to the simple, autonomous “Smart Plug”
CORK II featured a 4.5-inch–diameter the surface. Both the ACORK and for temporary monitoring (and fluid
casing string deployed into a hole CORK II allow for sensor strings sampling in the augmented “Genius
established with a reentry cone and deployed down the inside of the casing. Plug”) in holes later to be deepened

and the complex Long-Term Borehole by osmotic pumps were added in the manner and to extract hydrothermal
Monitoring System (LTBMS), built Genius Plug for long-term fluid sam- minerals (Figure 1f; Akiyama et al.,
and maintained by JAMSTEC ( Japan pling in the zone isolated by the bridge 2016). The system is designed to
Agency for Marine-Earth Science and plug. The LTBMS (Figure 1e) is withstand temperatures up to 315°C
Technology) with extensive downhole structurally similar to the CORK II and includes a flow meter within the
instrumentation. The former inte- but includes downhole instrument casing and multiple removable micro-
grates a mechanically set, removable packages and electronic connections bial culturing cells supplied by valved
bridge plug to seal the hole and an to the wellhead (Kyo et al., 2014). A plumbing.
autonomous data logger with sensors/ simplified version of this observatory One other noteworthy develop-
samplers mounted below (Figure 1d; design was deployed during the ment for the advancement of observa-
Kopf et al., 2011). The plug was set Japan Trench Fast Drilling Program tories has been a system to suppress
just above an interval of interest where ( JFAST), with a string of autonomous vortex-induced vibrations during de-
the casing has been perforated and temperature loggers suspended inside ployments (Kyo et al., 2014). This
screened. The Smart Plug included the borehole casing (Fulton et al., is particularly important in settings
hydrostatic and formation pressure 2013). Also built around this model where strong currents and rough
ports above and below the bridge is a system to bring hot hydrothermal weather are present. Drill pipe strum-
plug, respectively; fluid samplers driven fluid to the seafloor in a controlled ming induced by the Kuroshio cur-
rent has often had a severe impact
FIGURE 2 on installations off eastern Japan.
Maps (from GeoMapApp) showing locations of a sampling of ODP boreholes where sealed
observatories have been installed, including the Juan de Fuca Ridge eastern flank and the Cascadia
subduction zone (a) and the Nankai subduction zone (b). Holes that have been connected to the
ONC/NEPTUNE and DONET fiber-optic cable systems are highlighted in red.
Unexpected Results From
Early Experiments
The earliest CORK observatory
experiments focused on hydrothermal
circulation in sedimented mid-ocean
ridge and ridge flank settings (Fig-
ure 2a). Observations showed the
uppermost igneous crust to be nearly
isothermal over large lateral distances
and despite large local variations in
insulative sediment burial thickness.
This suggested high rates of fluid
flow within the crust and, together
with the very small lateral gradients
in observed pressure (a counterintui-
tive conclusion given the large pres-
sure differences vertically across the
resistive sediment layer), allowed a
determination of igneous layer perme-
ability that was characteristic over a
lateral scale of several kilometers.
Some of these same boreholes were
also used in “pumping” experiments,
with both artificial and natural pertur-
bations induced by nearby drilling,
tidal loading, and transient strain.

FIGURE 3 tion (Becker & Davis, 2004; Davis
et al., 2001; Neira et al., 2016).
Reactions of formation pressure at ODP Hole 1027C (location in Figure 2a) to regional strain
associated with a seafloor spreading event on the Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge, In some instances, monitoring
110 km to the west on June 8, 1999, and to a strike-slip earthquake on the Nootka transform fault continued for sufficiently long periods
130 km to the north on October 6, 1996 (plot axes are shown relative to event times). The relation- to capture transient pressure and tem-
ship of volumetric strain to pressure is established by the formation elastic properties defined by the perature signals associated with earth-
reaction of formation pressure to seafloor tidal loading (e.g., see Figure 6a). The sign of the pres- quakes, some up to several hundred
sure transients is consistent with the strain that would be predicted from fault slip in each case
kilometers away. Formation response
(compressional in a, dilatational in b), but the signals are larger than expected (particularly in the
case of the ridge event), suggesting low seismic efficiency. The strain-induced pressure changes at
to tidal loading at the seafloor pro-
this site are not maintained; pressures return to static values (set by hydrothermal buoyancy forces) vided a “calibration” of formation elas-
in less than 1 year as a result of hydrologic drainage through the igneous crust laterally beneath the tic properties, and this allowed the
sediment seal to locations of igneous outcrops near the Juan de Fuca Ridge axis. pressure transients to be used as quan-
titative proxies for local and regional
strain (Figure 3). This new utility
formed the foundation for a number
of experiments that followed, set up
specifically to track secular and tran-
sient strains through the interseismic,
coseismic, and postseismic parts of
earthquake cycles. This was particu-
larly effective in holes completed
within thick sedimentary formations,
where transient pressures are retained
for hundreds to thousands of years. In
such instances, pressures track strains
reliably not only over short times dur-
ing and shortly after an earthquake
but also over long periods between
earthquakes (Figure 4; Davis et al.,
2013, 2015). This contrasts with
observations in igneous formations,
where the time constant for hydrologic
drainage over many tens of kilometers
lateral scale is found to be very short
(days to months, depending on the
distance of the drainage path to sea-
floor basement outcrops; see Figures 2
and 3). While seemingly indirect,
such an approach of using pressure as
a proxy for strain is valuable from a
number of perspectives. An important
consideration is that it is simple; pres-
sures are transmitted to the wellhead
hydraulically, with sensors and other
These added further constraints on and on the low “effective porosity” that electronic components located in the
igneous crustal permeability over scales hosts the bulk of fluid flow—in what thermally benign and accessible loca-
up to 100 km, on the high degree to was found to be a highly heterogeneous tion of the wellhead. Second, with rea-
which permeability is scale dependent, and hydrologically anisotropic forma- sonable formation permeability and low

FIGURE 4 tional). (3) The magnitude of change
indicates strain that is larger, often
Long-term seafloor and formation pressure records from ODP Hole 1173B in the Philippine Sea plate
being subducted at the Nankai subduction zone (a; location in Figure 2b) and Hole 1254A in the over- much larger, than predicted given
thrusting subduction prism off Costa Rica (b). At Nankai, recovery from drilling (in mid-2002) is seen the distance to and seismic moments
to have taken nearly 2 years. Stepwise changes in pressure (vertical dashed lines) in the incoming of the events. This leads to estimates
plate at Nankai and impulsive transients in the overriding prism at Costa Rica occur at the times of of the seismogenic inefficiency of slip,
local slow slip events that are in some cases triggered by regional earthquakes. These anomalies that is, the proportion of slip that does
are superimposed on background secular trends that are inferred to reflect long-term strain accu-
not generate seismic waves. (4) In
mulation caused by interplate convergence. At Costa Rica, the trend is substantiated by formation-
sensor offset checks at times of submersible visits; a check at Nankai is planned for 2019.
some instances, slip occurs slowly
and aseismically and propagates
along faults very slowly, of the order
of a few kilometers per day. (5) Local
slip at subduction thrusts can be trig-
gered by stress imposed by seismic
ground motion or the change in static
stress generated by distant large earth-
quakes. (6) Where monitoring hori-
zons are hydrologically well isolated,
interseismic strain accumulation can
be tracked.
Broadening the
Scope of Observations:
Expanding Resolution,
Sampling Frequency,
and Sensor Types
Through the nearly three decades
since the deployment of the first bore-
hole observatories, significant improve-
ments have been made that have
improved sensor reliability and lon-
gevity, and increased measurement
resolution and bandwidth. In the case
of temperature measurements, improved
jacketing and potting materials has
eliminated problems initially experi-
measurement-system elastic compli- of new insights, including the follow- enced at high temperatures with leak-
ance, the reaction of the formation to ing: (1) stepwise changes in pressure age in cables where thermistors are
strain is derived from a large formation are common at the times of earth- connected electrically to the wellhead.
volume. This spatial averaging greatly quakes and slow slip events at diver- Where shorter-term deployments
reduces the sensitivity to local heteroge- gent, convergent, and transform were planned and physical recovery
neity that affects strain sensors. Third, plate boundaries. (2) The signs of was possible, experiments have success-
instrumental drift can be defined and these changes are consistent with the fully utilized miniature stand-alone
corrected for (as discussed below). polarities of volumetric strain expected temperature sensor/logger elements
Observations like those illustrated from the source events (negative when attached to strength members. In
in Figures 3 and 4 led to a number dilatational; positive when contrac- the case of pressure measured with

Paroscientific Digiquartz sensors, reso- installed across the Cascadia subduc- In the former system, an instru-
lution was initially limited to ca. 1 ppm of tion zone and Juan de Fuca Ridge, opment assembly is grouted into the for-
full-scale pressure (equating to roughly erated by ONC (Ocean Networks mation below a section of 9 5/8”
40–100 Pa in typical water depths and Canada; ODP/IODP Holes 1026B, outside diameter (o.d.) solid steel cas-
anticipated maximum formation pres- 1027C, and U1364A); and three to ing (Figure 1e). The instrument
sures), and memory, power, form- the DONET (Dense Oceanfloor assembly comprises short-period geo-
factor, and submersible and remotely Network System for Earthquakes and phones, a broadband seismometer, tilt
operated vehicle (ROV)-based down- Tsunamis) system installed across the sensors, strong-motion accelerome-
load constraints limited sampling inter- Nankai subduction zone, operated ters, and a volumetric strain sensor,
vals to 5–10 min. In 2004, 1-ppb by NIED (National Research Insti- along with a thermistor string with
resolution of the output frequency of tute for Earth Science and Disaster sensors distributed within and above
the commonly used Paroscientific quartz Resilience; IODP Holes C0002G, the formation assembly. Hydrologic
absolute pressure sensors was realized C0006G, and C0010A). These all sealing and mechanical coupling of
through the use of a precise fractional- employ Bennest PPC electronics with the instruments to the formation are
period counter system (PPC, devel- Paroscientific quartz pressure sensors. accomplished by injecting cement
oped with John Bennest of Bennest Data are transmitted in real time, time around the instrument and up to a
Enterprises, Ltd.). This device was ca- stamped, and archived by ONC and level above the base of the casing and
pable of resolving pressure changes JAMSTEC. Onboard lithium/thionyl by sealing the pipe that carries the in-
100 times smaller than previously pos- chloride batteries are capable of oper- strument assembly within the larger
sible (i.e., equivalent to 0.04–0.1 mm ating the loggers for several years in borehole casing with a swellable packer.
of water head) at sampling frequencies the event of a loss of cable power As in the case of most CORKs, pres-
up to 1 sample per second (s.p.s.). Equiv- (when the units automatically switch sures are monitored by sensors
alent gains in resolution have been real- to a 1-min sampling interval and con- mounted at the seafloor that are hy-
ized subsequently by commercially sume power at a reduced average rate draulically connected to permeable
available counters built by Paroscientific, of roughly 4 mW) or at times after de- screens in the formation via thick-
Inc., and RBR Ltd., with sampling fre- ployment and prior to being cable con- walled ¼-inch o.d. stainless steel
quencies of 20–40 s.p.s. Logistical limits nected as in each of the cases cited above. tubing.
on sampling frequencies for autonomous Building on previous efforts to At Cascadia, the instrument pack-
deployments remain, although gains deploy seismometers and strain meters age is installed inside the 10¾-inch
were realized during two experiments in deep-ocean boreholes, a concerted solid steel casing (Figure 1b). The pack-
through the use of an optical modem, effort has recently been put into taking age comprises a medium-bandwidth
which proved to be capable of transmit- advantage of the sealed-hole configura- three-component seismometer, two
ting data at rates up to 10 Mbits per section of CORKs to eliminate flow- and (redundant) tilt meters clamped inside
ond over a range of up to 100 m using a thermally induced noise and to com- the casing just above the bottom cas-
transceiver deployed on a conductivity/ plement pressure observations. Two ing plug, and a thermistor array with
temperature/depth (CTD) cable (Farr primary examples are the LTBMS de- sensors distributed along the full
et al., 2010). scribed above—now in operation in the depth of the hole. Pressures are mon-
The most significant technical three holes connected to the DONET itored with sensors at the seafloor, via
augmentation for long-term borehole cable that span the Nankai subduction permeable screens that are wrapped
monitoring experiments has come zone off Kii Peninsula (Figure 2b; around the outside of the casing,
from the use of offshore fiber-optic Araki et al., 2017; Kinoshita et al., that is, in the ACORK format (Fig-
cable systems that provide power, 2018)—and a downhole instrumenta- ure 1b). While a direct measurement
communication, and precise timing. tion system developed at the Woods of strain is not possible through the
To date, six borehole observatories Hole Oceanographic Institution, de- casing, this configuration allows the
have been connected to two such ployed at the Cascadia subduction internal sensor package to be removed,
systems; three to the NEPTUNE zone Hole U1364A, and linked to modified, and replaced by wire line. It
(Northeast Pacific Telemetered Under- the ONC cable network (Figure 2a; also ensures good hydrologic sealing
sea Networked Experiment) system McGuire et al., 2018). and provides a large contact area for

FIGURE 5
Comparison of background velocity spectra measured at the seafloor and in IODP Holes U1364A at Cascadia (left) and C0006G at Nankai (right) in
the outer subduction zone accretionary prisms. Seafloor seismometers are buried just below the seafloor; borehole seismometers are positioned
300 and 416 mbsf, respectively. The most prominent peaks reflect microseismic energy generated locally and elsewhere by ocean waves. The
spectra were derived from three half-hour segments of data recorded in Hole U1364A during a storm and in Hole C0006G during a calm period.
pressure transmission from the forma- devastating Tohoku-oki earthquake mode, providing high-resolution sea-
tion to the sensors. off the east coast of Japan. These floor and formation pressure data—
A primary advantage gained by in- included ODP Hole 857D in the 20 years after this the first CORKed
stalling seismometers and tilt sensors northeastern Pacific, 7,500 km away hole was established. These data reveal
in boreholes is illustrated in Figure 5, (Figure 2a), and the four boreholes the substantial hydrostatic pressure
which compares background seismic that had been established by this time present at this site as well as the forma-
signals recorded several hundred at the Nankai subduction zone roughly tion response to variable loads im-
meters below the seafloor with those 800 km from the earthquake epicenter posed by ocean tides (Figure 6a), by
recorded simultaneously at the sea- (Figure 2b). Roughly 16 months after seismic waves and the subsequent tsu-
floor. Background signal levels seen the event, IODP Hole C0019D was nami from the 2011 Tohoku-oki
by the borehole instruments are 5– drilled directly into the seaward part earthquake (Figures 6a and 6b), by
10 dB lower than those at the seafloor of the Tohoku fault zone itself and ocean infragravity waves and micro-
across most of the seismic frequency instrumented with an array of temper- seisms generated by a local storm
bands. This is particularly true in ature sensors. The observations from (Figure 6c), and by seismic surface
the case of the horizontal channels. all of these sites serve well to illustrate waves from a large local earthquake
the broad utility of borehole monitor- (Figure 6d). The relationship be-
ing for geodynamic studies. The most tween the seafloor and formation sig-
distant observations at Hole 857D nals over the large range in frequency
A Variety of Signals From were made when a combination of and wavelength of these loading
a Common Source: The precise period counters, a large bat- forces provides valuable constraints
Tohoku-oki Earthquake tery, and a high-speed optical trans- on formation elastic and hydro-
In 2011, multiple borehole obser- mission system (described above) logic properties (e.g., expanding
vatories captured signals from the had been installed in “piggyback” the scope of methods presented in

FIGURE 6
High-resolution observations made in ODP Hole 857D (location in Figure 2a) that reveal the large average sub-hydrostatic pressure present at this
site and the formation response to external loads imposed by oceanographic loading and by the teleseisms and tsunami generated by the Tohoku-
oki earthquake on March 11, 2011. Relative scaling of formation (right y axis) and seafloor pressures (left y axis) is adjusted to reflect the 1-D
elastic loading efficiency, which is similar at signal periods ranging from tides (12–25 h) (a), tsunami (5–30 min) (b), and ocean infragravity waves
and microseisms generated by local seas and swell (c). The relationship of seafloor and formation pressure differs for seismic surface waves (d),
which produce formation strain that is not reflected by seafloor pressure.
Crawford et al., 1991, and Davis sometimes spontaneous slow slip. at the location of Hole 808I 11 days
et al., 2000). The coseismic pressure anomalies after the triggering earthquake and
Signals from the sites closer to the seen at Holes C0002G are inferred causing the large contractional signal
Tohoku earthquake are interesting to have been caused by local slip on seen there and the small dilatational
from a different perspective. The records or near the seaward limit of the seis- signal seen in the incoming plate at
shown in Figure 7 were captured by mogenic zone, stimulated by dynamic Hole 1173B. The stepwise coseismic
the first LTBMS installation, completed shear loading imposed by large Tohoku- change in pressure at Hole 1173B
in Hole C0002G; by a preliminary oki seismic surface waves (Araki et al., probably reflects the regional exten-
Genius Plug in Hole C0010A (both 2017). An expanded view of the records sional strain associated with triggered
near the updip end of the Nankai sub- from Holes C0002G and 0010A pro- local slip initiated several tens of
duction fault seismogenic zone), and vides constraints on the evolution of kilometers landward; the magnitude
by older ACORKs in the outer sub- local slip. Decreasing pressure, local of the step is too large to be a result
duction prism (Hole 808I) and the dilatational strain, and, by inference, of regional static strain generated by
incoming Philippine Sea plate (Hole slip on the underlying subduction the Tohoku-oki earthquake itself.
1173B). While the composite “tran- fault continued for 2 days after the Other events like this, with both trig-
sect” crossing this subduction zone earthquake, with several discrete step- gered and spontaneous slip propagat-
that these sites constitute is offset by wise events superimposed. Slip like ing updip along the subduction
150 km, the nature and timing of this is likely to have occurred at a sim- fault, have been documented at both
the pressure anomalies highlight a ilar position landward of the other two Nankai and Costa Rica (e.g., at the
characteristic behavior of this subduc- holes as well, with the slip then propa- times indicated by the dashed lines
tion fault, namely, triggered and gating seaward, reaching the prism toe in Figure 4).

FIGURE 7 the incoming plate, across the outer
reaches of the subduction zone, to
Pressure records from Holes C0002G and 1173B (left y axis) and 808I (right y axis) showing
signals associated with the 2011 Tohoku-oki earthquake approximately 800 km to the northeast the location where devastating seismic
(a). An expanded view of records from C0002G and C0010A is shown in (b). See Figure 2b for and tsunamigenic slip occurs. Results
hole locations. from all of these holes, as well as the
array of seafloor seismometers, pres-
sure sensors, and acoustically linked
GPS benchmarks, will bring future
great earthquakes into better focus
and allow the associated hazards here
and at other subduction zones to be
more fully understood.
A final illustration of borehole ob-
servatory data comes from a hole estab-
lished during the “JFAST” drilling
expedition, planned and executed
expressly to document the frictional
behavior of the Tohoku-oki fault
itself, where 2011 coseismic fault slip
has been estimated at 50 m or more.
Hole C0019D was drilled 16 months
after the earthquake to just below the
fault at 820 meters below seafloor
(mbsf). A closely spaced thermistor
array was installed across and above
the fault and then recovered 9 months
later. The data provided an unprece-
dented up-close view of the rupture
and the formation that hosted it (Fig-
ure 8). Variations in the rate of dissipa-
tion of the thermal perturbation
caused by circulation of cold seawater
during drilling provided constraints
on the hydrologic structure of the for-
mation, and anomalies associated with
a large aftershock showed signs of
advective heat transport along a per-
meable horizon above the main fault
A more complete colinear transect and are providing data in near real zone (Fulton & Brodsky, 2016).
has recently been completed with the time. Later in 2018, deep (>5 km) More importantly, a 0.31°C tempera-
installation of a third LTBMS in Hole drilling efforts will begin near Hole ture anomaly was identified at the
C0006G at a position structurally C0002G with the goal of emplacing plate fault itself, after the drilling per-
equivalent to Hole 808I, downslope instruments at a location along the turbation had dissipated. This allowed
from but directly updip on the plate subduction fault where seismogenesis, an effective friction coefficient of 0.08
boundary fault from Holes C0002B not just slow slip, occurs. Once this is to be determined (a very low value)
and C0010A (Figure 2b; Kinoshita done, the spatial distribution of mon- and a corresponding coseismic fric-
et al., 2018). All three are now con- itoring observations will be very well tional stress of ≈0.6 MPa to be esti-
nected to the DONET cable system developed at this site, ranging from mated (Fulton et al., 2013).

FIGURE 8 to a level of 10 Pa yr−1 (Wilcock et al.,
2018). It is normal protocol during
Temperature data from IODP Hole C0019D that penetrates the Japan Trench subduction thrust
fault at a depth of 820 mbsf, at a location where slip on the fault during the March 2011 Tohoku-oki submersible visits to CORKs to
earthquake exceeded 50 m. The distribution of temperature sensors is shown on the left; the tem- check the drift of formation pressure
perature history in the middle is shown with the background geothermal gradient removed. The hole sensors relative to the local ocean pres-
was drilled, and monitoring began 16 months after the Tohoku-oki earthquake and ended 9 months sure by obtaining hydrostatic readings
later (Fulton et al., 2013). Time of recovery from the initial cold drilling circulation versus depth is using three-way valves included in
shown on the right. Zones of higher permeability, where cold drilling water invaded the formation,
CORK wellhead plumbing. The addi-
are revealed by longer recovery times. Shear heating on the fault from the 2011 earthquake is
reflected by elevated temperatures near the bottom of the hole. An advected thermal signal in a per-
tion of an A-0-A drift correction of the
meable horizon at roughly 765 mbsf began in late 2012 at the time of a local aftershock (Fulton & seafloor reference pressure sensor can
Brodsky, 2016). allow correction of all long-term pres-
sure records at the 10 Pa yr−1 level. In
the case of the seafloor data, this pro-
vides a precision of the determination
of the rate of any change of water
depth of 1 mm yr−1; in the case of the
formation sensors, this reduces the
error of observing secular strain varia-
tions arising from sensor drift to roughly
2 nanostrain yr−1. These advances bring
the measurement errors well below
those associated with oceanographic
terms that cannot be accounted for.
Other methods for defining sensor
drift have been developed, such as
campaign visits to local reference
benchmarks (e.g., Chadwick et al.,
quency set by sampling period to 2016), but none can be done without
New Sensors: Acceleration, drift-limited d.c.) and their high sen- site visits or periodic sensor recovery.
Tilt, and Drift-Corrected sitivity and large dynamic range, they
Pressure are useful for studies ranging from
Beyond the sensors that have been normal seismology and strong motion
successfully adapted for borehole to geodesy. Need for Long-Term
monitoring to date are ones tested An important recent development Support
in seafloor installations but not yet for pressure monitoring has been to The long-term monitoring experi-
employed for borehole experiments. sample periodically the pressure of an ments highlighted in this article and
These include newer sensors based onboard 1-atm reference volume. This many more all share a need for
on the quartz pressure measurement technique, known as A-0-A (Paroscien- long-term infrastructure support to
technology developed by Paroscientific tific Application Report), uses a low- allow periodic submersible or ROV
Inc., with the sensing crystals loaded drift barometric sensor to monitor the site visits for data recovery and battery
by masses (replacing the Bourdon reference pressure, and a hydraulic sys- replacement at remote locations, to
tube in pressure sensors) for measuring tem that operates as a three-way valve to maintain cable connections to shore,
acceleration and tilt. With characteristic switch the ocean pressure sensor peri- and to manage the growing quantity
full-scale ranges of 3 g and 0.1 radians, odically to the reference pressure and of data acquired. In the case of auton-
1-ppb frequency counters provide sen- then back again. Tests have demon- omous instruments, improvements
sitivities of 30 ng and 1 nradian, respec- strated that ocean sensor drift, com- are needed to reduce power require-
tively. Because of the broad bandwidth monly of the order of up to 1 kPa yr−1, ments and increase timing accuracy in
of these sensors (from Nyquist fre- can be defined using this technique order to stretch the intervals between

site visits and thus reduce costs. These Inc.; and many others. Cable connec- Becker, K., & Davis, E.E. 2004. In situ deter-
needs are lifted in the case of cable- tions and data management have been minations of the permeability of the igneous
connected observatories, but they carried out by ONC, DONET, and oceanic crust. In: Hydrogeology of the Oceanic
share with autonomous experiments NIED. Behind many projects outside Lithosphere, eds. Davis, E., & Elderfield, H.,
189-225. New York, NY: Cambridge Uni-
the need for funding support that the scope of this article, involving a
versity Press.
stretches well beyond the normal total of over 30 CORK installations
few-year cycle for academic research and dating back to 1990, lies a long Becker, K., & Davis, E.E. 2005. A review of
grants. The justification for this is list of individuals, institutions, and CORK designs and operations during the
clear for many of the objectives behind funding agencies. The article benefited Ocean Drilling Program. Proc IODP Init
the cable-connected experiments at from helpful comments by William Repts. 301:1-28. https://doi.org/10.2204/
Cascadia and Nankai described here Chadwick and an anonymous reviewer. iodp.proc.301.144.2005.
and the autonomous installations at Becker, K., Davis, E.E., Spiess, F.N., &
the Hikurangi subduction zone that deMoustier, C.P. 2004. Temperature and
are well under way (Saffer et al., Corresponding Author: video logs from the upper oceanic crust, Holes
2017). Finding a long-term “home” Earl Davis 504B and 896A, Costa Rica Rift flank:
for such observatory programs that Pacific Geoscience Centre, Geological Implications for the permeability of upper
fall somewhere between specific exper- Survey of Canada oceanic crust, Earth Plan. Sci Lett. 222:881-96.
iments and the type of monitoring 9860 W. Saanich Road https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2004.03.033.
carried out by national facilities will Sidney, BC V8L 4B2, Canada Bürgmann, R., & Chadwell, C.D. 2014.
be critical to ensure that they last Email: [email protected] Seafloor geodesy. Annu Rev Earth Pl Sc.
across the duration of the geodynamic 42:509-34. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-
cycles they are intended to illuminate. earth-060313-054953.
References
Akiyama, K., Kyo, M., Saruhashi, T., Sakurai, Chadwick, W.W., Jr., Paduan, B.P., Clague,
Acknowledgments N., Yokoyama, T., Nozaki, T., … Masaki, Y. D.A., Dreyer, B.M., Merle, S.G., Bobbitt,
Funding for the work summarized 2016. Development of the cultivation system A.M., … Nooner, S.L. 2016. Voluminous
in this article has been generously for seafloor hydrothermal deposit. In: Techno- eruption from a zoned magma body after an
increase in supply rate at Axial Seamount.
provided by the U.S. and German Ocean 2016 Proceedings, 1B.5, Kobe, Japan:
Techno-ocean Network. Geophys Res Lett. 43:12063-70. https://
National Science Foundations, the Geo-
doi.org/10.1002/2016GL071327.
logical Survey of Canada, JAMSTEC, Araki, E., Shinohara, M., Sacks, S., Linde, A.,
NIED, and the W.M. Keck Founda- Kanazawa, T., Shiobara, H., … Suyehiro, K. Crawford, W.C., Stephen, R.A., & Bolmer, S.T.
tion. Primary CORK wellhead and 2004. Improvement of seismic observation 2006. A second look at low-frequency marine
casing constructions have been carried in the ocean by use of seafloor boreholes. vertical seismometer data quality at the OSN-1
out by ODP and IODP, and installa- B Seismol Soc Am. 94(2):678-90. https://doi. site off Hawaii for seafloor, buried, and borehole
tions have been completed on the org/10.1785/0120020088. emplacements. B Seismol Soc Am. 96(5):1952-
60. https://doi.org/10.1785/0120050234.
drilling vessels JOIDES Resolution Araki, E. Saffer, D.M., Kopf, A.J., Wallace,
and Chikyu. Subsequent ship and L.M., Kimura, T., Machida1, Y., … IODP Crawford, W.C., Webb, S.C., & Hidebrand,
submersible support has been furn- Expedition 365 Shipboard Scientists. 2017. J.A. 1991. Seafloor compliance observed by
ished through University National Recurring and triggered slow slip events near long-period pressure and displacement mea-
Oceanographic Laboratory System the trench at the Nankai Trough subduction surements. J Geophys Res. 96(B10):16151-60.
(UNOLS) institutions, the U.S. Na- megathrust. Science. 356:1157-60. https:// https://doi.org/10.1029/91JB01577.
tional Deep Submergence and Cana- doi.org/10.1126/science.aan3120.
Davis, E.E., Becker, K., Pettigrew, T., Carson, B.,
dian Scientific Submersible Facilities, Becker, K., Bartetzko, A., & Davis, E.E. 2001. & MacDonald, R. 1992. CORK: A hydrologic
and JAMSTEC. Instrumentation, Leg 174B synopsis: revisiting Hole 395A for seal and downhole observatory for deep ocean
engineering, and technical support logging and long-term monitoring of off-axis boreholes. In: Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling
have been provided by JAMSTEC; hydrothermal processes in young oceanic Program, Initial Reports, eds. Davis, E.E.,
T. Pettigrew; R. Macdonald; R. crust. Proc Ocean Drill Prog Sci Result. Mottl, M.J., & Fisher, A.T., Vol. 139, 43-53.
Meldrum; RBR Ltd.; Paroscientific, 174B:1-42. College Station, TX: Ocean Drilling Program.

https://doi.org/10.2973/odp.proc.ir.139.103. the Tohoku-Oki fault determined from tem- http://paroscientific.com/pdf/G8085_
1992. perature measurements. Science. 342(6163): Configuring_A-0-A_System.pdf accessed
1214-7. https://doi.org/10.1126/science. June 2018.
Davis, E.E., Kinoshita, M., Wang, K., Asano, Y.,
1243641.
Ito, Y., & Becker, K. 2013. Episodic defor- Saffer, D.M., Wallace, L.M., & Petronotis, K.
mation and inferred slow slip at the Nankai Hyndman, R.D., Von Herzen, R.P., Erickson, 2017. Expedition 375 Scientific Prospectus:
subduction zone during the first decade of A.J., & Jolivet, J. 1976. Heat flow measure- Hikurangi Margin Coring and Observatories.
CORK borehole pressure and VLFE monitor- ments in deep crustal holes on the Mid-Atlantic College Station, TX: International Ocean
ing, Earth Planet Sc Lett. 368:110-8. https:// Ridge. J Geophys Res. 81:4053-60. https://doi. Discovery Program. https://doi.org/10.14379/
doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2013.03.009. org/10.1029/JB081i023p04053. iodp.sp.375.2017.
Davis, E.E., Wang, K., Becker, K., & Thomson, Kinoshita, M., Becker, K., Toczko, S., & Shipboard Scientific Party. 1991. Special
R. 2000. Formation-scale hydraulic and me- the Shipboard Scientific Party. 2018. Expedi- tools. In: Proc. ODP, Init. Repts., eds. Taira, A.,
chanical properties of oceanic crust inferred tion 380 Scientific Prospectus: NanTroSEIZE Hill, I., & Firth, J., et al., 131, 61-7.
from pore-pressure response to periodic Stage 3: Frontal Thrust Long-Term Borehole
Shipboard Scientific Party. 2000. Borehole
seafloor loading. J Geophys Res. 105(13): Monitoring System (LTBMS). College Sta-
instrument package. In: Proc. ODP, Init.
423-35. tion, TX: International Ocean Discovery
Repts., eds. Sacks, I.S., et al., Vol. 186, 61-7.
Program. https://doi.org/10.14379/iodp.pr.
Davis, E.E., Wang, K., Becker, K., & Thomson,
380.2018. Stephen, R.A., Spiess, F.N., Collins, J.A.,
R.E. 2001. An episode of seafloor spreading
Hildebrand, J.A., Orcutt, J.A., Peal, K.R.,
and associated plate deformation inferred Kopf, A., Saffer, D.M., Davis, E.E.,
… Wooding, F.B. 2003. Ocean Seismic
from crustal fluid pressure transients. J Geophys Hammerschmidt, S., LaBonte, A., Meldrum,
Network Pilot Experiment, Geochem Geophys
Res. 106(B10):21953-63. https://doi.org/ R., … Kido, Y. 2011. The SmartPlug and
Geosyst. 4(10):1092. https://doi.org/10.1029/
10.1029/2000JB000040. GeniusPlug: Simple retrievable observatory sys-
2002GC000485.
tems for NanTroSEIZE borehole monitoring. In:
Davis, E.E., Villinger, H., & Sun, T. 2015.
Proc. IODP, 332: Tokyo (Integrated Ocean Wilcock, W.S.D., Manalang, D.A., Harrington,
Slow and delayed deformation and uplift of
Drilling Program Management International, M.J., Fredrickson, E.K., Cram, G., Tilley, J.,
the outermost subduction prism following
Inc.). https://doi.org/10.2204/iodp.proc.332. … Paros, J.M. 2018. New approaches to in
ETS and seismogenic slip events beneath
105.2011. situ calibration of seafloor geodetic measure-
Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Earth Planet
ments. In: OCEANS 2018. Kobe, Japan:
Sc Lett. 410:117-27. https://doi.org/10.1016/ Kyo, M., Namba, Y., Saruhashi, T., Araki, E.,
MTS/IEEE.
j.epsl.2014.11.015. Kitada, K., Kimura, T., & Fulton, P. 2014.
Development on Long Term Borehole Mon- Zumberge, M.A., Hatfield, W., & Wyatt, F.K.
Eldredge, N., & Gould, S.J. 1972. Punctuated
itoring System for Earthquake and Geodetic 2018. Measuring seafloor strain with an optical
equilibria: An alternative to phyletic gradu-
Research, OCEANS 2014. Taipei, Taiwan: fiber interferometer. Earth Space Sci. 5:371-79.
alism. In ed. Schopf, T.J.M., Models in
MTS/IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/OCEANS- https://doi/org/10.1029/1018EA000418.
Paleobiology. San Francisco, CA: Freeman
Cooper. pp. 82-115. TAIPEI.2014.6964509.
Farr, N., Ware, J., Pontbriand, C., Hammar, T., McGuire, J.J., Collins, J.A., Davis, E.E.,
& Tivey, M. 2010. Optical communication Becker, K., & Heesemann, M. 2018. A lack of
system expands CORK seafloor observatory’s dynamic triggering of slow slip and tremor
bandwidth, OCEANS 2010. Seattle, WA: indicates that the shallow Cascadia megathrust
MTS/IEEE, pp. 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1109/ is likely locked. Geophys Res Lett.
OCEANS.2010.5663951. Neira, N.M., Clark, J.F., Fisher, A.T., Wheat,
Fulton, P.M., & Brodsky, E.E. 2016. In situ C.G., Haymon, R.M., & Becker, K. 2016.
observations of earthquake-driven fluid pulses Cross-hole tracer experiment reveals rapid
within the Japan Trench plate boundary fault fluid flow and low effective porosity in the upper
zone. Geology. 44:851-4. https://doi.org/ oceanic crust. Earth Planet Sc Lett. 450:355-65.
10.1130/G38034.1. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2016.06.048.
Fulton, P.M., Brodsky, E.E., Kano, Y., Mori, J., Paroscientific, Inc. Configuring the A-0-A
Chester, F., & Ishikawa, T., … KR 13-08 seafloor pressure calibration system, Applica-
Scientists. 2013. Low coseismic friction on tion note no. G8085 Rev. A. Available at:

PAPER
Dynamic Modeling of Ship-to-Ship and

Ship-to-Pier Mooring Performance
AUTHOR ABSTRACT
Sean Kery Traditional methods for the design of ship-to-pier moorings in normal and
MTS Member; Buoy Technology, storm conditions and for ship-to-ship moorings under normal conditions are cur-
Moorings, Ropes & Tension rently based on static calculations. These calculations have served well for many
Members Committees years, first with natural fiber ropes and later with nylon and other low- to medium-
CACI International Inc., modulus synthetics. Key to the success of this simplistic approach is lines that
Washington, DC can elongate enough under tension to share the loads between multiple lines.
When wire rope mooring lines are introduced, an increased weight catenary
and the use of constant tension winches allowed enough compliance for the
Problem Statement moorings to load share successfully.
A typical ship mooring to a pier or Now, we have very lightweight, high-modulus synthetic lines like High Mod-
to another ship is composed of a ulus Polyethylene (HMPE), Aramid, and Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP), where there
number of breast lines that restrain is almost no stretch and very little weight to form a weight catenary. When used
motion in the transverse direction with constant tension winches that allow the mooring load to be shared across
and spring lines that restrain motion multiple lines, these can work well. However, when they are used from bollard to
in the longitudinal direction. The chock to bit with no compliance, they are unable to share the load between multiple
ship motions due to currents, winds, lines, and high tension failures occur where a weaker but more compliant mooring
waves, tides, and the wakes of passing line would be fine.
vessels result in complicated 6-D mo- This article describes advanced dynamic modeling of ships loaded by wind,
tions of translation and rotation that waves, and currents in these conditions and the tension sharing between mooring
the mooring lines have to overcome lines of different materials and constructions. The need to share the mooring load
and restrain. between multiple lines is the crux of the issue.
Figure 1 shows a typical system of Keywords: moorings, cordage, elongation
mooring lines (yellow) going from
real bollard locations on an actual
pier (brown) to chock and bit loca- around the compass because the wind to side with pitch and roll by a small
tions aboard a specific ship (white). drag area is much larger in the beam amount and the mooring lines need
There are head lines going to additional direction than in the fore and aft di- to be able to accommodate that
bollards on land shown in green. The rections. The currents should be set small range of motion without break-
arrangement shown is the aft part of a to match what is found locally. At ing anything. The only w ay to
storm mooring protocol, and the forc- the Woods Hole Oceanographic Insti- completely remove these motions is
ing is varied across a tailored range of tution (WHOI) pier in Woods Hole, to dry-dock the ship in a graving dock.
conditions shown in Table 1. MA, for instance, the 0.5- to 1.5- In a well-balanced mooring ar-
Obviously, the analysis matrix knots current always runs under the rangement, each line accommodates
needs to build out from the limited dock from northeast towards southwest these small motions in three ways:
description in Table 1. For a specific no matter what direction the 3- to 6- ■ An increase or decrease in end point
harbor, the wave direction will be foot tide is running in. distance can be accommodated by
limited by the opening location and It is a fact of life that, no matter more or less droop in the catenary.
the basin geometry, but a few direc- the mooring line material or the ■ The azimuth of the line will change
tions may be necessary. Wind direc- mooring arrangement, the ship will some, and there is very little restor-
tion will need to include headings always move back and forth and side ing force for small changes in angle.

FIGURE 1 the left-hand illustration is the nomi-
nal spring constant or K value. Note
Stern of a typical vessel with storm moorings in OrcaFlex.
that the high-modulus synthetic
lines are very similar to steel in spring
constant. Polyester is in between, and
nylon is the softest spring shown here.
Other graphs in McKenna et al. and
Himmelfarb (1957) show the Test
and Evaluation (T&E) behavior of
natural fiber ropes, which plot between
the polyester and nylon ropes.
Figures 2 (right) and 3 both show
the tension direction and time aspects
of typical and textbook data from real
■ The line will stretch like a spring to the amount of elongation, is only ropes. Focusing on Figure 3 (left)
some degree. The vast differences in correct for ropes at a representational from McKenna et al. (2004), we see
the tension versus elongation prop- mathematics level. K with many cord- that rope tension effects normally
erties of the different ropes and how age fibers and with different rope con- start at a reference tension of 200d^2,
they handle these elongations is the structions is not a simple quantity. which is a tension in pounds equal to
focus of this article. The spring content for mooring 200 times the nominal diameter in
ropes can be time, age, loading direc- inches squared. The genesis of this
tion, loading rate, “wet vs. dry,” and odd convention is lost in antiquity.
Cordage Science 101 tension history dependant. The first increase in tension and sub-
Cordage Science is a fairly obscure Figure 2 shows the gross differ- sequent decrease do not return to zero
discipline, and most engineers have ences in behavior for different moor- because the fibers in the originally
little or no exposure to it, which has ing rope materials. The figure on the loose rope are pulled into alignment
led to significant misinformation left is from McKenna et al. (2004); where they stay to some extent. This
with regard to ship moorings. the right-hand panel is data measured is “structural” or “permanent” elonga-
Hooke’s law, that is, Force = KE, in the Buoy Lab at WHOI. The slope tion; however, a portion of this called
where K is a spring constant and E is of a tangent fitted to these curves in recoverable may return if the rope is
TABLE 1
Typical loading condition set.
Draft Condition Wind Current Wave Conditions

Speed Speed H1/3 Tm
Count Vessel Condition Description Knots m/s Knots m/s Meters Seconds
1 Ship A Fully loaded Normal 25 12.9 1 0.51 1 7.5
2 Ship A Fully loaded Mild 35 18.0 1 0.51 1.25 7.7
3 Ship A Fully loaded Heavy weather 50 25.7 3 1.54 1.5 7.8
4 Ship A Fully loaded Storm 64 32.9 2 1.03 1.8 8.0
5 Ship A Half loaded Normal 25 12.9 1 0.51 1 7.5
6 Ship A Half loaded Mild 35 18.0 1 0.51 1.25 7.7
7 Ship A Half loaded Heavy weather 50 25.7 3 1.54 1.5 7.8
8 Ship A Half loaded Storm 64 32.9 2 1.03 1.8 8.0

FIGURE 2
Tension versus elongation behavior of rope materials: textbook versus sample testing.
left slack for a few minutes to hours. recovered somewhat over that time. et al. (2004) for wet and dry nylon
Turning to the Figure 3 chart on the Again, this shows that there is a lot of ropes. Of the synthetic cordage fibers,
right, again WHOI Buoy Lab data, variability in the softer spring syn- only nylon shows this much wet-dry
this shows that there is a significant thetics. There are many reasons for difference.
scatter from reel to reel. The jogs in this including lay lengths, sample Figure 4 (right) is from Bitting
the decreasing tension are where the lengths, and so forth that are out of (1980) and shows that the K for dry
tension was held constant for 10 min scope of the present article. Figure 4 new rope is very much different
at each interval, but the sample length shows the left panel from McKenna from well-worn used rope. The
FIGURE 3
Hysteresis and time effects.

FIGURE 4
Wet and dry versus new and used ropes.
graph shown is for nylon, but the ones. As this has taken 10–15 min to combination of lines is entered as a
same document contains similar accomplish, the ship has rolled and curve fit for each type so that the pro-
charts for polyester that show that pitched, and drifted longitudinally gram can instantaneously determine
the spring constant changes (softens) and transversely a little bit. With stret- the stretch and residual strength
with age. chy lines and nominal wind, wave, and as accurately as the input data will
current forcing, this method has support.
worked for thousands of years. Then, typically, a run with steady
If we are making up storm moor- wind and/or current and no waves is
What Does This Mean ings by adding extra lines with chaf- kicked off for 600 s. This only takes
for Ship Moorings? ing gear where the lines pass over about 10 s of real time. Next, the
When one is setting up the moor- hard points, we wind up with more mean tension in each line is entered
ing arrangement in the real world, layers on each bit and even less ability into something like the balance
the crew gets a line handler on the to make large or subtle adjustments. sheet in Table 2. Then, the length
pier to drop the end over a specific bol- That is the deck plate reality, but in of each line is adjusted until the ten-
lard. Then, they take up by hand or engineering computational space, the sion is about the same in each breast
using a capstan or a constant tension technique is somewhat different. line and the spring lines more or less
winch to position the ship as desired. The same basic mooring line match each other.
At this point, the lines are made fast arrangement is made up in OrcaFlex This can be automated with a py-
on a bit or cleat with loops overlocking or any of several other computer pro- thon script, but the explanation is
loops. Usually, one line is worked at a grams. The author has used OrcaFlex best doing it manually.
time on the forward deck and another in several different ship projects, so If one is attempting this setup re-
aft. Layers are built up on the bits in further discussion will speak to that finement, it quickly becomes appar-
some cases such that, after the last experience. The exact lengths of the ent that, with nylon or polyester
one is made up, it is impossible to adjust mooring lines are put in along with lines, length changes of 4–6 inches
the length or pretension in the lower the 3-D geometry. The tension versus are adequate to fairly quickly balance
ones without unfastening the upper elongation behavior for each line or the mooring arrangement. Those

TABLE 2
Tension vs. length balance sheet.
Pierside Pierside Pierside Pierside Pierside Pierside Pierside Pierside

Line 1 Line 2 Line 3 Line 4 Line 5 Line 6 Line 7 Line 8 S2Line 7 S2Line 8
Tension Tension Tension Tension Tension Tension Tension Tension Tension Tension
Length 34.1 17.1 21.4 16.8 19.03 16.2 26.2 20 11.98 22.38
Mean 2.63 1.34 0.42 0.66 0.32 0.55 0.51 0.05 2153.91 0.56
tension
Length 33.5 16.5 20.5 16 18.2 15.4 24.8 19.2 18 22
Length
Mean
tension
Length
Mean
tension
Length
Mean
tension
kind of length changes are fussy to try nylon or polyester shown in Figure 5 mean tension of a few hundred
on deck but not impossible. From on the left and a high-modulus line pounds, oscillations between near
there, the runs matrix of wind, shown on the right. The softer lines zero, and about 15% of the breaking
wave, and current conditions can show oscillations about a mean strength. The same ship, mooring
be kicked off. The polyester or tension with a relatively low maximum configuration, and conditions with
nylon lines do not maintain the per- in any one line because there are at the high-modulus lines produced im-
fect setup balance, but almost all of least several lines sharing the load. pulsive peaks that were above 50% of
the lines stretch enough to share The tension trace in the high- the breaking strength.
some of the load at any given instant modulus line on the right changes The low- to medium-modulus
in time. between near zero and very high im- lines can accommodate the same
Attempting that same balance pulsive spikes. Fact of life, the ship small range of motions with far
procedure with high-modulus lines moved a few inches, and there is lower tensions, whereas they force
is much more time consuming, and nothing you can do about it. The much higher tension in the high-
length changes on the scale of low-modulus lines stretch a little like modulus lines. The motions will hap-
a fraction of a millimeter are re- their predecessors have for thousands pen either way.
quired to reach anything even close of years. The high-modulus lines treat
to a balanced arrangement. The in- the ships’ bits and chocks and the
stant and dynamic wind wave or cur- shore side bollards to what are effec- Closing Remarks
rents are added, the high-modulus tively powerful high-tension hammer Like many things in the marine
mooring arrangement goes out of blows because of an abrupt impulse- industry, mooring technology has
balance, and typically, a single line like loading pattern. evolved in many countries and on
forward and a single line aft take The tension axes on the vertical in millions of ships over thousands of
100% of the load while the rest both cases have been redacted because years. Until about the 1990s, it was
hang slack. it is the behavior that is of interest. A not possible to calculate the behavior
The character of the tension histo- side-by-side comparison on one job of a moored ship acted on by winds,
ries is very different between a typical with low-modulus rope showed a waves, and currents in a dynamic

FIGURE 5
Typical line tension histories.
sense, but it almost did not matter be- with it. With termination effects tak- Author
cause the tried and true stuff worked ing several meters at each end, nylon Sean Kery
just fine. lengths below about 5 m are not prac- CACI International, Inc.
Then, something changed that tical. One has to be very careful that Washington, DC
was not obvious to most users—the the nylon link is long enough to Email: [email protected]
high-modulus synthetic ropes were allow up to several feet of stretch with-
invented. When they replaced steel out breaking. Experience has shown
on constant tension winches, the mari- that the short nylon with a longer References
ners loved them because they give a sim- high modulus can still be very hard Bitting, K.R. 1980. The Dynamic Behavior
ilar performance without the weight. to get an initial balance condition to of Nylon and Polyester Line (Report Number
When used on smaller vessels that work out. The adjustment lengths 06-D-39-80). Groton, CT: U.S. Coast Guard
cannot afford the space or weight of required are too small to be practi- R&D Center, Avery Point.
constant tension winches, the prob- cally feasible.
lems noted herein began to emerge. For smaller vessels only a few hun-
These analyses were developed follow- dred feet in length, there may not be Additional Readings
ing a number of field failures of high- any room for the added length. In Brewton, S.W. 2010. Computational Study of
modulus lines used without compliance. that case, the mariner is advised to Wind Loads on Two Proximate Cargo
Ships_parts 1, 2, 3 (NSWCCD-50-TR-
It may be possible to put a 5- to 10-m go with a quality braided or plaited
2010/004).
length of eight-strand plaited nylon polyester rope, which will be cheaper
rope in series with the high-modulus and much simpler to use. It is not as Department of Defense. 2005. Design
lines to add compliance and get away “high-tech,” but “it works.” Moorings (UFC 4-159-03). Available at:

https://www.wbdg.org/FFC/DOD/UFC/
ufc_4_159_03_2016_c2.pdf
Department of the Navy. 1987. Calculations

for Mooring Systems, DDS 582-1.Washington,
DC: Naval Sea Systems Command.
Driscoll, A. (Ed.). 1982. Handbook of Oceano-

graphic Winch Wire, and Cable Technology.
Springfield, VA: National Technical Infor-
mation Service, U.S. Department of Commerce.
Haddara, M.R., & Guedes Soares, C.G.

1999. Wind loads on marine structures.
Mar Struct. 12(3):199-209. https://doi.
org/10.1016/S0951-8339(99)00023-4.
Himmelfarb, D. 1957. The Technology of

Cordage Fibers and Rope. Ipswich, England:
Textile Book Publishers.
McKenna, H.A., Hearle, J.W.S., & O’Hear,

N. 2004. Handbook of Fiber Rope Technology.
Cambridge, England: The Textile Institute,
Woodhead Publishing Ltd. https://doi.org/
10.1533/9781855739932.
McTaggart, K. 2002. Wind and Current

Forces on Canadian Forces Ships During Tug
Operations. Ottowa, Canada: Defense Re-
search and Development Canada. Available at:
http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/
1005014.pdf.
Naval Ships’ Technical Manual. 1999.

Chapter 582 mooring and towing. Available
at: https://towmasters.files.wordpress.com/2009/
05/nstm-chapter-582-mooring-towing.pdf.
NFESC Staff. 1999. Mooring design physical

and empirical data (NFESC technical report
TR-6014-OCN). Available at: https://zapdoc.
tips/technical-report-tr-6014-ocn.html.
OCIMF Mooring Equipment Guidelines

(1st–3rd eds.).
Owens, R., & Palo, P. 1982. Wind induced

steady loads on ships (NFEC TN no. N-1628).
Available at: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/
fulltext/u2/a119984.pdf.
Seelig, W.N. 1999. US navy ship heavy

weather mooring criteria (NFESC technical
report 6012-OCN). Available at: http://www.
dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a363085.pdf.

COMMENTARY
MTS Buoy Technology…“State of the Field”

AUTHORS strength, longevity, what to do about projects worldwide. With strong
Rick Cole “fish bite,” and the big one—Piracy funding support from the Office
MTS Member, Buoy Technology —were the goals. The WHOI Buoy of Naval Research (ONR) and the
Committee Chair Farm was created, and “design, deploy, National Science Foundation, the
and wait” became the battle cry for WHOI Buoy Group became head-
RDSEA International, Inc., St. Pete
the group as they tested out new quarters for continued buoy and
Beach, Florida
ideas and components for long-term mooring systems technology develop-
Don Peters deployments and collected good ment. Spin-off ideas and designs
WHOI (Applied Ocean Physics and ocean science data sets. Similar testing began to occur within the U.S.
Engineering Lab, APOE), Woods of subsurface buoys and moorings was academic sectors and other inter-
Hole, MA also underway during this early time national ocean laboratories and with
frame, where flotation could be sub- the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmo-
merged below the surface, out of the spheric Administration’s (NOAA)
B uoy and mooring technology line-of-fire from wind, waves, and Pacific Marine and Environmental
dates back to the late 1950s, over pirates, holding up various instrumen- Laboratory (PMEL, Seattle, WA) and
60 years ago, when Bill Richardson tation to sample the water column and the National Data Buoy Center
of the Woods Hole Oceanographic ocean environment. These subsurface (NDBC, Stennis Space Center, MS)
Institution (WHOI, Cape Cod, MA) systems required the development of finally engaged, buoy and mooring
wanted to measure current speed two new components to the field— technology and its advancement
and direction at certain depths within the acoustic release and wire rope were here to stay.
the water column on a project that (the acoustic release for obvious In the 1980s and 1990s, buoys,
spanned the Atlantic Ocean from reasons—the buoy and mooring needed moorings, and components used now
Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Bermuda. to be detached and recovered from its had a full quiver of design options
Using a 10-feet-diameter fiberglass anchor; the wire rope—a nonelastic for a variety of project applications.
doughnut (now called a toroid), a (no stretch) mooring component that All-chain systems (shallow) in use
steel tower to mount an antenna, a allowed flotation and instrumentation along the coast (NOAA’s National
polypropylene and nylon mooring to be strategically positioned within Weather Service) were and are still
line between the surface buoy, and a the water column to make measure- common. Deep water “taut line”
surplus anchor made from recycled ments at required depths). Wire moorings, where cutting the synthetic
railroad wheels, buoy and mooring rope also replaced synthetics in the component (usually nylon) shorter
technology was underway. Few of upper water column where “fish bite” than the site location depth uses the
these initial system designs lasted longer activity (sharks) was more frequent. stretch factor (elongation) of the mooring
than a month, for the high current Countless articles have been written to place and keep sensors at specific
speed of the north Atlantic Gulf and presented on this early engineer- depths within the water column for
Stream proved stronger than the ing on both successes and failures in critical density measurements in phys-
mooring components chosen for the the field (the failures led to future ical studies, have been used for de-
project. Upon Richardson’s departure success). cades. For long-term deployments in
from WHOI, new engineering and Fast forward to the 1970s—buoys harsh environments (high latitudes),
science personnel were engaged, and and moorings had now been deployed the “inverse catenary” (sometimes
the WHOI Buoy Group was formed, successfully up to a year in length, called “s-tether” moorings) has been
with the main task of addressing and as the ocean instrumentation deployed for 2, 3, and even 5 years in
the series of problems encountered community also advanced, it was now length and has proved very successful.
on those early deployments in the possible to collect long-term in situ These designs are now basic on many
Atlantic. Determining component oceanographic data on a variety of projects worldwide.

FIGURE 1 Fast forward again to the 2000s,
buoy systems are still wanted and
Deployment, North Pacific Ocean, 2017: Texas A&M Univ., Geochemical and Environmental
Research Group (GERG), College Station, TX, and Ocean University, Qingdao, China. Photo credit: needed, but the change in funding
RDSEA International, Inc. levels (federal, state, local, and private
sector) has altered the direction of many
programs and projects. A decreased use
of buoy systems has occurred with
supplemental employment of auto-
mated vehicles and robots, surface
and subsurface now on the rise. The
large basin-scaled programs such as
the Global Moored Tropical Buoy
Array (Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian
Oceans) could scale back on surface
assets and deploy FLUX sites (project
backbone moorings with full sensor
suites) while the ARGO Program sam-
ples water column density with profil-
ing floats to 2,000-m depths. Surface
wave gliders and sailing drones could
Evolving technologies in system in the oceanographic community. cover the grid in between, therefore
components have given the ocean Some wire ropes are torque-balanced decreasing project expense while
community, engineers, and scientists or torque-free; this prevents rotation attempting to maintain good ocean sci-
new means of collecting data, continu- during deployment, another issue ence data collection.
ing the increased knowledge of our that can stress engineers on the back The oil and gas (O&G) communi-
oceans, bays, and estuaries. Hardware deck of research vessels. Wire rope ter- ties have scaled back as well, mostly
components have not changed much mination points (for hardware attach- due to market changes and shifts. As
since the 1990s. Various sizes of ments) went from poured sockets O&G moves deeper in our oceans, as
shackles, pear (sling) links, and chain, (epoxy resins) to swaged fittings hydrau- expected, deep moorings with associ-
usually galvanized, are still necessary lically pressed onto the rope. These fit- ated buoy designs will be needed to
to make system connections, some- tings need to be chosen for the tensions provide required information for site
times miles long in the deep ocean. expected in the field. location environmental monitoring
The key is the proper selection of com- Synthetics such as nylon, polypro- and studies. Measuring surface wave
ponent materials (grade and strength of pylene, and Dacron are still the go-to spectra—height, speed, direction,
steel) and “isolation” (from dissimilar components when long duration and and frequency—will still be necessary
metals) to prevent electrolysis and stretch are needed in a design. When for personnel, platform, and equip-
minimize corrosion, the combination stretch is not wanted, products such ment safety. Time-series observations
killer of many mooring systems over as Kevlar are chosen and used with from the ocean’s surface, throughout
the years. good results. Vectran, Dyneema, Spec- the water column to the seafloor
Hardware specifications are well tra, and Dynex, which are relatively using advanced measurement tech-
documented; even “cycling and fatigue” new to the field, are super strong nology and telemetry systems often
points over time have been observed and eliminate corrosion in the system. in real time, are now commonplace.
and published (WHOI, ONR). Miles These moorings are mostly used in Telemetry options have increased dra-
and miles of 3 × 19 (3 strands of subsurface applications. Hydrodynamic matically from using polar orbiting
19 wires each, braided together to modeling, a proven tool for the ocean satellites—where a buoy’s transmitter
form a rope), jacketed (polyvinyl, pro- engineer, has become a great asset in had to be programmed to talk to a
pylene, or ethylene) wire rope (also choosing the right buoy and mooring passing satellite aloft at certain time
called Nilspin) are still the standard components. frames throughout each day—to

FIGURE 2 Workshops were initially held at ran-
dom in 6- to 8-year intervals (mostly
Deployment, South Pacific, Equatorial region, 2017: RDSEA International and the Institute of
Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS), Qingdao, China. Photo credit: RDSEA Inter- at the Capt. Kidd Tavern, in the Vil-
national, Inc. lage of WHOI). Based on a suggestion
by Dr. Tom Swean, Program Manager
at ONR at the time, and with the sup-
port of both ONR and MTS and its
Buoy Technology Committee, the
ONR/MTS Buoy Workshop formed
a more formal environment with
meetings organized and supported
every 2 years since 1996.
The idea was to help foster com-
munication and exchange between
engineers, scientists, technicians, oper-
ators, and end-users of buoy systems.
Both the first (1996) and second
Buoy Workshops (1998) were held
hourly, two-way communications. with projects funded by the Ocean immediately following the MTS Under-
The Iridium Satellite Constellation, Engineering and Marine Systems sea Cables & Connectors Workshops
now on its second generation of satel- Group of the ONR, became the (UC&C) and received great support
lites where no point on Earth is left Chairman. In 1996, with support from Mr. Al Berian, the long-term orga-
untouched, has become the main from ONR and MTS, the first ONR/ nizer of the UC&C annual meetings.
frame of real-time data transfer within MTS Buoy Workshop was held in Since 2000, the Buoy Workshop pro-
the community. Oceanography, mete- San Diego, CA, and the Buoy Work- grams have included visits to facilities
orology, geophysics/chemistry, ocean shop was on the way to becoming the where active buoy work is being per-
acidification, ocean climate monitoring, mainstay for information all-things formed and managed. Participation
ports and harbors, coastal engineering, buoys, moorings, associated instrumen- ranges between 80 and 120 attendees,
search and rescue (USCG), and now tation, measurements, and projects. including many foreign participants
homeland security and the Automatic Dr. Paul has recently passed away and speakers. Thirty or more presenta-
Identification System all take advan- (2017) after retirement from WHOI. tions are made at each 2- to 3-day work-
tage of floating surface and subsurface His legacy in the field, system designs, shop, leading to lively and open
technology, placing data on computer the Committee, and the Buoy Work- exchanges between the participants in
servers daily at high-resolution time shop carry on to this day, with old this highly specialized technology.
frames. school members and supporters min- Tours of the host facility usually take
A viable means to keep track of gling among young engineers and sci- place mid-week of the meeting.
this constantly evolving technology entists discussing new ideas and concepts Dr. Walter Paul came to WHOI
(and those engaged in maintaining toward the same old challenges of with experience designing rope and
and advancing it) is by the MTS Buoy working in our world’s oceans, bays, hose strength members and tow cables
Technology Committee and biannual and waterways. used in towed array systems. Dan
Workshop. Initially beginning in the Originally organized by Henri Frye, WHOI’s Advanced Engineering
early 1960s as the Marine Technology Berteaux and Robert Walden of the Laboratory lead and mooring technol-
Society (MTS) was being formed (by- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu- ogist, asked why we could not turn
laws, etc.), the first so-called OCEANS tion in the 1960s, the Buoy Workshops those horizontal towed hose elements
meeting took place in Washington, have covered technology schemes of vertical, increase the stretch factor,
DC, with a theme focusing on “Buoy oceanographic monitoring, marine and use them as mooring riser ele-
Technology.” The committee formal- weather, and other parameters where ments. We could, and Walter did.
ized once Dr. Walter Paul of WHOI, floating platforms are necessary. The Thus, the mooring stretch hose was

FIGURE 3 eclectic group over the years, espe-
cially the work of Dr. Paul and Judy
OOI cruise departure from WHOI docks, RV Atlantis, Pioneer array turnaround, 2015. Photo
credit: RDSEA International, Inc. Rizoli (Workshop Administrator) of
WHOI. We also thank all manufac-
tures and vendors who have contin-
ued their participation in keeping us
“a-float” (pun intended) over the
decades.
Rick Cole of RDSEA International,
Inc. (St. Pete Beach, FL, Co-Chair
with Dr. Paul since 2004 and formerly
with NOAA’s PMEL and the Univer-
sity of South Florida’s Ocean Circula-
tion Group) and Don Peters (WHOI,
Applied Ocean Physics and Engineer-
ing Laboratory) have taken the reigns
born. In his years at WHOI, Walter the development of stretch hoses used of the committee and workshop, mov-
designed mooring stretch hoses for on the Ocean Observatories Initiative ing them into the next phase, including
numerous applications with varying (OOI) Coastal Surface and Profiler continued discussion on buoy and
size, strength, and elasticity. Early moorings, pioneered the use of multi- mooring technologies and their appli-
hoses used coil cords inside the hose ple conductor cable layers for high- cations. We also welcome Ms. Kevyan
to incorporate electrical conductors conductor count hoses, and developed Ann Sly, MTS Interim Executive
and, soon after, fiber optics. Walter Ethernet-capable hose conductor Director, as the new Buoy Workshop
later developed special conductor cables cables. He has since developed a hose Administrator. Plans are forming now
that could be built directly into the design for Arctic surface buoys that for the First International MTS Buoy
wall of the hose. In 2007, the call features high-strength, low-stretch, Workshop to be held and hosted by
came from Chris Clark of the Cornell and high-crush resistance while carry- CSIRO in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia,
Bioacoustics Research Program for a ing 12 twisted pairs for power and sig- April of 2019. Please see this MTS link
means to connect WHOI’s surface nals down the mooring. for further information: http://www.
telemetry buoys to Cornell’s passive Our goal here was to give a brief whoi.edu/buoyworkshop/2019/
acoustic whale monitoring hydro- review of the MTS Buoy Technology Buoy Workshop 2020 is also in
phones while isolating the hydro- Committee and the biannual Buoy discussion with information to come
phones from surface buoy heave Workshop. The base for this commit- later in 2019.
motions. Walter developed the light- tee’s efforts were housed and managed
weight and very stretchy “Whale” hose at the Woods Hole Oceanographic
(originally called the “Gumby” hose, but Institute, Cape Cod, MA, from in- Historical Review of Past Buoy
Gumby was later dropped due to trade- ception (1960s), until the recent pass- Workshops:
mark issues) for this application—now ing of the Committee’s Chair, Dr. 1996: San Diego, CA
called the Right Whale Auto-Detection Walter Paul (2017). Many groups 1998: San Diego, CA
or “Autobuoy” mooring. One array of worldwide are involved in Buoy 2000: WHOI, Cape Cod, MA
10 Autobuoy moorings off Boston and Technology and actively engaged in (Host: WHOI)
Cape Cod has been deployed year- programs that employ floating, sur- 2002: Seattle, WA (Host: NOAA
round for over 10 years (with bi-yearly face and subsurface buoy, and moor- PMEL)
maintenance) using this technology. ing systems, many of which are 2004: St. Petersburg, FL (Host
After working with Walter for years designed and deployed successfully USF-Marine Science, Ocean
on cable and hose termination designs, due to discussions held at Buoy Work- Circulation Group)
Don Peters gradually began to assume shops. We thank and appreciate all the 2006: College Station, TX (Host:
the hose engineering “mantle.” He led efforts many have put into to this very Texas A&M, GERG)

2008: Bay St. Louis, MS (Host:
NOAA NDBC)
2010: Monterey, CA (Host: MBARI)
2012: Victoria, British Columbia,
Canada (Hosts: University of
Victoria, Canada IOS, and
Axys)
2014: San Diego, CA (Hosts: Scripps
Institute of Oceanography,
OOI, and CDIP)
2016: WHOI, Cape Cod, MA
(Host: WHOI)
2018: Ann Arbor, MI (Hosts:
University of MI, NOAA-
GLERL, CIGLR, and GLOS)
2019: In planning: 1st International
MTS Buoy Workshop,
Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
(Host: CSIRO)
2020: In discussion, to be determined

PAPER
Maritime Renewable Energy Markets:

Power From the Sea
AUTHORS ABSTRACT
Andrea Copping Marine renewable energy (MRE) is in the early stages of contributing to the
Pacific Northwest National energy portfolios of the United States and many other nations around the world.
Laboratory, Seattle, WA Although many MRE developers are designing devices that will harvest energy to
Al LiVecchi contribute to the electrical grid from waves, tides, and ocean currents, a number
National Renewable Energy of other promising maritime markets could be supplied with MRE power at sea.
Laboratory, Boulder, CO These maritime markets are often less price sensitive, have fewer options than
utility-scale electricity markets, and can handle some degree of intermittency.
Heather Spence
Some of the promising maritime markets that could benefit from co-located
AAAS Science & Technology Policy
power generation include ocean observation nodes, underwater recharge of au-
Fellowship, U.S. Department of
tonomous vehicles, desalination of seawater for remote coastal areas, offshore
Energy, Water Power Technologies
aquaculture, shoreline protection and electricity generation, providing electricity
Office, Washington, DC
and freshwater following coastal emergencies, providing power to islanded and
Alicia Gorton isolated communities, powering and cooling nearshore underwater data centers,
Pacific Northwest National recharging of electric surface vessels, and personal charging of electronics. Pair-
Laboratory, Richland, WA ing of MRE power generation with these and other maritime markets is in the
early stages, but the potential for synergy and growth of MRE coupled to
Scott Jenne
these markets is promising.
Robert Preus
Keywords: marine renewable energy, maritime markets, power at sea
National Renewable Energy
Laboratory, Boulder, CO
Gary Gill States and many other nations around Supporting research and develop-
Pacific Northwest National the world (Ocean Energy Systems ment of these maritime markets is an
Laboratory, Sequim, WA [OES], 2016). In addition to grid- evolving focus of the U.S. Department
Robi Robichaud scale applications, it has become ap- of Energy’s (2017) Water Power
National Renewable Energy parent that MRE has the potential Technologies Office (WPTO), which
Laboratory, Boulder, CO to add significant value when applied is charged with a portfolio of research
to established and evolving maritime and development to advance innova-
Simon Gore
sectors. Many of these applications tive technologies for clean, domestic
Allegheny Science and Technology,
will be small and operate off-grid; power generation from resources such
U.S. Department of Energy,
many could be used in hybrid systems as hydropower, waves, and tides. In fis-
Water Power Technologies Office,
with integrated storage and other cal years 2017 and 2018, the WPTO
Washington, DC
renewable energy sources such as Marine and Hydrokinetic (MHK)
wind and solar. The ability to provide Program has been analyzing the suit-
power at sea and to isolated coastal and ability of studying a range of maritime
Introduction island areas could substantially change markets and published a report that
M arine renewable energy (MRE)—

the generation of power from the
movement or constituents of seawater
the need for transporting and burning
diesel and swapping battery banks
at sea and could allow expansion of
identifies and outlines the potential
opportunities and challenges for
MRE in maritime markets.
—is in the early stages of contributing at-sea autonomous sensor deployments MRE devices have the potential to
to the energy portfolios of the United and other operations. deliver power offshore to a variety of

maritime markets including powering Providing Power In U.S. waters, navigation aids on
autonomous sensor arrays, recharging for Expanded Ocean the surface of navigable waterways are
autonomous vehicles, supporting aqua- generally managed by the U.S. Coast
Observations, Navigation,
culture operations, and supplying Guard (USCG). The range of power
desalinated water to isolated coastal
and Surveillance requirements for navigation aids, per
regions, while providing development Ocean Observations installation, is estimated to be 10–
opportunities that are needed to and Navigation Aids 600 kW (Brasseur et al., 2009) to sup-
advance MRE technologies. Practi- The use of maritime sensors and port a variety of uses such as lights, air
tioners of these maritime markets are navigation aids is widespread and horns, radar reflectors, air and water
not traditional partners of WPTO; growing rapidly worldwide. Common sensors, and data transmission (USCG,
efforts are under way to bring opera- sensors include surface ocean observa- 2017a, 2017b), although some simple
tors of these sectors together to better tion buoys to measure meteorological channel markers may require much
understand the potential synergies data, subsurface nodes for tsunami or less power.
with marine renewables. submarine monitoring, and surface Ocean observation sites (subsurface
Most MRE development efforts to navigation buoys for maritime traffic. and surface) are located along coast-
date have focused on harvesting power Some ocean observation sensors are lines, on continental shelves, along
from the tides and waves as well as test- cabled to shore power, while others the margin of oceanic plates, along
ing several turbines in large rivers. The are powered locally with solar panels the equator, and in other convergence
first tidal turbine array was recently or batteries. As the need and capability zones. Monitoring systems are situated
deployed off northern Scotland (OES, to measure our oceans advances, more off coastlines for tsunami and storm
2016). To date, most tidal, river, and sensors that have their own unique early warning detection in the United
wave energy deployments have con- power needs will be deployed. Battery States. Early warning systems are man-
sisted of one or two devices, many at life limits the useful duration of most aged by the U.S. Integrated Ocean
observation and navigation equipment;
small or prototype scales, tested over Observing System and the related
generating renewable energy locally
short windows of time (OES, 2016). regional system of Ocean Observing
will enable recharging of these devices
Research and development efforts for System. The Neptune array in the
at sea (Ayers & Richter, 2016). MRE
harvesting power from ocean currents Pacific (Interactive Oceans, 2017),
devices could provide longer-term
are under way in several parts of the the Taos array along the equator, and
power by taking advantage of the
world, focusing on the western bound- the tsunami warning systems off
very environment the sensors measure,
ary currents like the Gulf Stream, U.S. coastlines are operated by the
allowing for nighttime and high-
Kuroshio, and Agulhas (OES, 2016). National Oceanic and Atmospheric
latitude winter charging. Some
Other viable MRE technologies ocean sensors are increasing in size Administration (NOAA, 2017a,
include the generation of power from and complexity, requiring additional 2017b). In Canadian waters, the
thermal gradients in tropical and sub- power; however, quantitative estimates Venus array operates in the Pacific wa-
tropical waters using ocean thermal for the increase in power needs have yet ters between the United States and
energy conversion, as well as the heat- to be estimated. Although technologi- Canada (Ocean Works, 2017). Inter-
ing and cooling of nearshore buildings cal advancements continue to decrease nationally, most observation systems
using energy generated from salinity power needs for many individual sen- are integrated with the Global Ocean
gradients, although the deployment sors, there is an overall increase in the Observation System (UNESCO,
of these technologies has been slower need for power for these systems (U.S. 2017) and the European Earth Ob-
than other MRE technologies (Laws Department of Energy [DOE], 2017a) servation System (UNESCO, 2009).
& Epps, 2016; Yuce & Muratoglu, as users develop needs/requirements Additionally, there are military and
2015). Information about the range for more types of data and at a higher security ocean observation systems for
of MRE technologies and progress in resolution to aid research and monitor- surveillance and tracking, including
their development is documented by ing. Providing additional power at sea systems for submarine tracking, such
the 25-nation collaboration OES, could also allow for larger payloads as the decommissioned sound surveil-
convened by the International Energy and longer deployments, while requir- lance system (SOSUS) array (NOAA,
Agency (OES, 2016). ing minimal maintenance. 2017c). Ocean observation systems

are extremely varied in their power as the resource allows and—when Ishibashi, 2015). MRE power at sea
needs, and new systems are continu- paired with storage solutions such as could provide an autonomous power
ously being developed. Although battery banks—allow reliable on- source that would reduce the need to
there are no accurate estimates for demand recharging for a fleet of vehi- recover the vehicle as frequently and
system power needs across the broad cles. Underwater recharge stations reduce the detectability of operations
array of systems, electricity is likely to could also be used as intermediate at sea for security and military pur-
be needed to power ambient monitor- data repositories, effectively increasing poses. At-sea recharging could also
ing sensors, communications, onboard data storage capabilities. shorten the distance requirement for
computer systems, lighting, station- AUVs/UUVs include a range of the energy storage system, enabling
keeping (for mobile platforms), vehicle shapes, such as torpedoes, small deployment of more, smaller, and
onboard maintenance (for fixed navi- submersibles, and less hydrodynamic cheaper AUV/UUVs deployed for ex-
gation and observation systems), and cubes used in the civilian sector for tended mission durations (> 1 month)
inspection and safety (for industrial ocean observations, underwater and/or those that consume a signifi-
installations at sea). inspections, and monitoring of the cant amount of power due to on-board
The power needs for navigation seabed and structures. In the military instruments (e.g., sonar, sensors) may
and ocean observation systems could and security sector, they are used for benefit from underwater recharging op-
be satisfied with MRE—generally surveillance, underwater monitoring, portunities that can be powered using
wave power offshore, including point mine detection and countermeasures, wave energy systems (A. Hamilton,
absorbers, oscillating water columns, payload delivery, barrier patrol, inspec- personal communication, 7/30/2018);
and other wave devices, as well as tidal tion, and target identification. Hamilton (2017) estimates that wave
power for navigation aids in inland The resilience, surveillance, cost energy systems provide a consistent
waters. In addition to generating savings, and stealth benefits of operat- form of energy that will be useful
electricity, compressed air could be ing thousands of small AUVs/UUVs over AUV and UUV instrument de-
directly generated for systems that re- compared to one large aircraft carrier ployment cycles. The power provided
quire active ballast. Very small-scale are changing how the Navy operates from wave energy systems is more
MRE devices could be used to power and will significantly alter future at- consistent than that provided by bat-
isolated or drifting ocean instruments sea operations in numerous ways tery power alone and is significantly
(Pinkel et al., 2011). (McDermott, 2017; Pomerleau, 2016; higher than the solar/wind system,
Shotts & McNamara, 1993). As mod- as shown in Figure 1, for a recharge
ern robotics advance, AUVs/UUVs are station built into an observation buoy.
Recharging Autonomous performing maritime tasks that once However, battery storage may be ap-
Underwater Vehicles took a fleet of ships months to com- propriate for shorter AUV/UUV de-
Autonomous underwater vehicles plete. However, power remains a ployment durations when recharge is
(AUVs) and unmanned underwater limiting factor; most AUVs/UUVs unnecessary.
vehicles (UUVs) are used for surveil- use onboard stored electric energy for The opportunity to recharge AUVs/
lance, persistent monitoring, and propulsion, powering of sensors, and UUVs underwater and to off-load
inspections of subsea infrastructure. data acquisition. The energy storage payload and/or data is dependent on
These vehicles rely on surface vessels system capacity varies with system the availability and reliability of
for recharging and data downloading. type, but roughly 75% of the interiors robust and efficient recharge technol-
Their reliance on expensive and dan- of UUVs are devoted to the energy ogies. Several such technologies,
gerous surface vessel support (a result storage system (D.L. Manalang, per- including physical docking stations
of increased safety concerns driven by sonal communication, December 7th that use wireless induction charging
extended periods at sea for crew.) 2017). Deployment and recovery or plugged-in connections (Shepard
could be reduced or replaced by re- efforts for recharging AUVs/UUVs News, 2015; Townsend & Shenoi,
charging and off-loading data under- are time-sensitive and often limited 2013), are under development by the
water, thereby extending mission by weather conditions, which pose a U.S. military and its industrial partners,
duration. MRE-powered recharge sta- serious hazard to both the crew and although none has yet reached the
tions could harvest power continuously the vehicle (Ewachiw, 2014; Fan & commercial market.

FIGURE 1 developed to supply municipal or
domestic water use and translating to
Energy requirements for deployment duration (adapted from Hamilton, 2017).
approximately $45–$65 million per
year in electricity consumption.
Currently, the desalination market is
a small portion of total U.S. water con-
sumption (DOE, 2017b), but this ca-
pacity is anticipated to grow 20% by
2020 (Global Water Intelligence,
2016). The largest customers for desa-
linated water are water utilities that
have significant and hardened drinking
water demands and long-term invest-
ment horizons, making the cost to pro-
duce water a primary driver for new
technology and water supply adoption.
However, there are less price-sensitive
market opportunities in regions that
have limited supply options, such as
water-scarce locations, isolated and
There are no commercially avail- for normal charging, and typical remote communities, disaster relief
able docking stations for underwater AUV recharge takes approximately situations, and, potentially, military
vehicle recharge on the market at this 4–8 h (A. Gish & A. Hughes, personal applications. Military environments
time, but several research and devel- communication, December 7th 2017); have highly specific logistical and secu-
opment projects involve their use however, faster recharge may be possi- rity concerns, for which the fully
(Figure 2). Energy requirements depend ble with increased power, which may burdened cost of water can reach
on the mission requirements and the be more desirable for some applica- many multiples of the price of standard
number of vehicles that will be ser- tions. Ideally, the recharge power desalted municipal supply (Defense
viced; the best estimates indicate that source should operate over a depth Science Board, 2016). In the near
a typical recharging station will require range of 50–1,000 m. The constant term, smaller-scale desalination sys-
between 66 kWh and 2.2 MWh harvest of MRE power (most likely tems have the potential to serve these
(DOE 2017a). Approximately 200– wave power) coupled with battery markets, especially as SWRO and
500 W of charging power is required backup will allow recharge on demand. MRE technologies decrease in cost.
Desalination is an energy-intensive
FIGURE 2 process, such that the cost to produce
Docking station being tested in Monterey water is driven by the cost of electricity
Bay Aquarium Research Institute test tank Freshwater for Isolated used to run the process. Other pro-
(MBARI, 2017). Coastal Communities cesses such as prefiltration and post-
Desalination filtration require small amounts of
Seawater desalination is a small but additional energy, compared to the
growing part of the global water indus- process of removing salt from seawater.
try, with a 9% annual worldwide MRE technologies can be deployed to
increase between 1990 and 2018 produce drinking water with little or
(Moore, 2018). In the United States, no electricity generation through di-
the existing seawater reverse osmosis rect pressurization of the membranes,
(SWRO) market has a capacity of which is advantageous in locations
approximately 500,000 m 3 /day where grid-connected electricity is
(Alvarado-Revilla, 2015), primarily unreliable and/or costly. Although

MRE technologies can produce clean using typical recovery ratios and 2014, 73.8 million tons of fish were
water without producing any electric- energy recovery systems (National grown in global aquaculture opera-
ity, it can be advantageous to produce Renewable Energy Laboratory tions with an estimated value of
some electricity to drive ancillary sys- [NREL], 2017). $160.2 billion (Food and Agriculture
tems. Hybrid systems can be designed NREL designed and modeled a Organization of the United Nations
to fulfill both electricity and clean system that directly pressurizes RO [FAO], 2016). China continues to be
water needs of the end user. Whether for clean water production, bypassing the largest producer, providing slightly
a system consumes or generates elec- the electricity generation process, as less than 62% of the world fish pro-
tricity, or both, will depend on the eco- proposed by some wave-powered desa- duction in the past two decades.
nomic tradeoffs and the specific lination developers (Yu & Jenne, There is an annual seafood trade gap
market conditions in each region. 2017). The results suggest that, for a of approximately $14 billion per year
The most likely near-term deploy- standardized wave energy converter between the United States and its trad-
able MRE technologies are nearshore design, pressurizing an SWRO desali- ing partners (NOAA, 2015); this gap
(shallow water) wave and tidal technol- nation system would be more cost- cannot be closed solely with wild caught
ogies. Shallow water technologies allow competitive producing water than fish and seafood. More than 90% of
for more equipment to be located on- producing electricity. Initial estimates U.S. seafood is imported, presenting
shore, require simpler installation tech- indicate that the levelized cost of a unique opportunity for offshore
niques, and have lower maintenance water (LCOW) is around $1.80/m3 and nearshore aquaculture, in addition
costs, than deep water systems. However, (Yu & Jenne, 2017). Using an as- to economic development and job
environmental and permitting chal- sumed electricity rate of $0.13/kWh creation. Aquaculture is a nascent U.S.
lenges associated with brine discharge (California average), the levelized cost industry; however, offshore farms are
and inlet designs (e.g., velocity restric- of water for a traditional SWRO de- developing worldwide to meet a global
tions) may incentivize deep water tech- salination plant would be slightly less market projected to be more than
nologies as wave energy converter than $1/m3 (without adding distribu- $55 billion by 2020 (FAO, 2016).
technologies mature. Nevertheless, the tion and other added infrastructure Presently, marine aquaculture op-
costs of transporting clean water to costs). These findings signal a near- erational power needs include moni-
shore will have to be weighed against term market opportunity for wave en- toring equipment, navigation lights,
any potential cost reductions associated ergy requiring smaller cost reductions compressed air production, nutrient
with reduced permitting restrictions. before the technology becomes com- and waste disbursement, fish feeders,
The scalability of SWRO technol- mercially competitive. The LCOW cold storage to refrigerate the harvested
ogies enables MRE-powered desalination suggests that, when compared with product, and crew support (lights,
systems to appropriately match the de- existing commercial desalination tech- heat, etc.). These power needs are
mand scale of many potential situations. nologies, wave technologies are on the estimated to range anywhere from a
Technologies have been proposed for order of twice as expensive, while elec- low of 4 MWh/year for lighting
small isolated communities, including tricity generating wave technologies to715 MWh/year for running major
SAROS (https://sarosdesalination.com/) are on the order of 5–10 times more farm systems (Toner & Mathies,
and Atmocean (https://atmocean.com/) expensive than average utility electricity 2002), depending on the size, location,
as well as larger devices that can be inte- rates in the United States (OES, 2016). and organisms (shellfish, finfish, crus-
grated into larger water utility systems taceans, seaweeds, etc.). This power
including Resolute Marine (http:// has historically been provided by diesel
www.resolutemarine.com/) a n d Supporting Ocean Harvests generation, battery bank, and, occa-
AquaMarine (http://www.emec.org. Offshore Aquaculture sionally, renewables (mostly solar).
uk/about-us/wave-clients/aquamarine- Aquaculture operations cultivate By replacing fossil fuel power genera-
power/). For every 1-kW average rated the growth of finfish, shellfish, crusta- tion with MRE, the aquaculture
electrical output, approximately 8 m3/day ceans, and seaweeds on land or at sea, industry could reduce harm to air
of freshwater would be produced; this primarily for human consumption, and water quality and reduce operating
ratio can be assumed for general with additional markets for animal costs. MRE devices may operate better
scaling of wave-powered RO systems feeds and industrial chemicals. In on aquaculture facilities than other

renewables due to their co-location critically needed minerals include the products that could be produced using
characteristics, low profile, and reduced 17 rare earth elements, precious metals, this method (European Marine Energy
intermittency of power. Although aqua- lithium, cobalt, and uranium. Although Centre [EMEC], 2017).
culture facilities are likely to be sited land-based minerals are concentrated in
away from the most energetic wave cli- specific geologic formations and geo-
mates, as aquaculture operations move graphic areas, minerals in near-surface
Protecting Shorelines and
offshore, the resulting waves will sup- seawater are often distributed evenly in
ply needed power. U.S. waters include seawater, with some higher concentra-
Aiding Disaster Recovery
Shoreline Protection
a large (almost 10 million km2) exclu- tions occurring near continents as a
The projected increase in extreme
sive economic zone (NOAA, 2015), a result of terrestrial runoff and interac-
weather events and the threat of future
significant portion of which could be tion with margin sediments. These
sea-level rise have prompted the need
used for aquaculture development. minerals can be recovered from sea-
for increased shore protection in the
In addition to growing seaweeds water using adsorption methods that
form of beach nourishment and the
(macroalgae) onshore, nearshore, and do not require moving vast amounts of
construction of coastal structures to
at sea for human consumption, macro- seawater. Extracting minerals from
reduce shoreline impacts. Integrating
algae and some microalgae can be grown seawater is a more environmentally
MRE devices with shore protection
at commercial scale for biofuels, animal friendly enterprise than terrestrial
structures could be a two-pronged
feeds, and other coproducts. Algae have mining (Diallo et al., 2015; Parker
solution to help solve energy security
high levels of structural polysaccharides et al., 2018). Moreover, seawater
and coastal protection concerns facing
and low concentrations of lignins, mak- extraction will not require freshwater
many coastal communities. Wave
ing them excellent feedstocks for the for processing or create volumes of
energy converters and tidal turbines
production of liquid biofuels. Many contaminated water and tailings for
can be designed and constructed into
algal species contain organic chemicals disposal. Most rare earth elements, as
new or existing coastal structures such
that are used in many industrial and ag- well as uranium and other minerals
as breakwaters (Figure 3) and storm
ricultural processes ranging from food used in the United States, are imported
surge barriers (Figure 4). The lack of
processing to supplementing animal from other nations (Diallo et al.,
surface expression of these devices in-
feeds. Although small algal cultivation 2015), which raises supply chain con-
creases survivability and decreases visual
sites need little power, the larger ma- cerns for both industry and national
intrusion, making them more advanta-
rine farms proposed for the production security (Congressional Research
geous than other renewable alternatives
of biofuels and industrial-scale chemi- Services, 2017).
such as solar and wind. The energy gen-
cals and other coproducts will need Wave energy could be used to power
erated by these devices can be used to
energy for harvesting, drying, environ- extraction of minerals or dissolved
power local communities, marinas
mental monitoring, and maintenance gases as this power source is locally
and ports, or other shore protection ac-
activities as well as for maneuvering generated, is reasonably consistent,
tivities, such as beach nourishment. Ad-
and buoyancy controls for larger farm and does not greatly add to the com-
ditionally, the sale of electricity from
structures. These power needs could plexity or maintenance needs of the ex-
be satisfied wholly or in part by energy traction operation. Dissolved gases like FIGURE 3
generated from MRE devices to provide hydrogen can become important
Mutriku, Spain, breakwater wave energy con-
off-grid power needs by designing MRE sources of energy storage and will be
verter integration (MarineEnergy.biz, 2016).
systems into the growing and harvesting used in the future for maritime trans-
systems. portation. MRE power harvested at
sea has the potential to meet seawater
Seawater Mining mining needs to power an electrolyzer
Seawater contains large amounts of for gas extraction, perform electrochem-
minerals, dissolved gases, and specific ical extraction, mechanically drive an
organic molecules that can play a role active adsorbent exposure system, and
as energy sources or in other industrial power on-site logistical needs. Ammo-
uses. Some of the most valuable and nia and hydrogen are the most likely

FIGURE 4 in these same regions with similar elec-
tricity supply conditions as well as
Five tidal turbines integrated with an Oosterscheldekering storm surge barrier in the Netherlands
(HydroWorld.com, 2015). numerous forward-operating bases
(FOBs) remote from fuel sources
(Defense Science Board, 2016). For
the DOD, transporting diesel fuel to
FOBs and remote-operating bases takes
on a significant added element of risk
exposure due to the potential for loss
of human life related to fuel transport.
In remote communities and DOD
bases, electric power is essential for light-
ing, heating, drinking water and waste-
such integrated infrastructure could de- Isolated grids, such as in coastal Alaska water treatment, and pumping water.
fray the long-term cost of installing or Pacific islands, have less resiliency Most of these isolated coastal and
coastal protection. than areas with neighboring grid sec- river communities and bases have
tions and could benefit the most access to harvestable wave, tidal, or
from having an independent source river current resources that could replace
Emergency Response of power from the sea. all or part of the diesel generation,
Following coastal disasters, such as thereby reducing energy costs and sup-
hurricanes, flooding events, earth- porting the viability of the communi-
quakes, or tsunamis, there may be an Other Maritime ties. Companies and organizations are
immediate need for emergency power Markets for MRE developing screening approaches to
as well as safe drinking water and proc- Islanded and identify remote communities that
essed water for essential services such as Isolated Communities have high project potential for MRE
heating and fire suppression systems. Hundreds of isolated coastal com- development (Marine Technology
Isolated portions of a coastal grid munities around the world have micro- Society Tech Surge, 2016).
may be susceptible to extended loss grid power systems from 200 kW to
of power and could require a boost 5 MW in capacity; in the United States, Future Technologies:
for grid restart—a situation referred these communities are primarily in Data Centers, Electric
to as a “black start.” In the United Alaska (Alaska Energy Authority Vessel Recharge, and
States, typically the Federal Emer- [AEA], 2017) and island territories. Consumer Charging
gency Management Agency (FEMA) These communities are currently de- Other emerging technologies may
and/or state or community emergency pendent on diesel generators for some benefit from power from MRE devices
services provide diesel generators for or all of their power. Diesel-generated as the industries develop.
emergency power sources. As of 2014, power costs are high, sometimes more
FEMA had 1,012 generators in its fleet than $1/kWh, and the cost varies Underwater Data Centers
comprising 103 generator sizes, ranging with the ever-fluctuating price of oil. The explosion of cloud computing
from 1.5 kW to 1.825 MW (Danjczek, Transporting diesel is difficult and ex- and Internet-based content has created
2014), and requiring that shipments pensive, may require extensive storage significant growth in the build-out of
of diesel be continually delivered to capacity, and risks contaminant spills. server centers that have very large elec-
disaster zones. MRE power could be Wind and solar are already replacing tricity demands, a significant amount
used to augment or replace power some diesel generation but are limited of which is needed for cooling. The
from diesel generators and provide in some locations by land and resource energy overhead that goes to cooling
black start capability to isolated por- availability or the difficulty and expense accounts for one of the largest sources
tions of the grid. All coastal areas are of installation logistics. The U.S. of auxiliary power (power not directly
at risk from these natural disasters Department of Defense (DOD) has going to computing) and can range
and could benefit from MRE power. dozens of permanent bases that operate from 10% to 50% of total overhead

depending on the facility and location and aircraft, particularly in remote time markets are a near-term opportu-
but has been decreasing due to efficien- areas. Recharging at sea or at remote nity for MRE. Maritime and grid-scale
cies in server and facility design, result- shoreside locations could extend the markets will feed into each other and
ing in significantly improving power range and mission times of vessels, provide learning that will increase
usage efficiencies (Rong et al., 2016; thereby broadening the type of ships efficiencies and reduce costs. Providing
Shehabi et al., 2016; Whitney & and shipping activities that could use power at sea from MRE devices to
Delforge, 2014). Customers in this electric propulsion. This could also en- serve these maritime markets will
market require uninterrupted power able increased use of electric vessels for require investments by federal and
and often have 100% renewable energy offshore aquaculture and for mainte- state governments, as well as the pri-
targets but are very price sensitive. nance at renewable energy farms. vate sector, to improve reliability,
Companies such as Microsoft and Reducing the use of fossil fuels for robustness, efficiencies, and systems
Google have experimented with using powering vessels and aircraft of all integration. The co-location of an en-
ocean water for cooling to reduce costs. sizes has the potential to mitigate ergy source at sea to supply numerous
Evolving small “edge caching” data greenhouse gas emissions, reduce the maritime sectors is a compelling reason
centers located near coastal population risk of spills at sea, and eliminate the to explore MRE as a power source.
centers will require rapid paths to de- need to transport and store petroleum Similarly, minimal surface expressions,
ployment, scalability, reduced costs, products for remote locations, result- ease of integration with other renew-
and access to renewable power. Tem- ing in improved air quality, water able sources such as wind and solar, a
porary data centers for emergency quality, and safety at sea. low carbon footprint, and reduction
and military management also require in threats from fossil fuel spills and dis-
extreme ease of deployment and reli- Off-Grid Small Device Charging charges all favor linking MRE with
ability, along with proven integration The rapid adoption of portable other maritime industries and uses.
with storage and other generation electronic devices has created a global Through maritime markets, MRE
sources. Future reliable low-cost market for charging technologies, has the potential to make significant
MRE systems could meet this need, especially in areas that have no access contributions to the future sustainable
replacing or extending diesel supplies to grid power. At present, the two pri- ocean economy.
and operational times for these tempo- mary off-grid charging solutions are
rary centers. portable battery packs and small trans-
portable solar photovoltaic panels for Acknowledgments
Electric Vessel Recharge extended off-grid excursions. A few This work was authored [in part]
Global pressures to reduce green- portable wind turbines are on the by: (1) the Pacific Northwest National
house gas emissions and improve local market, and water current turbines Laboratory, operated by Battelle Me-
air quality are causing significant are already in use for personal water- morial Institute, for the U.S. Depart-
changes in the shipping sector craft applications. A small water ment of Energy under Contract No.
(DNV-GL, 2017a, 2017b). DNV-GL current turbine (with a similar applica- DE-AC05-76RL01830 and (2) the Na-
reports that 185 battery-powered ships tion for wind) is now available for tional Renewable Energy Laboratory,
are in operation or scheduled for personal charging. It requires that the operated by Alliance for Sustainable
delivery worldwide in 2018, most in user deploy the small device in moving Energy, LLC, for the U.S. Department
Norway and France (DNV-GL, water such as a stream or canal, and of Energy under Contract No. DE-
2017b). Additionally, fully electric it charges personal devices like AC36-08GO28308. Funding is pro-
passenger aircraft are presently in mobile phones by wire (https:// vided by the U.S Department of
development, including autonomous waterlilyturbine.com/). Energy Office of Energy Efficiency
vertical take-off or landing crafts such and Renewable Energy Water Power
as “Cora” from Kitty Hawk and Technologies Office. The views ex-
NASA’s X-57. Similar to the charging Summary pressed in the article do not necessarily
of AUVs underwater, in the future, The MRE industry is evolving and represent the views of the U.S. De-
MRE devices could provide power to will continue to mature and diversify partment of Energy or the U.S. Gov-
charging stations for surface vessels over the next several decades. Mari- ernment. Reference herein to any

specific commercial product, process, vations and Information for Society, Vol. 2, 12/f46/Seawater_desalination_bandwidth_
or service by trade name, trademark, pp. 21-25. study_2017.pdf.
manufacturer, or otherwise does not Congressional Research Services. 2017. European Marine Energy Centre (EMEC).
necessarily constitute or imply its en- Rare earth elements in national defense: 2017. An innovative community project
dorsement, recommendation, or favor- Background, oversight issues, and options in Orkney that uses surplus electricity gen-
ing by the U.S. Government or any for Congress. Available at: https://fas.org/sgp/ erated from renewable energy to split
agency thereof, by Battelle Memorial crs/natsec/R41744.pdf (accessed 20 April water, making hydrogen gas as a fuel. Avail-
Institute, or by Alliance for Sustainable 2018). able at: http://www.surfnturf.org.uk/ (accessed
Energy, LLC. The U.S. Government 20 April 2018).
Department of Energy. 2017. Geothermals
retains that the publisher, by accepting Technology Program extraction of critical Ewachiw, M.A., Jr. 2014. Design of an auton-
the article for publication, acknowl- minerals. Available at: https://www.energy. omous underwater vehicle (AUV) charging
edges that the U.S. Government retains gov/eere/articles/eere-announces-4-million- system for underway, underwater recharging.
a nonexclusive, paid-up, irrevocable, critical-materials-recovery-geothermal-fluids MS Thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Tech-
worldwide license to publish or repro- (accessed 20 April 2018). nology. pp. 86.
duce the published form of this work,
Danjczek, P. 2014. Mass-Power Outage in Fan, F.H., & Ishibashi, S. 2015, July 27.
or allow others to do so, for U.S. Gov- Disasters: Addressing Inefficiencies in FEMA’s An Examination of Autonomous Underwater
ernment purposes. Generator Mission. Baltimore, MD: Johns Docking Procedures. In the 25th Interna-
Hopkins University. tional Ocean and Polar Engineering Con-
ference, 21–26 June, Kona, Hawaii, USA.
Defense Science Board. 2016. Task force
Corresponding Author: International Society of Offshore and Polar
on energy systems for forward/remote operat-
Andrea Copping Engineers.
ing bases: Final report. Available at: http://
Pacific Northwest
www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/1022571.pdf Food and Agriculture Organization of the
National Laboratory (accessed 20 April 2018). United Nations (FAO). 2016. The State
1100 Dexter Avenue N., Suite 500
Diallo, M.S., Kotte, M.R., & Cho, M. 2015. of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2016:
Seattle, WA 98109
Mining critical metals and elements from Contributing to Food Security and Nutrition
Email: [email protected] for All. Rome, Italy: Author. 200 pp.
seawater: Opportunities and challenges. Environ
Sci Technol. 49(16):9390-9. https://doi.org/ Global Water Intelligence. 2016. Desalina-
10.1021/acs.est.5b00463.
References tion Markets 2016: Global Perspective and
Alaska Energy Authority. 2017. Alaska DNV-GL. 2017a. Low carbon shipping towards Opportunities for Growth. Oxford, UK: Media
Affordable Energy Strategy: A Framework 2050. Available at: https://www.dnvgl.com/ Analytics.
for Consumer Energy Sustainability Outside publications/low-carbon-shipping-towards- Hamilton, A. 2017. Wave energy conversion
of the Railbelt. Anchorage, AK: Author. 2050-93579 (accessed 08 April 2018). for oceanographic applications. In: DOE Marine
31 pp.
DNV-GL. 2017b. Energy transition outlook. Energy Technologies Forum, December 2017.
Alvarado-Revilla, F. 2015. Desalination 2017: Maritime forecast to 2050. Available at: U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, D.C.
Markets 2016: Global Perspective and Oppor- https://eto.dnvgl.com/2017/maritime (accessed
HydroWorld.com. 2015. World’s larg-
tunities for Growth. Oxford: Media Analytics. 08 April 2018).
est 5-turbine tidal array installed in the
Ayers, J.M., & Richter, K. 2016. The potential DOE. 2017a. Marine and hydrokinetic Oosterschelde barrier, The Netherlands.
of small-scale turbines and microbial fuel cells distributed and alternate applications. In: Available at: https://www.hydroworld.com/
to support persistent oceanographic sensors. DOE Marine Energy Technologies Forum. articles/2015/09/world-s-largest-5-turbine-tidal-
In: Oceans 2016, September 19–23. Monterey, December 6, 2017. U.S. Department of array-installed-in-the-oosterschelde-barrier-the-
CA: MTS/IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/ Energy, Washington, D.C. netherlands.html (accessed 20 April 2018).
OCEANS.2016.7761015.
DOE. 2017b. Bandwidth Study on Energy Interactive Oceans. 2017. Neptune array.
Brasseur, L., Tamburri, M., & Pluedemann, A. Use and Potential Energy Savings Opportu- Available at: http://www.interactiveoceans.
2009. Sensor needs and readiness levels for nities in U.S. Seawater Desalination Systems. washington.edu/story/The_NEPTUNE_
ocean observing: An example from the ocean Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Concept_A_Regional_Cabled_Ocean_
observatories initiative (OOI). In: Proceed- Energy. Washington, D.C. Available at: Observatory_in_the_Northeast_Pacific_Ocean
ings of OceanObs’ 09: Sustained Ocean Obser- https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2017/ (accessed 20 April 2018).

Laws, N., & Epps, B. 2016. Hydrokinetic National Oceanic and Atmospheric Usage Report (LBNL-1005775). Berkeley, CA:
energy conversion: Technology, research, Administration (NOAA). 2017c. SOSUS Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
and outlook. Renew Sust Energ Rev. array. Available at: https://www.pmel.noaa.
Shepard News. 2015. US works on under-
57:1245-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser. gov/acoustics/sosus_gen.html (accessed 20
water UUV recharging. Available at: https://
2015.12.189. April 2018).
www.shephardmedia.com/news/uv-online/us-
MarineEnergy.biz. 2016. Mutriku wave National Renewable Energy Laboratory works-underwater-uuv-recharging/ (accessed
plant generates over 1 GWh of clean power. (NREL). 2017. 2015 Bioenergy market report. 20 April 2018).
Available at: https://marineenergy.biz/2016/ Available at: https://www.nrel.gov/docs/
Shotts, W., & McNamara, T., Jr. 1993. A
07/19/mutriku-wave-plant-generates-over- fy17osti/66995.pdf (accessed 20 April 2018).
blueprint for the use of unmanned undersea
1gwh-of-clean-power/ (accessed 20 April 2018).
Ocean Energy Systems. 2016. Annual report, vehicles in littoral warfare. J Hopkins APL
Marine Technology Society Tech Surge. 2-16. Available at: https://report2016.ocean- Tech D. 14(2):148-53. (http://www.jhuapl.edu/
2016. Production of renewable ocean energy energy-systems.org/ (accessed 20 April 2018). techdigest/views/pdfs/V14_N2_1993/V14_
for small non-grid connected applications. N2_1993_Shotts.pdf ) (accessed 20 April 2018).
Ocean Works. 2017. Venus array. Available
Available at: https://www.mtsociety.org/adaview.
at: http://oceanworks.com/admin/sitefile/1/files/ Toner, D., & Mathies, M. 2002. The Potential
aspx?pageid=343 (accessed 20 April 2018).
Review%20of%20cabled%20observatory% for Renewable Energy Usage in Aquaculture.
MBARI. 2017. Autonomous underwater 20systems%20and%20their%20applications Aquaculture Initiative. Dundalk, Ireland. 54 pp.
vehicle docking. Available at: https://www. %20to%20deep%20water%20oil%20and%
20gas.pdf (accessed 20 April 2018). Townsend, N., & Shenoi, A. 2013. Rechar-
mbari.org/autonomous-underwater-vehicle-
ging autonomous underwater vehicles from
docking/ (accessed 20 April 2018).
Parker, B.F., Zhicheng, Z., Rao, L., & ambient wave induced motions. In: Oceans
McDermott, J. 2017. U.S. Navy leader considers Arnold, J. 2018. An overview and recent 2013. San Diego, CA: MTS/IEEE.
unmanned vehicles to increase power. Asso- progress in the chemistry of uranium ex-
traction from seawater.” Dalton Transac- UNESCO. 2009. European Earth Observation,
ciated Press, Northwest Herald. Available
tions. 47:639-44. https://doi.org/10.1039/ future opportunities for business. Available at:
at: http://www.nwherald.com/2017/08/31/
c7dt04058j. https://www.researchgate.net/ http://www2.le.ac.uk/projects/g-step/info/
u-s-navy-leader-considers-unmanned-vehicles-
publication/321960920_An_overview_and_ documents/ValereMoutarlierEU.pdf (accessed
to-increase-power/awkkkqf/ (accessed 20 April
recent_progress_in_the_chemistry_of_uranium_ 20 April 2018).
2018).
extraction_from_seawater. UNESCO. 2017. Global Ocean Observing
Moore, S. 2018. Sea change: Desalination and
the water-energy nexus. Kleinman Center for Pinkel, R., Goldin, M.A., Smith, J.A., Sun, System. Available at: http://www.unesco.org/
Energy Policy, University of Pennsylvania. O.M., Aja, A.A., Bui, M.N., & Hughen, T. new/en/natural-sciences/ioc-oceans/sections-
Available at: https://kleinmanenergy.upenn. 2011. The Wirewalker: A vertically profiling and-programmes/ocean-observations-services/
edu/sites/default/files/Sea%20Change_0.pdf instrument carrier powered by ocean waves. global-ocean-observing-system/ (accessed 20
(accessed 20 April 2018). J Atmos Ocean Tech. 28(3), 426-35. https:// April 2018).
doi.org/10.1175/2010JTECHO805.1.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric USCG. 2017a. Location of navigation
Administration (NOAA). 2015. Marine Pomerleau, M. 2016. DOD plans to invest markers in U.S. waters. Available at: http://
Aquaculture Strategic Plan: FY 2016-2020. $600M in unmanned underwater vehicles. www.uscgboating.org/ATON/index.html
Washington, D.C: U.S. Department of Defense Systems. Available at: https:// (accessed 20 April 2018).
Commerce. 34 pp. defensesystems.com/articles/2016/02/04/
USCG. 2017b. USCG Navigation Center.
dod-navy-uuv-investments.aspx (accessed
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Available at: https://www.navcen.uscg.gov/
20 April 2018).
Administration (NOAA). 2017a. TAOS (accessed 20 April 2018).
array. Available at: https://celebrating200years. Rong, H., Haomin, Z., Sheng, X., Canbing, L.,
Whitney, J., & Delforge, P. 2014. Data
noaa.gov/datasets/tropical/welcome.html & Chunhua, H. 2016. Optimizing energy
center efficiency assessment. Scaling up energy
(accessed 20 April 2018). consumption for data centers. Renew Sust
efficiency across the data center industry:
Energ Rev. 58:674-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Evaluating key drivers and barriers, issue paper.
j.rser.2015.12.283.
Administration (NOAA). 2017b. Tsunami NRDC, Anthesis. IP:14-08-A. Available at:
early warning system, Pacific. Available at: Shehabi, A., Smith, S.J., Sartor, D.A., Brown, https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/data-
http://ptwc.weather.gov/?region=1 (accessed R.E., Herrlin, M., Koomey, J.G., … Lintner, center-efficiency-assessment-IP.pdf (accessed
20 April 2018). W. 2016. United States Data Center Energy 20 April 2018).

Yu, Y., & Jenne, D.S. 2017. Analysis of a
wave-powered, reverse-osmosis system and
its economic availability in the United States.
In: Proceedings of ASME 2017 36th Inter-
national Conference on Ocean, Offshore
and Arctic Engineering. Volume 10: Ocean
Renewable Energy. Trondheim, Norway:
ASME.
Yuce, M.I., & Muratoglu, A. 2015. Hydro-

kinetic energy conversion systems: A technol-
ogy status review. Renew Sust Energ Rev.
43:72-82. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2014.
10.037.

PAPER
Pressure-Tolerant Electronics and Discharge

Performance of Pressure-Compensated Lead
Acid Batteries Under Hyperbaric Conditions
AUTHORS ABSTRACT
Billavara Omaiah Vishwanath Understanding the variations in the energy discharge performance of pressure-
Narayanaswamy Vedachalam compensated valve-regulated lead acid (PC VRLA) batteries under the influence
MTS Member, MTS India Section of increased hydrostatic pressure is essential for the reliable design of deep-
Panayan Muthuvel ocean battery-powered systems. The paper reviews developments in the field of
Kannaiyah Jayanthi pressure-tolerant electronics and presents observations from the experiments
Gidugu Ananda Ramadass done on a12 V–40 Ah absorbent glass mat type PC VRLA battery in a hyperbaric
National Institute of Ocean chamber at 600 bar pressure. It is identified that, during discharge at 600 bar
Technology, Ministry of Earth pressure, the terminal voltage and energy discharge capacity of a 12-V fully charged
Sciences, Chennai, India battery drop by 1.05 V and about 15%, respectively, and need to be discharged
below the minimum voltage levels recommended under normal ambient conditions.
The identified results, along with the temperature derating factor, could be used for
Introduction sizing of deep-ocean operated PC VRLA batteries.
O ceans covering 72% of the

Earth’s surface house immense living
and nonliving resources and play a
Keywords: deep ocean, lead acid battery, hyperbaric, pressure compensation,
pressure tolerant
key role in regulating the planet’s cli-

mate. The technological tools used velopment Center in the early 1970s Evolution of PTE
for the effective exploration and ex- pertaining to the design and main- and Strategic Needs
ploitation of the vast blue economic tenance of deep-ocean pressure- The use of pressure-compensated
resources in the deep oceans are to compensating systems have paved lead acid batteries and propulsion
be reliable, compact, and efficient the way for developing compact subsystem electronics in the bathyscaph
(Patil et al., 2016). The weight, vol- sea mechanical and electrical systems Trieste, which descended up to an
ume, and cost of pressure-rated metal- (Mehnert, 1972; Wang & Chen, 11-km water depth in the Mariana
lic enclosures used for housing subsea 2014). Pressure-tolerant electronics Trench, and the development of the
electronics systems increases with (PTE) refers to the electronic compo- portable high-pressure system by the
water depth. Pressure compensation, nents or systems developed or modi- U.S. Naval Research Lab capable of
a technique based on the principle fied so that they can satisfactorily characterizing the behavior of the small
of maintaining the system internal operate in a hyperbaric environment electronic components up to 100 MPa
pressure near equal to that of the without the need for pressure-rated in 1960, marked the beginning of the
external sea water ambient hydro- enclosures. The paper details the evo- PTE era (Barnes & Gennari, 1976;
static pressure using hydraulic pres- lution of deep-ocean PTE systems Sutton, 1979). Since then, constant ef-
sure compensating systems, helps to and developments in lead acid batte- forts are undertaken in realizing PTE
eliminate the need for thick-walled ries and presents observations from components and systems including
metal enclosures, avoid pressure-rated experiments done on a 24 V–40 Ah discrete electronic components, elec-
feed-through, and reduce thermal absorbent glass mat (AGM)-type tronic assemblies, integrated circuit
challenges and other associated com- pressure-compensated valve-regulated chips, navigation sensors, optical de-
plexities. The guidelines released by lead acid (PC VRLA) battery under vices, batteries, power capacitors,
the U.S. Naval Ship Research and De- hyperbaric conditions. power semiconductors, and wet

mate connectors. Major PTE devel- stations for deep-water enhanced hy- tem could weigh only 6 t compared
opments reported to date are shown drocarbon recovery systems, where to its pressure-rated counterparts,
in Table 1. significant reduction in weight, cost, which weighs about 60 t (Pittini &
The strategic requirements for PTE and footprint could be achieved. It is Hernes, 2012). It is also reported
can be understood from the demand reported that a 3,000-m depth-rated that a 6,000-m depth-rated PC enclo-
for the PC variable-frequency high- 15-MW-capacity medium voltage PC sure of 3 m in diameter and 6 m in
power converters and circuit breaker variable-frequency converter sys- length used for housing multiple
TABLE 1
Major PTE developments.
Major PTE Developments Reported

Until 1970 (Sutton, 1979)
Principles of electrical wet mate connectivity demonstrated.
The U.S. Naval Research Lab (U.S. NRL) developed a 1,000-bar, 127-mm diameter, and 500-mm long pressure chamber with temperature
variable between −5°C and +75°C for pressure-tolerant (PT) qualifications.
Scripps Institute of Oceanography developed PT data telemetry, compass module, and acoustic sensors suitable for operation up to 2,300 m
water depth.
Scripps Institute of Oceanography developed 5.6 kW PC electric motor for use in ROV manipulators.
Digicourse developed a 6,000 m depth-rated PC compass.
1970–2000 (Sutton, 1979)
U.S. NRL conducted hyperbaric tests on different families of resistors, transistor, diodes, capacitors, and power contactors up to 700 bar
hydrostatic pressure and reported that bulk carbon resistors showed a reduction in the resistances up to 30%, while film resistors were
pressure tolerant.
Hybrid electro-optic wet mate connector realized in 1978 (Cairns, 1997).
2000–2010
The University of Southampton reported hyperbaric tests done on the lithium polymer cells up to 600 bar (Rutherford & Doerffel, 2005).
PC lithium ion batteries developed for Japan’s deep-water human occupied submersible Shinkai 6500 (Yoshinari, 2004).
The U.S. opto-electronics manufacturer Moog introduces commercial grade PT multiplexers and transceivers (Mackay, 2009).
Bluefin robotics (presently Mission Dynamics) developed and used PC lithium polymer batteries of 1.5 kWh capacity for the autonomous
underwater vehicles (General Dynamics, n.d.).
PC VRLA battery introduced by the Deep Sea Power & Light company in the United States (Hardy et al.,2010).
Norway’s SINTEF lab analyzed the effects of the hydrostatic pressure on the capacitors used in the power conversion applications. The film
capacitors were found to withstand high hydrostatic pressures (Hernes & Pittini, 2009).
After 2010
Norway’s SINTEF labs analyzed the effects of hydrostatic pressure on the power semiconductors including Insulation Gate Bipolar transistors
(IGBT) and its gate driver electronics. Reported that flooding the sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) gas-filled spaces with suitable dielectric fluid could
help realize a PT IGBT (Pittini et al., 2010).
The telecom research center in Iran reported the influence of hydrostatic pressure in the performance of fiber-optic cables with varying cladding
material properties (Seraji, 2012).
Norway’s SINTEF analyzed effects of hydrostatic pressure on optical components and reported that the optical components are unaffected by
the short-term exposure to hydrostatic pressure (Jenkins & Thumbeck, 2008; Seraji, 2012).
The performance of the quartz-based crystal oscillator used in the ROV manipulator embedded electronics was analyzed under hydrostatic
pressure. The oscillator output voltage amplitude was found to reduce up to 60% at 600 bar pressure (Kampmann et al., 2012).
Ceramic capacitors used in a power switch in the 11,000 m depth rated Deep Sea Challenger (Bingham, 2013).
A low-voltage air-break power contactor enclosed inside a dielectric oil-filled PC enclosure used for switching a 6.6 kV, 460 Hz power circuit in
India’s deep-water ROV ROSUB6000 (Ramesh et al., 2013).
PC thruster motor controller of10 kW capacity used in Deep Sea Challenger (Bingham,2013).
South-West Electronic Energy (SWE) Group develops PC Li ion batteries (Adams & White, 2013).

medium-voltage high-power circuit FIGURE 1
breakers could weigh about 100 t and
Details of various cell chemistries (Vedachalam & Ramadass, 2016).
could be eight times heavier if realized
using a pressure-rated enclosure (Hazel
et al., 2010). Thus, PTE is essential for
overcoming the challenges associated
with the design, fabrication, handling,
deployment, recovery, maintenance,
and logistics associated with the strate-
gic ultra-deep offshore hydrocarbon
production and remote intervention
systems (Vedachalam, 2014).
Lead Acid Battery Developments

With over 150 years of proven
performance in the industrial and
automotive segments, the global mar-
ket for the lead acid batteries was
about US$35 billion in 2015 and is moulded polymer case with the plates connected to the respective output terminals
expected to reach $111 billion by (Vedachalam & Ramadass, 2016).
2025 (PRNewswire, 2017). In the The charging and the discharge process in a lead acid battery is shown in the
offshore sector, in view of its rugged- below reversible reaction,
ness and reliability, valve-regulated
lead acid (VRLA) batteries are used in Pb þ PbO2 þ 2H2 SO4 ↔ 2PbSO4 þ 2H2 O ð1Þ
the deep-water manned submersibles,
back-up power for deep-water remotely During discharge, both the electrodes are converted into lead sulfate, and the
operated vehicle (ROV) control systems, specific gravity of the electrolyte progressively reduces due the formation of
remotely operated tools, and for power- water. During the charging process, reverse reactions take place. As the cell
ing remote-located offshore oceano- approaches full charge, the electrodes progressively get converted back to lead
graphic platforms (Vedachalam et al., dioxide and lead, and the specific gravity of the electrolyte rises and reaches
2014; Venkatesan et al., 2015). The FIGURE 2
performances of the LA battery along
with other upcoming cell chemistries Principle of a lead acid cell.
are shown in Figure 1 (Vedachalam
& Ramadass, 2016).
The LA cells (Figure 2) comprise a
positive electrode composed of lead
dioxide (PbO2), a negative electrode
composed of metallic lead (Pb), and a
dilute solution of sulfuric acid as the
electrolyte. Lead alloy grids are used
to mechanically support the positive
and negative active materials and also
as current collectors. The grids are
stacked together along with the positive
and negative plates interleaved with a
porous electrically insulating separator.
The stacked plates are inserted into a

the initial concentration. Further charg- ment.The survey revealed that only electrolyte with adequate inert mineral
ing leads to loss of water, as it is electro- <1.8% of the cells failed during the oil providing compensation for the
lyzed to hydrogen and oxygen. For first 2 years of operation (De Anda effects due to ambient pressure varia-
flooded batteries, proper selection of et al., 2004). tions, thus eliminating the need for
the grid alloys and charging parameters Recent lead acid battery devel- thick pressure-rated enclosures for
reduces the water loss so that batteries opments include carbon-enhanced housing the batteries (Vedachalam
are maintenance-free. designs, carbon-negative current col- et al., 2013). However, the perfor-
Increased safety and handling were lectors, carbon-negative electrodes, mance of the PC VRLA battery under
achieved with the introduction of battery-super capacitor hybrids, and higher hydrostatic pressure needs to be
the oxygen recombination concept, bipolar lead acid batteries. The use determined so as to apply appropriate
meaning the oxygen and hydrogen for carbon in the lead anode improves derating factors based on the depth of
created while charging recombine both the cell efficiency and the cycle operation and the ambient tempera-
back into water inside the cell, leading life due to the reduced accumulation ture. The discharge performance of
to reduced maintenance VRLA cells. of PbSO4. New formulations based these batteries under various tempera-
Another variant of the VRLA cell is on lead oxides and different conduc- ture conditions are normally provided
the gelled cell, in which an electrolyte tive and nonconductive additives play by the battery manufacturers. But the
is mixed with a very fine silicon diox- a pivotal role in controlling corrosion, discharge performances of the batteries
ide powder to create a gel-like paste so thereby preventing the passivation of under hyperbaric conditions are not
that the electrolyte does not spill even positive electrodes in the lead acid bat- provided.
when the cell is inverted. Thus, the teries. Continuous efforts are under-
gel cells are leak proof and produce way in reducing cell/battery failures
minimal off-gassing. due to positive grid corrosion, positive
During early 1980, the AGM tech- grid growth, sulfation, active material Hyperbaric Experiments:
nology, which utilizes electrolyte- softening, acid stratification, dry out, Materials and Methods
saturated absorbent boron silicate lid seal leak, vent failure, and pillar The methodology adopted for ex-
glass mats between the plates, was seal leaks (Enos et al., 2011; Büngeler, perimentally determining the influ-
introduced. The plates and glass mats Cattaneo, Riegel and Sauer, 2018). ence of higher hydrostatic pressure
are sandwiched tightly together within During 2009, AGM VRLA batte- on the performance of the PC AGM
a rigid frame, rendering the cells shock- ries were adopted for deep-ocean use VRLA battery is shown in Figure 3.
and vibration-resistant and hence ca- by applying pressure compensation The hyperbaric test facility at Na-
pable of operating even in the inverted to the batteries. The PC involved fill- tional Institute of Ocean Technology,
condition.AGM batteries are capable ing the space above the plates and the a unique facility in Asia, is used for
of delivering high currents on demand
and offer a relatively long service life, FIGURE 3
even when deep cycled.
Testing methodology for hyperbaric performance.
During 2004, a survey conducted
covering more than 0.75 million
VRLA cells in the telecom, Uninter-
rupted Power Supplies (UPS), Photo-
voltaic (PV) sectors, and stationary ap-
plications covering 1.5% of the total
VRLA used in the United States was
conducted by the Sandia National
Labs for the U.S. Department of En-
ergy. The performance of the cells de-
termined from the survey responses
were correlated with cell design, bat-
tery configuration, and usage environ-

carrying out the experiments. Engi- type VRLA battery (Power Sonic, n.d.) FIGURE 5
neering Pressure Systems International kept inside a dielectric oil-filled
Electrical loading and data acquisition system.
makes a 150-mm thick walled hy- pressure-compensated metallic enclo-
perbaric chamber made of SA 723 sure. Shell Diala DX transformer
Grade 3 Class 2 material, which has dielectric insulating oil is used as a
an effective internal diameter of 1 m pressure-compensating fluid, and pres-
and length of 3 m. The system pro- sure compensation is achieved using
duces hydrostatic pressures of up to a rolling diaphragm-type pressure
900 bar using water as the pressurizing compensator. The positive and the
medium at ambient temperature con- negative terminals of the battery are
ditions (Ramesh et al., 2014; NIOT, connected to the external electrical
n.d.). The system operation is con- loading system through the hyperbaric
trolled by a programmable control chamber electrical feed-through so
Point (CFP) 2220 real-time controller
system in which the desired pressure that the batteries can be electrically
with 16-bit ADC analog channel pro-
profiles can be programmed. During loaded under pressure. The discharge
grammed with LabView 8.6 Version
the entire testing cycle, the control characteristics of the battery under
4 software (Vedachalam et al.,
system continuously monitors system various load currents (from 0.05C to
2013). The data processing system is
pressure, and when a sudden drop in 2C) are shown in Figure 4.
coded (Equation 2) to integrate the
pressure is experienced due to the fail- The constant current loading
energy delivered by the battery with
ures or degradations in the equipment system comprises an Agilent Tech-
time.
under test (EUT), the applied test pres- nologies 6063B power electronics-
sure is released automatically. The elec- controlled DC electronic loading
trical and the fiber optical feed-through
∫
t
system, which can be programmed
E ¼ I 0 V dt ð2Þ
provided in the chamber top flange en- to provide a fixed value of load cur-
ables online electrical and optical inter- rent independent of the battery termi-
face with the EUT under pressurized nal voltage. The data acquisition The data acquisition and constant
conditions. system used to log the battery voltage current loading systems are shown in
The EUT comprises a Power Sonic at 10 Hz frequency comprises a Na- Figure 5. Figure 6 shows the PC
PS-12400 model, 12 V, 40 AH AGM tional Instruments Compact Field VRLA battery package being placed
inside the hyperbaric chamber for
testing under hyperbaric conditions.
FIGURE 4
Battery discharge characteristics (Powersonic, n.d.). FIGURE 6
EUT placed inside the hyperbaric chamber.

The test methodology included FIGURE 7
the comparison of discharge perfor-
EUT pressure profile recorded during the test.
mances (Wh) of the PC AGM VRLA
battery at 0.25C under normal ambi-
ent pressure and 600 bar conditions.
The experiments were carried out
three times on each battery charging
back after each discharge. Similar
experiments were performed on three
similar batteries.
Results and Discussion

Experiments were conducted for a
0.25C discharge profile under ambi-
ent conditions. Subsequently, with
the EUT in place, the hyperbaric sys-
tem pressure was increased at the rate
600 bar pressure reduced by 13% compensated AGM-type lead acid
of 20 bar/min and the plot of the
compared with the same discharge battery when operated at 600 bar
same recorded by the control system
profile under normal ambient condi- pressure. The reduction in the termi-
is shown in Figure 7. Once the system
tions. The experiments are repeated nal voltage and energy capacity could
pressure reached 600 bar, experiments
three times using the same battery, be due to the probable impact of pres-
were conducted for the same dis-
and similar experiments are done on sure on the plates reducing the active
charge profile.
three such batteries, and the energy chemical area. The same could be
The discharge performance of the
delivery is found to vary in the understood in detail by carrying out
battery under both 0.25C discharge
range of 13 ± 2%. Thus, there is a microscopic studies.
condition observed under ambient
reduction in the energy capacity of The consistency in the discharge
pressure and at 600 bar pressure are
up to 15% and the terminal voltage performance under hyperbaric con-
plotted in Figure 8. Under ambient
by about 1.05 V for the pressure- ditions needs to be confirmed after
pressure conditions, the fully charged
battery with the terminal voltage of
12.5 V reduces to 11 V after deliver- FIGURE 8
ing a cumulative energy of 508 Wh in Discharge performance under normal and pressure.
a period of 4.07 h.
But under 600 bar pressure, for
the same discharge profile, immedi-
ately on load the terminal voltage of
the fully charged battery dropped to
11.35 V. Subsequently, the battery
cumulatively discharged 398 and
443 Wh of energy until the terminal
voltage reached 10 and 9.5 V, respec-
tively, in 216 min (3.6 h), and there-
after, the voltage dropped rapidly.
Even though the battery was drained
below the recommended minimum
voltage level of 10 V, the energy deliv-
ery capacity of the battery under

carrying out multiple pressure cycling De Anda, M.F., Butler, P.C., Miller, J.L., & connectors. In: OCEANS, pp. 1-3. Quebec
tests so as to ascertain the energy de- Moseley, P.T. 2004. Reliability of valve- City, Canada: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/
livery performance under long-term regulated lead-acid batteries for station- OCEANS.2008.5152061.
usage. Furthermore, studies are being ary applications (No. SAND2004-0914).
Kampmann, P., Lemburg, J., Hanff, H., &
Livermore, CA: Sandia National Laboratories.
done to analyze the combined influ- Kirchner, F. 2012. Hybrid pressure-tolerant
https://doi.org/10.2172/918779.
ence of low temperature and higher electronics. In: Oceans, 2012 (pp. 1-5).
hydrostatic pressure, the actual sce- Enos, D.G., Hund, T.H., & Shane, R. 2011. Hampton Roads, VA: IEEE. https://doi.
nario in the deep oceans. Understanding the function and perfor- org/10.1109/OCEANS.2012.6404828.
mance of carbon-enhanced lead-acid batte-
Mackay, I. 2009. Application note AN-03
ries. Milestone Report for the DOE Energy
Pressure tolerant solutions. Dartmouth, NS,
Storage Systems Program (Sandia Report,
Acknowledgments Canada: Moog Components-Electronics
SAND2011-3459). Available at: https://prod.
The authors gratefully acknowledge Design Group. Available at: http://www.
sandia.gov/techlib-noauth/access-control.cgi/
the support extended by the Ministry moog.com/literature/MCG/Multiplexer/700-
2011/118263.pdf (accessed 18 September 2018).
of Earth Sciences, Government of 0429-03_2_AN-03_Pressure_Tolerant_
India, in funding this research. General Dynamics. n.d. Bluefin Robotics Solutions.pdf.
1.5 kWh Subsea Battery. Available at: https://
Mehnert, T.H. 1972. Handbook of Fluid-
gdmissionsystems.com/products/underwater-
Filled, Depth/Pressure-Compensating Systems
vehicles/bluefin-robotics/1-5-kwh-subsea-
Corresponding Author: battery (accessed 18 September 2018).
for Deep Ocean Applications (No.NSRDC-
Billavara Omaiah Vishwanath 27-8). Annapolis, MD: David W. Taylor
National Institute of Ocean Technology, Hardy, K., Sanderson, J., Pebdani, P., & Naval Ship Research and Development
Pallikaranai, Chennai, India Pham, B. 2010. Advances in Pressure Com- Center.
Email: [email protected] pensated Lead-Acid Batteries. Underwater
NIOT. n.d. Hyperbaric chamber. NIOT
Intervention 2010. Available at: http://www.
facilities. Available at: https://www.niot.res.in/
deepsea.com/wp-content/uploads/2010_
index.php/node/index/12/ (accessed December
Advanced_Pressure_Compensated_Batteries_
References Paper_UI10.pdf (accessed 18 September 2018).
15, 2017).
Adams, L.D., & White, D.A. 2013. Techni-
Patil, P.G., Virdin, J., Diez, S.M., Roberts, J.,
cal overview of a safe, configurable, pressure Hazel, T., Pana, S., Andrea, P., & Eschbach,
& Singh, A. 2016. Toward a Blue Economy:
tolerant, subsea Lithium Ion battery system for J.-L. 2010. Impact of subsea processing
A Promise for Sustainable Growth in the
oil and gas deep water fields. In: Oceans- power distribution: Subsea switchgear mod-
Caribbean. An Overview. Washington, DC:
San Diego, pp. 1-8. San Diego, CA: IEEE. ule, a key enabling component in subsea
World Bank. https://doi.org/10.1596/25061.
installations. In: Offshore Technology Con-
Barnes, H.E., & Gennari, J.J. 1976. A re-
ference, Houston, Texas, pp. 1–8. Available Pittini, R., & Hernes, M. 2012. Pressure-
view of pressure-tolerant electronics (PTE)
at: http://www2.schneider-electric.com/ tolerant power electronics for deep and ultra-
(No.NRL-MR-3317). Washington, DC:
documents/support/white-papers/998-4670_ deep water. Oil and Gas Facilities, 1(01):
Naval Research Lab. https://doi.org/10.21236/
Impact-of-subsea-Processing-Power-Distribution. 47-52. https://doi.org/10.2118/154399-PA.
ADA027967.
pdf (accessed 18 September 2018).
Pittini, R., Hernes, M., & Ljøkelsøy, K.
Bingham, N. 2013. Designing pressure tol-
Hernes, M., & Pittini, R. 2009. Enabling 2010. An IGBT Gate Driver for Operation
erant electronic systems. Unmanned Under-
pressure tolerant power electronic converters in High Pressure Hydrostatic Environment.
water Technology. Available at: http://uutech.
for subsea applications. 13th European Con- PCIM Europe. Available at: https://www.
com/ptepaper (accessed 18 September 2018).
ference on Power Electronics and Applications, sintef.no/globalassets/project/power-electronics/
Büngeler, J., Cattaneo, E., Riegel, B., & pp. 1-10. Available at: https://www.sintef.no/ pittini_hernes_ljokelsoy_pcim_europe2010_
Sauer, D.U. 2018. Advantages in energy effi- globalassets/project/power-electronics/hernes_ an-igbt-gate-driver-for-operation-in-high-
ciency of flooded lead-acid batteries when pittini_epe2009_enabling-pressure-tolerant- pressure-hydrostatic-environment3.pdf
using partial state of charge operation. J Power power-electronic-converters-for-subsea- (accessed 18 September 2018).
Sources. 375:53-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/ applications1.pdf (accessed 18 September 2018).
Power Sonic. n.d. Powersonic PS-12400
j.jpowsour.2017.11.050.
Jenkins, D., & Thumbeck, S. 2008. Utiliz- Rechargable Sealed Lead Acid Battery.
Cairns, J. 1997. Hybrid wet-mate connectors: ing pressure balanced oil filled (PBOF) hose Available at: www.power-sonic.com/images/
Writing the next chapter. Sea Technol. 38:17-22. cable assemblies with electric and fiber optic powersonic/sla_batteries/ps_psg_series/

12volt/PS-12400_11_Feb_21.pdf (accessed Vedachalam, N., & Ramadass, G.A. 2016.
18 September 2018). Realizing reliable lithium-ion batteries for
critical remote-located offshore systems. Mar
PR Newswire. 2017. Rechargeable Battery
Technol Soc J. 50(6):52-7. https://doi.org/
Market Worth $111 Billion Driven by Lead-
10.4031/MTSJ.50.6.2.
acid Battery to 2019. Available at: https://
www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rechargeable- Vedachalam, N., Ramadass, G.A., & Atmanand,
battery-market-worth-111-billion-driven-by- M.A. 2014. Reliability centered modeling for
lead-acid-battery-to-2019-568137901.html development of deep water human occupied
(accessed 18 September 2018). vehicles. Appl Ocean Res. 46:131-43. https://
doi.org/10.1016/j.apor.2014.03.001.
Ramesh, R., Sathianarayanan, D., Prakash,
V.D., Vadivelan, A., Ramesh, S., Ramadass, Vedachalam, N. 2014. A review of thermal
G.A., & Atmanand, M.A. 2014. Failure and humidity management needs and feasible
analysis of fiber optic communication system solutions for next generation subsea electric
in deep-water remotely operated vehicle systems. Underwater Technol. 32(2):129-43.
ROSUB 6000. Mar Technol Soc J. 48(3):63-72. https://doi.org/10.3723/ut.32.129.
https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.48.3.11.
Venkatesan, R., Vedachalam, N., Muthiah,
Ramesh, R., Vedachalam, N., Muthukumaran, M.A., Kesavakumar, B., Sundar, R., &
D., Doss Prakash, V., Ramesh, S., Ramadass, Atmanand, M.A. 2015. Evolution of reliable
G.A., & Atmanand, M.A. 2013. Design and and cost-effective power systems for buoys used
implementation of compact and robust me- in monitoring Indian seas. Mar Technol Soc J.
dium voltage switchgear for deepwater work- 49(1):71-87. https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.
class ROV ROSUB 6000. Underwater Technol. 49.1.8.
31(4):203-13. https://doi.org/10.3723/ut.
Wang, F., & Chen, Y. 2014. Design and
31.203.
experimental study of oil-based pressure-
Rutherford, K., & Doerffel, D. 2005. Per- compensated underwater hydraulic system.
formance of lithium-polymer cells at high Proceedings of the Institution of Mechani-
hydrostatic pressure. In: Proc. Unmanned cal Engineers, Part I. J Syst Control Eng.
Untethered Submersible Technology, 1-12. 228(4): 221-32. https://doi.org/10.1177/
Available at: http://cgi.ddoerffel.force9.co. 0959651813514219.
uk/_publications/Performance%20of%20Li-
Yoshinari, Ono. 2004. The Operation of
Poly%20cells%20at%20high%20pressure%
DSV “Shinkai 6500” After Converting Main
20UUST2005.pdf (accessed 18 September
Batteries. Underwater Intervention. Avail-
2018).
able at: http://www.nmeweb.jp/e/images_j/
Seraji, F.E. 2012. Effects of hydrostatic pres- duties_article_shinkai/2400_1.pdf (accessed
sure and thermal loading on optical fibers 18 September 2018).
coated with multilayer segmented young’s
modulus materials. Int J Opt Appl. 2(2):6-14.
https://doi.org/10.5923/j.optics.20120202.02.
Sutton, J. 1979. Pressure tolerant elec-

tronic systems. In OCEANS’79, pp. 460-9.
San Diego, CA: IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/
OCEANS.1979.1151321.
Vedachalam, N., Ramesh, R., Muthukrishnan,

D., Aarthi, A., Annamalai, S., Ramadass, G.A., &
Atmanand, M.A. 2013. Reliability-centered
development of deep water ROV ROSUB
6000. Mar Technol Soc J. 47(3):55-71. https://
doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.47.3.3.

COMMENTARY
Ocean and Technology Focused STEM

Education in the 21st Century: A
Commentary on the Role of Professional
Societies Now and in the Future
AUTHOR practices in precollege education, of bachelor’s degrees awarded in the
Susan B. Cook point out COSEE’s legacy in this core disciplines was only a quarter of
MTS Member; Marine Education, arena, and use “best practice” princi- those awarded in the marine-related dis-
Ocean Exploration, Ocean Observing ples to identify four precollege pro- ciplines. The number of marine-related
Systems Committees grams that have been shown to be degrees has also outpaced graduate
effective and have the potential to STEM completions at the master’s and
Ocean Research and Conservation
engage and prepare students for tech- Ph.D. levels.
Association (ORCA)
nologically focused ocean careers. Within the IPEDS core marine
Finally, I discuss how the Marine sciences as a whole, the number of
D uring my 35 years as an ocean

scientist and educator, I have been
involved in ocean-related Science
Technology Society (MTS) and
other professional societies might
work in partnership with marine and
physical science and engineering degree
completions has lagged behind bio-
logically focused degrees (Figure 2).
Technology Engineering Mathemat- technology education colleagues to More students are completing B.S.
ics (STEM) education at multiple help expand and sustain such efforts. and M.S. degrees in Marine Biology/
levels. My work has included (1) pre- Biological Oceanography than in
college teacher professional develop- Oceanography, Marine Science, and
ment and student engagement Postsecondary Education: Ocean Engineering, with about three
activities at two marine laboratories, What Choices Are Students times as many degrees being awarded
(2) service on both sides of the National Currently Making? in the biological categories as in the
Science Foundation funding desk for Over the past 23 years, the number physical sciences by 2016. For doctoral
the Centers for Ocean Science Educa- of students completing degrees in areas programs, the pattern is different with
tion Excellence (COSEE) initiative, defined as marine-related programs by Oceanography completions consis-
and (3) program management at the the federal Integrated Postsecondary tently outnumbering biologically
Consortium for Ocean Leadership Data System (IPEDS) has outpaced focused degrees since 1993.
(COL). Since I began my work, one those completing degrees in more tradi- The good news for ocean engi-
continuing career goal has been to fos- tional Ocean Science CORE STEM neers and other marine technology
ter activities that use technological programs. Table 1 summarizes the de- professionals is that, although degree
tools or concepts in marine education. gree taxonomy used by IPEDS (Lettrich, completions at the B.S. and Ph.D.
In this commentary, I use degree 2014 and personal communication). levels have remained relatively con-
completion data from the U.S. There has been exponential growth stant, between 2006 and 2016,
Departmentof Education as a proxy at the bachelor’s level in completed Ocean Engineering degree comple-
to examine postsecondary marine degrees in marine-related disciplines tions at the M.S. level (the standard
STEM education in the United States since 1993 (Figure 1). This contrasts terminal degree for the field) have in-
as it relates to student choices in both with the approximate doubling of creased. For example, at Florida
the ocean sciences and marine tech- total completions in the IPEDS Core Atlantic University, the 2016 number
nology. Next, I identify the need for STEM disciplines as listed in Table 1 of 22 completions is three times
tested program design and assessment over this period. By 2016, the number greater than the six degrees awarded

TABLE 1
IPEDS classification of core and marine-related disciplines (from Lettrich, personal communication).
Core Marine Disciplines Marine-Related Disciplinesa

Marine Biology/Biological Oceanographyb Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management: Water, Wetlands, and Marine Resources
Management; Hydrology and Water Resources Science; Wildlife, Fish and Wildlands Science
and Management; Aquaculture
Oceanography—Chemical and Physicalc Natural Resources/Conservation, General; Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Other
Ocean Engineering Ecology; Environmental Science; Environmental Studies; Aquatic Biology/Limnology
Marine Science (2010 to present) Maritime Studies; Operational Oceanography; Marine Science/Merchant Marine Officer
a Geophysics and Seismology; Geochemistry; Geochemistry and Petrology; Geological and Earth
Sciences/Geosciences, Other
a
Some of these categories contain degree completions unrelated to the marine environment.
b
Marine Biology/Biological Oceanography programs classified by their institutions as concentrations or tracks are not included.
c
Oceanography does not include geological oceanography.
in 2006. Between 2005 and 2007, Diversity remains a challenge. Al- ciplines and in the U.S. population at
the eight top Ocean Engineering though minority degree completions large (Johnson et al., 2016).
schools awarded a mean 3-year total for IPEDS STEM Core programs have In 2016, more women earned Ma-
of 18 M.S. degrees, whereas during tripled at the B.S. level and increased rine Biology/Biological Oceanography
a similar 3-year period from 2014 to somewhat for M.S. and Ph.D. degrees degrees than men for all three degrees
2016, these same schools awarded an (Figure 3; Gilligan and Ebanks, 2016), (Lettrich, personal communication).
average 3-year total of 59 M.S. de- levels remain well below those for Gender parity has been achieved in
grees ( p < 0.001; two-tailed t test Whites and foreign nationals. They Oceanography and Marine Science,
for paired data comparisons). are also lower than in other STEM dis- but not in Ocean Engineering. In
Ocean Engineering, progress has
been nonexistent at the M.S. level,
FIGURE 1
with the percentage representation of
Degree completions from 1993 to 2016 from the Department of Education’s Integrated Post- women actually dropping slightly
secondary Data System. Solid lines are core degree completions for bachelor’s degrees (in red), (21% in 2016 vs. 25% in 2007). At
master’s degrees (in green), and Ph.D. degrees (in blue). Dotted lines depict completions in marine- the doctoral level, there has been
related disciplines for the same three degree categories. See Table 1 for a breakdown of core and
limited progress. A record number of
marine-related disciplines (graph updated from Lettrich, 2014, with permission of M. Lettrich).
15 women (29% of the total) received
doctorates over the 3-year period from
2014 to 2016 compared to five (17%)
from 2005 to 2007, but total numbers
are small and 81% of degrees are still
awarded to men.
Precollege Programs:
Which Technology-
Focused Programs Are of
High Quality and Likely
To Be Successful?
For programs to successfully
prepare students for collegiate and

FIGURE 2 building partnerships with key people
and networks across the United States
Degree completions in four marine core disciplines from 1993 to 2016 by degree level. Data
from the Department of Education’s Integrated Postsecondary Data System (graph updated (Peach & Scowcroft, 2016).
from Lettrich, 2014, with permission of M. Lettrich). Well-designed programs with the
potential to be effective need to have
goals that are SMART—specific,
measurable, audience-based (focused
on participant needs), relevant (with
engaging content and realistic expec-
tations), and time-bound (with a
clear time table) coupled with detailed,
well-thought-out plans to accomplish
the project’s goals (COSEE Networked
Ocean World Broader Impacts Wizard,
2018). To make a difference nationally,
programs should also have the potential
to be scalable (useable in more than one
institution or region), diverse (reach au-
diences other than Caucasian males),
and sustainable (have the capacity and
graduate work, they need to be of high tive was instrumental in helping financial support to operate effectively).
quality—with design and evaluation ocean scientists, educators, and tech- These guiding principles have been
components that meet current stan- nologists recognize the importance successfully applied by the technology-
dards for advancing STEM learning. of incorporating evidence-based focused COSEE Center COSEE
From 2003 to 2017, the National STEM design principles and assess- Technology and Engineering for
Science Foundation’s COSEE initia- ment metrics into their work and Knowledge. They have also recently
been affirmed and disseminated widely
FIGURE 3
by the National Alliance for Broader
Core marine degree completions from 1993 to 2014 by degree level for nonresident aliens, Whites, Impacts (NABI), a National Science
and underrepresented minority (URM) groups from the Department of Education’s Integrated Foundation (NSF)-funded Research
Postsecondary Data System. IPEDS core disciplines = ocean engineering, marine biology/biological
Coordination Network of university
oceanography; marine science and oceanography–chemical and physical. URM = American Indian/
Alaska Native, Asian/Pacific Islander, Black/African American, Hispanic/Latino, two or more races,
administrators and STEM profes-
and unknown race (graph from Lettrich, 2014, with permission of M. Lettrich). sionals (NABI, 2017).
I have selected four programs
as examples of high-quality marine
science and technology education.
These programs meet COSEE and
NABI standards for design and assess-
ment and are familiar to me through
my work with MTS, COSEE, and
COL. All involve “hands-on” ap-
proaches to technology education or
introduce students to technological
facts and concepts. They either have
been scaled up to reach broader
geographic areas or have the potential
to be sustained and expanded to
reach additional audiences.

Marine Advanced Technology as the unifying theme in annual com- col that identified both positive learn-
Education’s International petitions. One recent example is the ing impacts and areas where project
Remotely Operated 2017 theme Blue Energy: Powering design and implementation could be
Vehicle Competition the Planet With Our Ocean. Program improved.
This program, coadministered evaluation including surveys of partic-
by the Marine Advanced Technology ipants for over 15 years is an element MTS Summer
Education (MATE) Center at that puts NOSB in a class by itself. Technology Camps
Monterey Peninsula College and the Finding resources for tracking pro- A fourth effort is the MTS Summer
nonprofit MATE Inspiration, has gram participants for long enough to Camp program for undergraduate
grown from a single competition in collect data on educational and career students with little to no knowledge
2002 to an international juggernaut pathways (as NOSB does) is not a or experience with marine technolo-
that annually engages student teams simple task. gies. Students learn about multiple
from 30 countries and 31 regions in technologies and deploy instruments
the United States and U.S. territories Marine Technologies for as part of ongoing research and explo-
( J. Zande, personal communication). Teachers and Students ration projects. The week-long Marine
At both regional and national level Marine Technologies for Teachers Technology Camp at Northwestern
competitions, student teams design, and Students (MaTTS) represents an Michigan College’s Great Lakes Water
build, and operate a remotely operated innovative model piloted with funding Studies Institute is hands-on and
vehicle (ROV) within a swimming from NSF’s Innovative Technology gives students the opportunity to
pool environment to solve real-world Experiences for Students program work on research vessels; use ROVs,
problems. The program’s outreach to (Babb et al., 2018). Serving three sonar, and buoys (as well as research
young people from elementary and New England states and run by ocean grade sensors) to collect data; and
middle school to high school, commu- technologists and educators at the learn about how these technologies
nity college, and university allows University of Connecticut, the Uni- are applied. The week-long Marine
talented students with an interest in versity of Rhode Island (URI), and Technology Camp at Rutgers intro-
technology to compete at levels appro- Eidos Education, the project introduces students to underwater glider
priate for their age and educational duced teams of high school students robots and provides experience pre-
level while continuing to pursue their and their teachers to technologies paring the gliders for deployment,
interests and passions over time. The used in ocean exploration and careers ballasting, navigating, piloting, and
program also includes a significant within an emerging Blue Economy, a recovery. This camp is an extension
evaluation component and is transi- futuristic term that may include of the successful Rutgers undergraduate
tioning from early NSF funding to a technology-focused exploration and program described in Schofield et al.
robust and sustainable program with research sectors as well as more tradi- (2018).
both in-kind and financial support tional ocean-focused industries such These four programs are currently
from an array of technology- and as oil and gas (Jugens, 2018). The at various stages of scalability and
community-focused businesses. project used multiple low-cost, build- sustainability. The MATE ROV pro-
it-yourself technologies to explore gram and NOSB currently have an
The National Ocean engaging biological topics (e.g., simple extensive national reach. The MTS
Sciences Bowl hydrophones to detect whale sounds, Summer Camp initiative has expand-
Organized by the COL in settling plates to measure changes in ed from one to two sites with all costs
Washington, DC, the National Ocean biological diversity, and basic sensors covered by student tuition MaTTS
Sciences Bowl (NOSB) is a high school to monitor water quality) and intro- successfully completed its regional
competition that includes both rapid duced participants to sophisticated pilot phase in 2017 (I. Babb, personal
fire and thought-provoking synthesis information and communications communication) but currently lacks
questions about ocean science facts technologies at URI’s Inner Space the funding to either continue as a
and concepts. Student knowledge of Center. Two key design features were stand-alone program or be dissemi-
technological concepts is tested with the use of a 15-month suite of activities nated as a tested model for others to
aspects of technology often serving and a comprehensive evaluation proto- adopt and/or adapt.

The Role of appear well positioned to give individ- vant, along with improved career
Professional Societies uals a solid background in fundamen- counseling and a larger role for profes-
So, how is all of the above infor- tal STEM and/or technology concepts, sional societies in providing resources
mation relevant? In this section, I dis- while at the same time introducing a to inform students about new 21st
cuss how societies might build on larger number of students with greater century career pathways.
current knowledge about student de- diversity to applied and societally The importance of such an ex-
gree completions and characteristics relevant issues and career pathways. panded role for MTS and other socie-
of high-quality precollege programs One such nontraditional, innovative, ties is emphasized in the National
in order to strengthen and expand and potentially valuable program is Academies of Science and Engineering
current programs. I focus most of my Northwestern Michigan College’s report Graduate STEM Education in
attention on MTS in part because of new Bachelor of Sciences degree in the 21st Century (NASEM, 2018).
my earlier service as MTS Education Marine Technology (D. Sullivan, per- Professional societies are recognized
Committee Chair. The society’s dis- sonal communication). The program as an important but underutilized
tributed structure of regional and in- emphasizes core marine science and national resource for graduate educa-
ternational Professional and Student technology concepts and combines tion. The report makes the specific
Sections coupled with a Washington, them with technical and program recommendation that societies need
DC-based headquarters is also a un- management skills. to play a larger role in helping “to cre-
ique feature that gives MTS the capac- Organizations with resources that ate programs that help students make
ity to support a broader spectrum of can help engage diverse undergraduate the transition into a variety of careers.”
educational activities than other populations include the Society for To better communicate the value
ocean-focused organizations. Advancing Chicanos and Native of technology education to ocean
Americans in Science (SACNAS) with science professionals, educators, and
its in-depth support structure for students, I encourage MTS to consider
At the Precollege Level minority students (Garza, 2015) and working with The Oceanography
MTS and other societies should the Institute for Broader Participation, Society (TOS). TOS is a logical choice
continue their intellectual and finan- which runs a web-based clearinghouse as a potential outreach partner because
cial support for high-quality programs of resources for underrepresented it is a society that represents all aspects
that meet stated goals, have potential groups. of oceanography (biological, chemical,
for further expansion and sustainability, physical, geological) as well as educa-
and bring both tangible and intangible At the Graduate Level tion and ocean technology. A dedicated
benefits to the society and its member- We need to improve our efforts to section of TOS’ publication Oceanog-
ship. Over the years, MTS has stepped prepare more young people for raphy highlights a broad range of
up to the sponsorship plate with sup- emerging 21st century Blue Economy ocean-focused careers, and the society
port for the MATE ROV competition careers. To meet this challenge, is currently in the process of develop-
and for NOSB. Educators affiliated Briscoe et al. (2016) have proposed ing a web-based comprehensive
with MTS have played important a new 2 × 2 matrix model for ocean resources page for students and early-
roles in developing MaTTS and estab- sciences graduate education. The career professionals in all aspects of
lishing the Society’s Summer Camps. model describes a paradigm shift in ocean science.
MTS should do whatever it can to which graduate faculty and degree MTS’s programs for students go
help these exemplary programs (and granting academic units work to in- beyond what many societies do (see
others yet to be created) seek industry crease the choices that students have Duguay & Cook, 2016, for an over-
partners and obtain continued federal in both coursework and research to view of such ocean society programs).
and community support. better prepare their graduates for These include a Higher Education
21st century careers both outside Guide, member-supported under-
At the Undergraduate Level academia and within it. An increased graduate and graduate level partial
I see a larger role for the bachelor emphasis on master’s level graduate tuition scholarships, and an online
degree programs labeled by IPEDS as training is one of the new directions industry mentoring program for
marine-related because many of them that Briscoe et al. consider to be rele- MTS student members. Educational

activities at MTS/IEEE-supported pation (LSAMP) should be valuable Students (MaTTS): A continuum of profes-
OCEANS conferences include stu- partners. SACNAS’ student chapters sional development and instruction in ocean
dent poster competitions, educational- and the society’s national conference science and technology. Mar Technol Soc J.
focused oral presentations, and provide invaluable support and career 52(1):33-46. https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.
52.1.6.
workshops for local K-12 educators. information (Garza, 2015), whereas
LSAMP has worked with marine Briscoe, M., Glickson, D., Roberts, S., &
What Else Is Needed? technology educators (Babb et al., Yoder, J. 2016. A moving target: Matching
I believe that it is critical for indi- 2014) in the past to successfully graduate education with available careers for
viduals with an interest in marine sci- engage African American students. ocean scientists. Oceanography. 29(1):22-30.
ence and technology to be able to If MTS is interested in expanding https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.05.
climb a vertical ladder of educational its existing programs into a larger re- COSEE Networked Ocean World. 2018.
experiences as they move from middle gional and national tapestry, the Dear Ocean Scientist BI Wizard. Accessed 2018.
to high school, into college and univer- Colleague Letter STEM Education for Available at: http://coseenow.net/wizard/.
sity level work, and finally into a 21st the Future issued by NSF (2018) may
Duguay, L.E., & Cook, S.B. 2016. Beyond
century Blue Economy career. For be relevant. This DCL focuses on
academia: Professional society resources and
minority students in particular, such technology education and includes
programs for ocean sciences graduate students.
a continuum of exposure is essential a call for Research Coordination
Oceanography. 29(1):70-9. https://doi.org/10.
because minority communities and Network proposals that could under- 5670/oceanog.2016.17.
cultures are often unaware of educa- write the creation of a larger network
tional and career opportunities in ma- of marine education and industry Garza, C. 2015. Reaching out to underserved
rine technology and marine science partners. Such a network could, in communities. Mar Technol Soc J. 49(4):8-12.
(Garza, 2015). In the absence of effec- turn, provide the intellectual capital https://doi.org/10.4031/MTSJ.49.4.10.
tive outreach, traditional pathways needed to determine how best to use Gilligan, M., & Ebanks, S. 2016. The ocean
such as medicine and the law will con- existing, often limited resources to science social diversity challenge. Oceanogra-
tinue to be much more likely to attract tackle the challenge of engaging and phy. 29(1):55-7. https://doi.org/10.5670/
the interest of minority students than supporting a larger, more diverse oceanog.2016.12.
marine-focused careers. suite of young people from precollege
Johnson, A., Huggins, M.J., Siegfried, D., &
I consider MTS to be uniquely through graduate school into profes- Braxton, L. 2016. Strategies for increasing
suited to foster such connections be- sional technology careers. diversity in the ocean science workforce through
cause of its network of regional sec- mentoring. Oceanography. 29(1):46-54.
tions serving both professionals and https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.11.
students interested in marine science Author: Jugens, L. 2018. Blue Economy workforce
and technology. In the past, MTS Susan B. Cook needs. Mar Technol Soc J. 52(1):33-46.
sections have been “movers and Ocean Research and Conservation
shakers”—promoting and organizing Association (ORCA) Lettrich, M. 2014. Trends in Marine Science
educational programs in their roles as Email: [email protected] Degree Completions. Presentation at the
regional hosts for MTS/IEES OES Consortium for Ocean Leadership’s 2014
OCEANS conferences, and currently, Ocean Science Educators Retreat in Savannah,
Georgia. PDF file available under 2014 OSER
the San Diego section is sponsoring an References documents subtitle, http://oceanleadership.
industry internship program. Student Babb, I.R., Payne, D.L., Erickson, J., McKee,
org/understanding/oser/.
sections have served as valuable leader- M.P., Joy, K., Hamilton, J., & Jewell, M.
ship training grounds (Sobin, 2015), 2014. COSEE-TEK–LSAMP Collaboration: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering,
have helped with recruiting for educa- The Ocean Science and Technology Challenge– and Medicine. 2018. Graduate STEM Edu-
tional programs (D. Sullivan, personal Developing 21st Century Skills. Poster #1616 cation in the 21st Century. Washington, DC:
communication), and could play a at the 2014 Ocean Science Meeting in New The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/
Orleans. 10.17226/25038.
more active role in the future.
The SACNAS and NSF’s Louis Babb, I.R., Scowcroft, G., & Gingras, A. National Alliance for Broader Impacts.
Stokes Alliances for Minority Partici- 2018. Marine Technologies for Teachers and 2017. Broader Impacts Guiding Principles

and Questions for National Science Founda-
tion Proposals. Accessed 2018. Available at:
http://bir.ou.edu/files/bir/docs/Guiding_
Principles_for_BI.pdf.
National Science Foundation. 2018. Dear

Colleague Letter: STEM Education for the
Future (nsf18084). Accessed 2018. Available
at: https://www.nsf.gov/pubs/2018/nsf18084/
nsf18084.jsp
Peach, C., & Scowcroft, G. 2016. Broadening

the impact of graduate education in the ocean
sciences. Oceanography. 29(1):60-6. https://
doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2016.14.
Schofield, O., Glenn, S., Kohut, J., Miles, T.,

Roarty, H., Saba, G., & McDonnell, J. 2018.
Developing practical data skills in undergrad-
uate students using ocean observatories. Mar
10.4031/MTSJ.52.1.7.
Sobin, J. 2015. The investment: Active

involvement in a professional society. Mar
10.4031/MTSJ.49.4.14.

PAPER
MTS Manned Underwater Vehicles

2017–2018 Global Industry Overview
AUTHOR ABSTRACT
William Kohnen The manned underwater vehicle industry continues to build momentum into
MTS Member, 2018; much of this has been driven by strong market trends and technology.
Manned Underwater Vehicles There is renewed growth in the luxury yachting industry, in citizen science, and
Committee Chair in ocean philanthropy. Tourism submersibles offer high-end touring expeditions
Hydrospace Group, Inc., for boutique destinations and specialty cruise ships. In Asia, notably China, Japan,
Rancho Cucamonga, CA and India, deep-ocean science is gathering attention for research and commercial
applications. The industry also benefits from an accepted use of lithium batteries by
class societies and strong developments in the areas of navigation and communication
T he Marine Technology Society’s

manned underwater vehicles (MTS
MUV) database tracks a total of
technology. Finally, although military development typically focuses on unmanned ca-
pabilities, there is more investment in deep submergence submarine rescue vessels.
Keywords: manned submersibles, ocean research, innovation, exploration, human
320 submersibles, of which over 160 in-situ observation
are active around the world. This
paper reviews the general classifica-
societies that are part of IACS (Inter- been buoyed by robust stock market
tion system of MUVs with special
national Association of Classing Soci- performa nces. In Asia, notably
consideration of regulations and ves- China, Japan, and India, deep-ocean
eties). This dedication to safety and
sels working at 300 and 1,000 m accepted design rules is reflected in science is gathering more attention
and the challenging hadal zone that the fact that 92% of all operating for research and commercial applica-
reaches to depths of 7,000 m and submersibles were designed, fabricated, tions. Tourism submersibles continue
beyond. This discussion touches on and tested under third-party classifi- to offer high-end touring expeditions
the distribution of MUVs for dif- cation society review. In the context for boutique destinations and specialty
ferent market applications, interna- of the numerous types and differing cruise ships. Finally, although military
tional class societies, nonsubmersibles capabilities of the growing number of development typically focuses on
that make the news as MUVs used submersibles, this paper will discuss unmanned capabilities, there has
in the narcotics industry, and military improvements to bring clarity to the cur- been investment in deep submergence
vehicles used for submarine rescue rent regulatory systems leading to an submarine rescue vessels.
capabilities. The last section high- informed public and continued safe The MTS MUV committee pro-
lights the accomplishments and operations. vides a forum for all in the industry
challenges of active manned sub- who design, manufacture, and operate
mersibles deployed around the world human-occupied vessels for extreme
in 2017–2018. General Review ocean environments. Competitive in-
The industry maintains an impec- The MUV industry continues to novation, engineering advancements,
cable safety record, with zero recorded build momentum into 2018. The in- and leadership contribute to the
fatal incidents in over 40 years. A dustry has been propelled by strong long-term business growth essential
total of 122+ vehicles operate privately market trends and continues to be to any ocean exploration initiatives.
and commercially in tourism, research, supported by the industry’s regulatory The MUV industry is composed of
or expedition work. Most of these framework, safety record, and profes- 85 international member companies,
submersibles are designed to inter- sionalism. There is renewed growth in including 50 MUV manufacturers of
national safety standards and classed the luxury yachting industry, and citizen which 38 are commercial companies
by one of more than a dozen class science and ocean philanthropy has and 12 are state agencies. MTS MUV

TABLE 1 corded fatal incidents in over 40 years.
This dedication to safety and accepted
MTS MUV in operation in 2018 by sector of operation.
design rules is reflected in the fact that
Application No. Vehicles % 92% of all operating submersibles were
Research 14 8.75 designed, fabricated, and tested under
third-party classification society re-
Tourism 36 22.5
view. Only 8% of operating vehicles
Military/government 46 28.75
are unclassed and not formally docu-
Commercial/personal 64 40.0 mented or reviewed by a third-party
Total 160 agency.
The MUV industry has evolved
divides the industry into four major are designed and built by industry and grown in the past 25 years.
categories (research, tourism, govern- craftsmen with aptitude but who do Today it encompasses a wide range of
ment/military, and commercial/ not use formal design and testing docu- vehicle types: Personal-amateur-built
personal) and distinguishes three mentation. It is difficult to assess the MUVs, third party-built experimental
groups by depth range of operation. scope of such vehicles in Europe, Asia, vehicles, professional-classed (IACS)
The depth range groups include vehi- and elsewhere, but private develop- submersibles, large commercial tour-
cles that operate deeper than 1,000 m ments abound (W. Kohnen, 2018). ism subs, military vehicles, and com-
(Group 1), MUVs that operate from mercial submarines. The industry is
300- to 1,000-m depth capability MUV Certification guided by an impressive set of interna-
(Group 2), and those that operate in and Classification tionally recognized safety design stan-
the range of less than 300-m range The MUV industry maintains an dards and rules: American Bureau of
(Group 3). Table 1 shows the general impeccable safety record, with zero re- Shipping (ABS), Det Norske Veritas
distribution of MUV applications.
MTS MUV Database TABLE 2

The MTS MUV committee main- 2018 MUV industry certification and classification status by IACS societies.
tains a database that tracks a total of
ABS American Bureau Shipping United States 33 21%
320 submersibles, of which over 160
are active around the world, providing BCS Bulgaria Class Society Bulgaria 1 1%
a capacity of 1,624 seats. This in- BV Bureau Veritas France 5 3%
cludes 38 military deep submergence CCS China Classification Society China 4 3%
vehicles used for submarine rescue/
CN China Navy China 4 3%
support operations. A total of 122+
DNVGL DNVGL Norway/DE 21 13%
vehicles operate privately and com-
mercially in categories that include IRS Indian Register of Shipping India 1 1%
scientific research, tourism, private KR Korean Register of Shipping Korea 0 0%
expeditions, commercial work, and LR Lloyd’s Register UK 49 31%
leisure. These data do not include his-
NAVSEA U.S. Navy United States 3 2%
torical submersibles that have been
NK Nippon Kaiji Kyokai Japan 4 3%
inactive for more than 25 years or
any personal/home-built (P/HB) sub- RINA Registro Italiano Navale Italy 3 2%
mersibles because this population is too RS Russian Maritime Register of Russia 4 3%
difficult to track. The best P/HB esti- Shipping
mate in the United States would be None Unclassed 12 8%
40–60 active vehicles and possibly an OUT Out of Class Status 16 10%
inventory of two to three times this
Total 160
amount as a total roster. These vehicles

(Norway) and Germanischer Lloyd MUV Industry Regulations at Underwater Intervention, and the
(Germany) (DNVGL), Lloyd’s Regis- An impressive set of internationally MTS MUV committee continues to
ter (LR), American Society of Mechan- recognized safety standards and rules— gather inputs from industry mem-
ical Engineering Pressure Vessels for including ABS, DNVGL, LR, ASME bers through 2018.
Human Occupancy (ASME PVHO), PVHO, USCG NVIC, and CISR— Five categories have been proposed
U.S. Coast Guard Navigation and exist to provide consistency and safety based on the level of formal review of the
Vessel Inspection Circular (USCG to the design and construction of design documentation. This includes a
NVIC), Cayman Island Shipping Reg- manned submersibles. Standards for category for tourist submersibles, re-
istry (CISR), and more. operational procedures, however, have quiring formal classification of the de-
Most submersibles in the MTS received less consistent attention; U.S. sign as well as flag state certification;
MUV database are designed to inter- Coast Guard MUV operational regula- commercial submersibles, which in-
national safety standards and classed tions have not been reviewed since clude classed design and preclude flag
by one of the many class societies 1993. Given the small submersible state certification if they involve six or
that are part of IACS. The main technology advances and market fewer participants; experimental, un-
class societies for MUV rules include evolution over the past 25 years, classed submersibles, which are devel-
ABS, DNVGL, and LR. The MUVs the MTS MUV community has oped commercially but with no formal
operating per each class society are identified a need to formulate an third-party design documentation re-
listed in Table 2. The table shows updated, simpler regulatory frame- view; and a personal submersible cate-
the number subs operating “in work that can be adopted globally gory, where the design documentation
class,” those operating “out of class,” and will classify the many types of is held by an individual. Finally, the
meaning they were designed to class “Operations” according to the type framework includes a separate category
but dropped out of the class survey of work/application performed and for submarines, fully self-sustaining
schedule, and “unclassed” subs, in- level of formal documentation pre- vessels that can go out on multiday ex-
cluding designs that were not formally sented to the port authorities. Pro- peditions without a surface support
documented for third-party review posed outlines were discussed vessel. These include very few instances
(Thomas, 2018; Pauli, 2018). during the 2018 MUV Symposium today but need a separate category
TABLE 3
Proposed MUV operations consensus standard category framework.
Current U.S. Coast

No Guard Designation MUV Proposed Revised Category Applicability
1 SUB-Chapter T Passenger tourist submersibles Submersibles built for commercial tourism
Small Passenger Vessels - IACS classed
- Flag state certificate of inspection (COI)
2 SUB-Chapter C Commercial submersibles Commercial & research submersibles
Uninspected Vessels - IACS classed
- Flag state COI not required for MUVs of
6 persons or less
3 SUB-Chapter C Uninspected submersibles Private & commercially built Submersibles
Uninspected Vessels - Unclassed
- Experimental operation
4 Recreational Submersibles Personal submersibles Home built, self-operated personal subs
- Unclassed
- Pesrsonal noncommercial operation only
5 Submarines Submarines Classed submarines/work/passengers
- IACS classed
- Flag state COI

looking ahead. Table 3 shows a general Center. Jiaolong is the deepest research Deepsea Challenger is not likely to return
outline of the framework in consider- vehicle at 7,000-m rating. Its popular- to operation, but China and Japan are
ation (W. Kohnen, 2017). ity in China created a surge of scientific hard at work to conquer the deep
The MTS MUV committee’s long- interest for deep-ocean research and a ocean. Rainbowfish, based out of
term objective is to create a positive backlog of dive requests because of its Shanghai Ocean University, continues
environment for MUV innovation, unique single-vehicle capability. In re- its private development of the three-per-
technology development, and com- sponse, China worked on the Deepsea son FOD manned vehicle. In February
mercial growth within the industry Warrior, a new 4,500-m rated research 2018, CSSRC also announced that the
while guaranteeing public safety. En- submersible, specifically designed for its national shipyard was initiating the
trepreneurship is at the heart of all in- national science community and re- design and construction of an FOD
novation, yet it is a constant challenge leased in 2017. It was built as a lighter, manned submersible, as well as an un-
to balance innovation and public nimbler vehicle with an effort to maxi- manned vehicle to reach 11,000 m.
safety; to figure how the public, mize national content in the design and Japan has no immediate plans for the
media, and regulatory agencies can construction. It is rated to 45,00 m, development of an 11,000-m submers-
readily identify between different cat- an equivalent to the current state of ible but is working to reestablish its FOD
egories of submersible operations. the American Alvin. The China Ship access with a new remotely operated
Scientific Research Center (CSSRC), vehicle (ROV) system to replace the ca-
Summary Review of which designed and built both deep pability from the unfortunate loss of its
Submersibles by subs, reported a 95% “made in China” 11,000-m flagship ROV Kaiko.
Depth Classification content in the new submersible. In South Korea, Korea Research
The MUV technologies, although France, Japan, and the United Institute of Ships and Ocean Engineer-
similar across all types of vehicles, dis- States maintain their existing state- ing (KRISO), a state technology and
tinguishes three groups by depth owned deep submergence vehicles. development agency, has expressed
range of operation. These general Woods Hole Oceanographic Institu- interest in the development of a deep
groups divide the MUVs into vehicles tion (WHOI) announced that Alvin manned submersible, capable of
that operate deeper than 1,000 m is scheduled to complete its Phase 2 6,000-m depth. KRISO was estab-
(Group 1), also a benchmark com- overhaul to gain its full depth capacity lished in 1973 with a focus on ship
mercial delimiter for vessels designed of 6,500 m by 2020. Two other deep and ocean engineering to develop and
or built in the United States since submersibles were added to the data- commercialize new, original technology.
vehicles with deeper capabilities are base for Russia, although the subs are Although its primary field is deep-sea
subject to U.S. export restrictions; not new. These are Rus and Consul, robotics, it maintains an interest in de-
MUVs that operate from 300- to which have been appearing notably in veloping MUV capability, pending
1,000-m depth capability (Group 2); public articles. These AS37 type are government support (KRISO, 2017).
and more versatile types of MUVs Russian versions of the Mir submers- In India, the National Institute of
that operate in the range of less than ibles. The two Mirs are still at the PP Ocean Technology (NIOT), based in
300 m range (Group 3). Shirshov Institute in Moscow but are Chennai, is concentrating efforts on
laid up and not operational (Sagalevich, developing its own national 6,000-m
Group 1 (>1,000 m) Hadal 2018). The two AS37 vehicles are pri- rated manned submersible, the
Depth MUVs marily operated by the Russian Navy. Matsya 6000. Researchers at NIOT
This group of MUVs does not re- Since the twin Mir submersibles are have been working for many years,
ceive many newcomers, but the last within reasonable range (technically and most of its work has been focused
t w o ad d i t i o n s ha v e b e e n fr o m and economically) to be put back in op- on deployment and operation of a
China. In 2012, China launched the eration, Russia holds a unique deep- 6,000-m deep ROV system. This
Jiaolong. This vessel is owned by the ocean MUV force (Table 4). has proven valuable training and
China Ocean Mineral Resources The race for full ocean depth (FOD) learning for the agency, which is still
R&D Association (COMRA) and is capability has abated among philan- working to conclude its contract for
operated by the China State Oceanic thropic organizations since James the development of its manned vehi-
Administration-run National Deep Sea Cameron’s deep dive in 2012. The cle, after several false starts. Still, the

TABLE 4
Group 1 “hadal depth” submersibles in 2018.
Country Name Depth (m) No. Pax Operator Year Built Class Manufacturer
China Jiaolong 7,000 3 China NDSC/COMRA 2009 CC China Ship Scientific
Research Center
Japan Shinkai 6500 6,500 3 JAMSTEC 1989 NK Mitsubishi Heavy
Industry
France Nautile 6,000 3 Ifremer 1985 BV Ifremer
Russia Rus AS-37 6,000 3 Russian Navy 2001 Russia Malakhit Design
Navy Bureau/Admiralty Yard
Russia Consul AS-37 6,000 3 Russian Navy 2009 Russia Malakhit Design
Navy Bureau/Admiralty Yard
Russia Mir 1* 6,000 3 PP Shirshov Institute 1987 DNV GL Rauma-Repola Oy
of Oceanology
Russia Mir 2* 6,000 3 PP Shirshov Institute 1987 DNV GL Rauma-Repola Oy
of Oceanology
China Deepsea Warrior 4,500 3 China Academie 2017 CCS China Ship Scientific
Sciences Research Center
United States Alvin 4,450 3 Woods Hole 1964 NavSea Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institute Oceanographic Institute
United States Pisces V 2,000 3 HURL, Hawaii 1973 ABS Hyco
Undersea Research
United States Pisces IV 2,000 3 HURL, Hawaii 1971 ABS Hyco
Undersea Research
Indian Research Center is committed yachts has grown from 47.8 m in yachts over the past 5 years. Although
to move forward and bring India 2013 to 51.6 m in 2017. This has a the yachts get larger, the space allo-
into the community of countries direct impact on the market for spe- cated to MUV storage and staging is
with deep-ocean research capabilities, cialized MUV designs that consider all critical, and many of the manufac-
motivated by deep-sea exploration for the specific needs of large yacht oper- turers have tuned designs specifically
resources such as polymetallic manga- ations, both for accommodating special for this market.
nese nodules, methane hydrates, hydro- owner requests as well as the all- In 2017, a total of 102 MUVs oper-
thermal sulfides, and cobalt crusts important launch-and-recovery logis- ate in the Group 2 “deep-ocean” vehicle
spread over the 1,000-m to 5,500-m tics. Table 5 shows the deliveries of range from 300 to 1,000 m. Table 6
water depth in the Indian Ocean.
TABLE 5
Group 2 (300–1,000 m) Ocean Yachts in production and deliveries 2013–2017 (Rodriguez Consulting, 2018).
Exploration MUVs
A report by the Rodriguez Group
stated that the growth of the global
yachting industry in 2017 was near
20% and that this market growth ap-
pears to be sustained for 2018. It
noted that the average size of large

TABLE 6 Creating mechanisms of approval
Depth capacity of Group 2 “deep-ocean” submersibles in 2018.
for new materials is also a rich
field for innovation and regulatory
expansion.
A few other submersibles with
diver lockout capability fall in this
group, naturally restricted by diving
limits. Although it has elicited interest
from private users, it has been of pri-
mary interest by navies for diver
delivery capability. Several new sub-
mersibles are in construction for the
U.S. Navy as diver delivery vehicles,
which were designed and developed
through a combination of commercial
classification and naval rules to
streamline cost of production.
shows the distribution of the number of and successfully operate a fleet of sub- M-Subs in the United Kingdom,
vehicles for the different depth rating of mersibles around the world. These Lockheed Martin in Florida, together
the vehicles. This group is primarily have toured millions of tourists in the with DNVGL in Germany and NAV-
driven by private and commercial op- waters from the Mediterranean to the SEA found new synergies between
erations, including filming, philan- Atlantic, Caribbean to Hawaii, and commercial and naval regulations in
thropic research, and private leisure the Pacific coastlines of Asia. These ve- the development of the new S351
operations. However, most of the vehi- hicles are all highly regulated by both seal delivery vehicles (see Submer-
cles in the 360-m range represent at- class societies and flag state authorities gence Group). This process worked
mospheric dive suit (ADS) systems to ensure passenger safety. However, less well for the Navy’s DCS-Light
used by navies around the world. It is few new large submersibles are being concept.
noteworthy that this list includes more produced due to mature development
than 37 new MUVs delivered in the of commercially viable locations and Deep Submergence
past 5 years, with an average depth the lack of new viable sites. This is an Rescue Vehicles
capability of 660 m. opportunity for any vehicles that can MTS MUV tracks government
exploit smaller niche markets and and military submersible activities,
Group 3 (<300 m) Coastal novel designs when depth require- primarily submarine rescue capabilities
Ocean MUVs ments for safety margins are reduced. and technologies. Unmanned capabil-
There are 49 MUVs operating in A new series of tourism operations is ities are increasing in scope, but
coastal ocean waters in less than 300 m. planned by a joint venture between manned submersibles remain at the
These include many large tourist sub- DeepFlight and Rainbowfish Ocean heart of submarine rescue operations
mersibles, which generally operate be- Technology. Their composite technol- worldwide. The majority operate as
tween 30- and 40-m depth. This also ogy models will be launched with LR independent submersibles, capa-
includes small private submersibles de- classification, offering a sufficient but ble of docking with a distressed sub-
signed for leisure, commercial work, reduced depth rating of 40 m for tour- marine and taking on 12–24 crew
and some research vehicles. The touring expectations and receiving certifi- members to surface. There are currently
ism sector is very active, consisting of cation for their new materials 18 deep submergence rescue vehicles
large 40+ passenger submersibles technology implementation. Although (DSRVs) serving various interna-
made by Atlantis Submarines in Canada nonmetallic pressure hulls are not new, tional navies. The U.S. Navy oper-
and produced by Mobimar in Finland, they remain on the fringe of class society ates the PRM1 Falcon system as part
accounting for 22 of the 49 vehicles. approval due to challenges in verifica- of the Submarine Rescue Diving and
Both companies continue to safely tion and inspection of finished items. Recompression System(SRDRS). It

consists of a tethered manned vehicle based in San Diego, California, Fisher Defence ( JFD) has delivered
that interfaces with a surface rescue which is scheduled to test the complete several new rescue vehicles for coun-
system installed on a Vessel of Oppor- SRDRS system for the first time, in- tries around the world based on its
tunity (VOO) enabling transfer under cluding the pressurized rescue module LR5 technology, with its latest model
pressure (TUP) from the rescue vehicle (PRM), TUP, and decompression delivered to India last year. China has
to the decompression compartment. chambers in 2018. Japan, Italy, and developed its own submarine rescue
The rescue system is maintained and Russia have developed their own sys- vehicles since the 1970s and launched
operated by Phoenix International, tems and designs. For its part, James its 7103DSRVs in 1987. Upgraded in
TABLE 7
Deep submergence rescue vehicles in 2018.
No Country DSRV Name Depth (m) No. Pax Operator Year Built Class Manufacturer
1 Australia LR5 DSRV 400 16 Australia Navy 2005 LR James Fisher Defence
2 China LR7 DSRV 300 18 China Navy 2008 LR Perry Slingsby
3 China Type 7103 360 22 China Navy 1987 China Wuchang Shipbuilding
DSRV 1a Navy Factory
DSRV 1b Navy Factory
DSRV 2a Navy Factory
DSRV 2b Navy Factory
7 India DSRV-INDIA 600+ 16 India Navy 2017 LR James Fisher Defence
8 Italy SRV-300 300 12 Italian Navy 1999 RINA Drass-Galeazzi
9 Japan JMSDF DSRV 3 700 12 Japan Ministry of 2017 NK Kawasaki Heavy Ind
Defense
10 Japan JMSDF DSRV 2 700 12 Japan Ministry of 2002 NK Mitsuboshi Heavy
Defense Industry
11 Japan JMSDF DSRV 1 700 12 Japan Ministry of 1985 NK Kawasaki Heavy Ind
Defense
12 Korea LR5K DSRV-1 400 16 Republic of Korea Navy 1995 LR James Fisher Defence
13 Korea DSAR-5 500 16 Republic of Korea Navy 2009 LR James Fisher Defence
(DSRV-11)
14 Russia AS-34 DSRV 1,000 25 Russian Navy 1989 Russia Project 1855–PRIZ Class
Navy
15 Russia AS-28 DSRV 100 25 Russian Navy 1986 Russia Project 1855–PRIZ Class
Navy
16 Singapore DSAR-6 500 16 Republic of Singapore 2010 LR James Fisher Defence
Navy
17 Sweden URF DSRV 450 16 Sweden Navy 2012 LR James Fisher Defence
18 United NATO DSRV 610 16 British Royal Navy 2008 LR James Fisher Defence
Kingdom NSRS
19 United PRM 1 Falcon 610 16 Phoenix International 2009 NAVSEA Oceanworks International
States for U.S. Navy

1996, the 7103DSRV was never able Narco-subs Of course, most of these events do
to dock with submarines tilted at larger A category of submersible that is not not involve narco-subs, but it illus-
angles and limited to 1.5-kt currents. included in the MTS MUV database is trates the context in which their devel-
In 2008, China imported the LR7 that of narco-subs: subsurface vehicles opment grows in sophistication.
DSRV, built by Perry Slingsby in the that are often coined as submersibles
United Kingdom, rated to 300 m. but are semisubmersible vehicles that
The Chinese Navy deployed the LR7 operate near surface with long-range UC3 Nautilus
during the joint RIMPAC exercises combustion engine power. Used to In August 2017, UC3 Nautilus, a
with the U.S. Navy in Hawaii in traffic narcotics for over 25 years, “home-made” submarine, sank off
2016 and completed exercises with these vehicles receive media coverage Denmark, in what was revealed to
the Russian Navy in 2017. Table 7 when there is dramatic news about sei- be a grisly crime; the owner-builder
shows the DSRV vehicles by country zures and scuttling of vehicles. Figure 2 of the submarine had deliberately
along with general capacity informa- illustrates the scale of the sea travel scuttled the vessel after murdering a
tion and year of launch. problem. This is the 2016 recorded young reporter onboard. In addition
2017 also saw a major submarine level of traffic between South and Cen- to the horror at the loss of life, the
accident with the disappearance of tral America for “noncommercial” MUV community recognized the po-
the Argentine submarine ARA San maritime events, traveling from tential for damage to the reputation of
Juan in November 2017. The tragic Colombia and Ecuador to Mexico the submersible community as seen
loss of the submarine with the death and Guatemala. The U.S. Coast by regulators, insurance companies,
of 44 crew members renewed in- Guard reported that almost 455,000 individuals, and the media. During
ternational focus on the limited pounds of cocaine and heroin, worth the investigation, it was widely reported
resources available to support sub- $6 billion, was intercepted in 2017, that the submarine was not certified
marine rescue around the world’s which exceeded the 2016 record. and even that the owner had “talked
oceans. The ARA San Juan was Nearly 600 suspected smugglers were about wanting ‘to be free from author-
an older type TR-1700-class diesel- apprehended by the Coast Guard, up ities’ in making his submarines” ( Jeong
electric submarine built in Germany, from 465 in 2016 and 373 in 2015. 2018).
launched in 1985 and subsequently
upgraded from 2008 to 2013. The
search for the submarine and crew FIGURE 2
mobilized ships and aircraft from
2016 Noncommercial maritime events from Colombia and Ecuador to Guatemala and Mexico
18 nations before being called off on (Woody, 2017).
November 30, when it was concluded
that there was no hope of survivors.
The search continued through De-
cember using unmanned vehicles to
find the wreck. The fate of ARA San
Juan remains a mystery and has not
been found (Figure 1).
FIGURE 1
ARA San Juan submarine, Argentina Navy.

FIGURE 3 FIGURE 4 research and biological monitoring of
artificial reefs, commercial surveys,
UC3 Nautilus home-made submarine. M/ V Alucia with Nadir and Deep Rover.
and several film and media expeditions.
The company provided dives and lec-
tures for the TED 2017 Convention in
the waters off Vancouver, Canada. It
also used its submersible to film a sub-
sea commercial featuring 360° tech-
nology with Samsung products,
scheduled to air in early 2018, and
was featured on the Discovery Chan-
Although this distanced the incident nel’s “Daily Planet and Tech Week.”
from the MUV submersible industry, equipment and contains two subs—
Aquatica’s Stingray 500 was used
the event highlighted the importance Nadir (Triton 3300/3) and Deep
to conduct a series of dives for Cana-
of awareness of public, media, and reg- Rover 2—both of which are rated
dian research organizations, including
ulatory agencies of the differences be- for a maximum depth of 1,000 m.
the Underwater Council of British
tween amateur, uncertified craft and Alucia conducted 12 missions in
Columbia, the Artificial Reef Society
those that have been properly certified. 2017 and spent over 200 days at sea
of British Columbia, the Marine
The MUV operations consensus stan- with ports of call in Antarctica,
Life Sanctuaries Society, and the
dard is an important tool to address Uruguay, Brazil, Cuba, and the United
Vancouver Aquarium. One of the ex-
this issue (Figure 3). States. The Submersible Operations
peditions resulted in the discovery of
Group completed 84 dives with
a large glass sponge reef previously
Deep Rover and 98 dives with Nadir
unknown to scientists and was fea-
2018 Manned Overview carrying out outreach and scientific
tured on Discovery Channel. The
(Alphabetically objectives. Highlights include dives
glass sponge discovery renewed inter-
in Wilhelmina Bay and St. Peter
by Company) and St. Paul Archipelago. The pro-
est from conservation groups and the
The following section reviews a se- public. In response, Aquatica developed
gram is commissioning a new support
ries of submersibles that were active in a 360° virtual reality experience to
vessel in 2019, which will be fitted
2017–2018 and provided an activity facilitate education and stewardship
with a man-rated A-frame launch
report to the MUV committee. Al- to be made available through social
and recovery system (Tarantino
though this is not meant as a complete media outlets for National Geographic.
2018) (Figure 4).
review of all vehicles, it illustrates the Aquatica’s regular diving schedule also
wide variety and differing capabilities focused on sixgill sharks in Canadian
and purposes of today’s state of Aquatica Submarines, Canada coastal waters and continues to work
submersible technology and opera- Aquatica Submarines is a Canadian- closely with scientists to film and show-
tions. The submersibles are listed based submersible manufacturer that case this species.
alphabetically by the simplest oper- provides design, manufacturing, sales, The company has signed new con-
ation designator, either a manufac- and operations of manned submers- tracts for the design and manufacture
turer, an operator, or a research vessel. ibles. The company’s Stingray 500 is of a series of underwater vehicles that
a light displacement three-person, to include the standard 500-foot-
Alucia M/V (WHOI) acrylic hull, classed by DNVGL and rated model and add a new 1,000-
The Alucia is a private research rated to 500-foot depth. Throughout foot (305) model. In addition to the
and exploration vessel, 56-m long, 2017, Aquatica’s team of pilots operated deeper submersible design, Aquatica
with a versatile launch and recovery the submersible in the coastal waters also plans to launch a new line of
platform for a wide range of diving for Vancouver, Canada, to conduct a transport vehicles designed to reduce
and submersible operations. It is range of dives and expeditions. Dive costs associated with submersible opera-
equipped with the latest in technical missions included tourism operations tions, transport, and delivery. The
diving, filming, and scientific research with Tier 1 tour providers, scientific company is scheduled to launch the

FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6 FIGURE 7
Aquatica Stingray 500. Bulgaria Academy of Sciences PC8B submersible. Jiaolong deep-sea submersible.
5-year trial phase. During the 138-day

the region. The institute is challenged
expedition that started on February 6,
new vehicles in 2018 (Flemming to find a new pilot to continue the sub-
Jiaolong and its mothership sailed nearly
2018) (Figure 5). sea research as government budgets for
34,000 km into the South China
science have been severely cut for 2017
Sea, northwestern Indian, and north-
and 2018, and most expeditions operate
western Pacific oceans. Jiaolong con-
Bulgaria Academy of in joint projects funded by the European
ducted 30 dives for scientific
Sciences, Bulgaria Union (I. Shtirkov, 2018, personal
investigations and to collect samples.
PC8B is a three-person, 250-m- communication) (Figure 6).
Researchers from the State Oceanic
rated Perry submersible, launched in Administration, Ministry of Educa-
1971 and operated by the Institute China National Deep Sea tion, Chinese Academy of Sciences
of Oceanology, Bulgarian Academy Center, P.R. China and China Geological Survey dove
of Sciences (IO-BAS), located in China National Deep Sea Center with the Jiaolong to collect 625 kg
Varna, Bulgaria. IO-BAS is a national (NDSC) is based in Qingdao and is of seabed rocks, 5,968 L of seawater,
research center using the submersible the home of Jiaolong, China’s 7000-m- as well as 2,115 marine creatures.
for interdisciplinary monitoring of the rated deep-ocean research submersible. During the expedition, the submers-
Bulgarian part of the Black Sea basin. Jiaolong is owned by the COMRA, and ible made five dives in the Mariana
Dr. Ilko Shtirkov reported that in the NDSC research center is operated Trench and the Yap Trench, both
2017 the director of the institute, by the China State Oceanic Adminis- in the western Pacific Ocean. These
who strongly supported the underwater tration. Jiaolong is a three-person sub- dives were organized for scientists to
activities, passed away. The new direc- mersible designed and built by the better understand the trenches’ geo-
tor, faced with budget shortages, cut all CSSRC and classed to the China Clas- chemical and biological conditions.
planned expeditions and is working on sification Society (CCS). Named after a After the mission, Jiaolong is
the refit of their support ship Academic mythical dragon, Jiaolong is China’s scheduled for a yearlong overhaul
to renew its 5-year class certificate from first manned deep-sea research sub- and technical upgrades. The submers-
Bulgarian Register of Shipping. It is ex- mersible, developed by Chinese de- ible is planned to start its formal op-
pected to take a year to organize the signers starting in 2002. During a eration phase in 2018, designed take
refit. test dive in June 2012, Jiaolong reached the submersible farther away on expe-
The submersible obtained its its deepest depth—7,062 m—in the ditions (Ye, 2018),
5-year class renewal but performed Mariana Trench. Since January 2013,
only a single dive in 2017 to take a the submersible has made a total of
water sample from the geothermal 152 dives (Figure 7). CSSRC, P.R. China
spring, which was discovered at 140-m The submersible’s mother ship, CSSRC is China’s largest ship and
depth several years ago. Researchers Xiangyanghong 09, returned to the ocean engineering research institute
were surprised that the spring had National Deep-Sea Base in Qingdao with 500+ research engineers for the
stopped its activity, possibly due to in June 2017, ending the 38th oceanic research of ship design and high per-
several earthquakes that took place in expedition and the submersible’s formance underwater engineering.

FIGURE 8 the Academy of Sciences in November when final tests were conducted for
2017, designated to serve China’s deep diving, wet and dry rescues.
Deepsea Warrior—4,500-m research submersible.
dynamic marine scientific research The design included a crew of four
programs for the next 30 years. The with the capacity for 22 sailors. The
new submersible is a three-person vehicle weighed 32 tons and was
vehicle rated to a depth of 4,500 m. rated for a maximum rescue depth
Among its major features is the fact of 300 m, later overhauled to 360 m.
that it is 95% national technology The power system was based on
content. Major domestic components silver zinc batteries. The Type 7103
include the personnel sphere, under- DSRV was formally handed to People’s
water acoustic communication sys- Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) on
tem, and acoustic Doppler velocity November 1987. A total of four Type
CSSRC has worked on the develop- log instruments. The Deepsea Warrior 7103 DSRVs were built, with two ve-
ment of submersible technology since has been eagerly awaited by scientists hicles in operation at any given time.
2002 when it started the design of the in China to increase deep-ocean The DSRVs are supported by Type
7000-m-rated Jiaolong submersible. It access capacity. The completion of 925 Dajiang class ASR/ARS ship that
was developed with a combination of this submersible also helped expand can carry two DSRVs during rescue
national and international technology the technology foundation for the missions. The Type 7103 was over-
and completed its certification in next vehicle. CSSRC announced hauled in 1996 to improve its position-
2012 to become the deepest operating that its next project will be the devel- ing system, introduce new electronics,
research submersible today. Afterwards, opment of an FOD manned submers- and increase its rescue depth rating to
in 2015–2016, CSSRC developed ible. The FOD vehicle is currently 360 m.
and launched two new acrylic-hulled under construction at the shipyard in In 2008, the PLAN imported the
tourist submersibles, the Huan Dao Wuxi, near Shanghai. The plan also in- LR7 DSRV. It was put in service in
Jiao Long 1 and 2, rated to 40 m for cludes the parallel development of a 2009 and was intended to modernize
seven passengers plus two crew, for new unmanned vehicle capable of the navy’s submarine rescue capability
commercial operation on Hainan Is- FOD. China’s Haidou 1 unmanned from its 1970s-based technology of
land. The focus of its progression vehicle helped set a hadal technology the Typ3 7130 DSRVs. LR7 was con-
aims at developing an increased foundation when it dove to a depth structed by the British firm Perry
national capability of submersible of 10,767 m near the Mariana Trench Slingsby System, a development of
technology (Figures 8 and 9). in 2016. During the trip, the autono- the earlier LR5 submersible. The
In 2017, CSSRC completed mous underwater vehicle (AUV) made LR7 is 25-foot long, capable of rescu-
China’s newest manned submersible, two dives to 9,000 m and twice to ing 18 sailors per trip and rated to a
named Shenhai Yongshi or Deepsea 10,000 m. This made China the depth of 300 m. The battery charge
Warrior. It was officially delivered to third country after Japan and the United allows for 12 h of operation before re-
States to have reached deeper than charging (Figure 10).
10,000 m. Both vehicles are scheduled
FIGURE 9 for completion by 2020 (Ye, 2018).
FIGURE 10
Huan Dao Jiao Long tourism submersible.
China DSRV, P.R. China China LR7 rescue submersible.
China’s development of DSRVs
started in 1971 at the Wuhan Ship-
building Factory with the design of
the Type 7103 vehicles. Construction
of Type 7103 DSRV begun in 1976
and was launched for initial sea trials
on January 1980. Engineering devel-
opments and tests continued through

The Chinese navy (PLAN) partic- FIGURE 11 FIGURE 12
ipated for the first time alongside the
DeepFlight Super Falcon 3S. DeepFlight Dragon.
navies of 25 countries, including
the U.S. Navy, in July 2016 during
the RIMPAC submarine rescue exer-
cise off Hawaii. The LR7 was deployed
from the mothership Changdao, and it
docked with a simulated underwater
submarine wreck. This was a milestone
in Sino-American naval relations. In
2017, LR7 participated in the “Joint-
Sea 2017” Sino-Russian exercise that
smaller yachts with little or no need
took place in the Sea of Okhotsk in hicle classed by Lloyds Register rated
for retrofit.
September 2017. The exercise con- to a depth of 40 m. The company re-
In additional to opening its first
ducted the first underwater mating of ported that a survey of component
location for DeepFlight Adventures
the LR7 rescue vehicle with a Russian parts has been undertaken in the United
in 2018, the company will also be
submarine simulating a disabled boat Kingdom and the United States,
building several submarines for delivery
on the sea bed (Tate, 2017; Koh alongside the auditing of fabrication
in 2018–2019 (Hobson, 2018)
et al., 2010). facilities. Both the prototype and pro-
(Figure 12).
duction hulls have been successfully
DeepFlight, United States pressure tested, and final sea trials of
DeepFlight continues its legacy of the first of the classed units are taking GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for
innovative underwater technology to place in the Maldives in early 2018 Ocean Research, Germany
enable underwater flight. DeepFlight (Figure 11). JAGO is a 400-m depth rated two-
submersibles are winged submersibles The first Super Falcon 3S is sched- person submersible dedicated to re-
designed to be “positively buoyant” uled to be operational in the Maldives search in marine sciences, stationed
and use hydrodynamic forces from in Q1 2018, offering submarine ex- at the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre
the wings to push the vehicles under- cursions at a luxury five-star resort. for Ocean Research, and is presently
water when moving. The submersibles A trained pilot will take up to two the only manned research submersible
are low displacement, light weight, de- guests at a time on underwater flights in Germany. The submersible’s rela-
signed for speed for commercial mar- directly from the resort property. tively light weight (3 tons) and its
kets of superyachts, luxury resort, and Laucala Island in Fiji is also operating compact size (3 × 2 × 2.5 m) make
private ownership. an original Super Falcon two-person it easy to operate worldwide and
In 2017, after many years of self- submersible for its resort guests. The from a wide variety of support ships
certification, the company has been company plans to continue expansion that have sufficient crane capacity.
working with Lloyds Register to of its DeepFlight Adventures to other JAGO was built in 1989, is DNV-
class the new DeepFlight series of locations, in partnership with resorts, GL classed, and has made more than
submersibles. This classification allows tour, and water sports operators. 1,300 dives around Europe and Africa
DeepFlight to innovate using compos- DeepFlight is also continuing to (Figure 13).
ites and other advanced materials, sell its submarines to private owners, In 2017, JAGO has undergone a
which provide the strength-to-weight and in particular, the superyacht mar- general overhaul, including numerous
ratio to introduce their new generation ket. In 2017, Princess Yachts ordered test dives in the Kiel Fjord with the
of lightweight submersibles. Deep- a DeepFlight Dragon to be integrated exchange of new instruments and
Flight launched its new Super Falcon into a new build of its 40-m M class components. The JAGO team is also
3S submarine, a three-person (one yacht. As the smallest and most light- replacing its thrusters to a rim drive
pilot, two passengers) craft designed weight two-person submarine on the system. In February to March 2018,
for tourism operations. Super Falcon market, Dragon is one of the only per- JAGO went on a research cruise to
3S is based around a composite hull ve- sonal submarines that can fit on the Cape Verde islands to study

FIGURE 13 for scientific investigation of the un- Large support vessels are required
dersea environment. This includes a for both manned and unmanned sys-
GEOMAR JAGO submersible.
unique set of manned submersibles, tems, and it has become clear that
ROVs, and other deep-sea technolo- deep-ocean ROV operations have
gies. Most notably, HURL operates their own challenges when used for
the twin Pisces IV and Pisces V deep deep exploration. The key element
submersibles, which are among the for research remains productivity,
longest operating submersibles in the the ability to get the same level of
industry. The submersibles are three- work done in fewer days at sea or get-
person vehicles rated to a depth of ting more coverage in the same
2,000 m and are ABS classed. The amount of days. The HURL Team
deep diving submersibles are the only has successfully shown over two sea-
midwater biodiversity and ecology. U.S. deep-ocean national asset that sons (2016 and 2017) that twin
The Cape Verde islands are consid- provides the versatility of operating manned submersibles offer undeni-
ered a perfect location because the two submersibles side-by-side. The able productivity gains over un-
deep sea is close to the islands and pe- strategic and performance advantages manned ROV systems.
lagic organisms from deep water can of such an operational concept has The 2017 National Science Foun-
be found both close to shore and in been proven in time and again, just dation (NSF)-funded Deep Coral
shallower waters. Researchers reported as did the Russian Mir submersibles Ecosystem Recovery Assessment Pro-
making 15 dives down to 400-m in a wide range of unique expeditions ject in the Northwestern Hawaiian Is-
depth in the lee sides off the islands (Figure 14). lands and Southern Emperor
Santo Antao and Fogo. The university center has faced Seamount Chain is an exemplary tes-
Through 2018, the team plans to challenges since the National Oceanic timony of MUV mission success. The
exchange its rotatable side thrusters and Atmospheric Administration de- $3.5M project allocated 90 ship days
and prepare sampling devices and in- funded its submersible program in of which 25 days were used in transit,
struments in preparation for the next 2014, but the team has continuously a total of nearly 4,500 nm. An addi-
two JAGO campaigns scheduled to demonstrated creativity and innova- tional 10 days were lost to unexpected
take place in summer from on board tion in the service of research. To in- weather outside normal launch mar-
the RV Poseidon. From end of June to crease productivity and bottom time gins. The original plans were to ex-
mid-July 2018, JAGO will dive at the per dive day, HURL has transitioned plore the terrain by ROV. However,
cold water coral reefs off Norway and to a default dual subdive model with the topography consisted predomi-
from mid-July to mid-August in the its Pisces IV and Pisces V submersibles. nantly of current swept, steep volcanic
North Sea and in the Skagerrak—a The ingenuity of this approach is to island cores, and vertical carbonate
new technology testing project that boost productivity by getting more atoll walls with numerous narrow cut-
combines submersible dives with work done in fewer days at sea. backs and overhangs. Danger and risk
hover AUV surveys (Hissmann, were unnavigable for all but the most
2018). advanced robotic underwater systems
FIGURE 14
and teams. By mid-November 2017,
Hawai’i Undersea Research University of Hawaii Pisces V submersible. the survey was successfully completed
Laboratory, United States using the twin Pisces submersibles
The Hawai’i Undersea Research and the HURL team. They availed
Laboratory (HURL) is part of the themselves of the remaining 55 work
School of Ocean and Earth Sciences days to perform a total of 76 submers-
and Technology at the University of ible dives during which 242 detailed
Hawaii and has been providing bottom video transects of 500 m each
unique deep-ocean research capabilities were completed. A total of 1,533 coral
for nearly 40 years. HURL specializes samples were collected for genetic and
in both research tools and expertise paleooceanographic analysis. The total

FIGURE 15 manned submersible, with a powerful FIGURE 16
state-of-the-art battery package, can
University of Hawaii Pisces IV submersible. ICTINEU 3 research submersible.
navigate up to 20 nm underwater.
The ICTINEU 3 is designed for
underwater exploration, scientific re-
search, and underwater intervention.
ICTINEU innovations include ad-
vanced hydrodynamics, extensive use
of smart composites, and high-density,
high-power lithium batteries capable
of operating at ambient pressure. IC-
TINEU 3 was classed by DNVGL,
distance covered by the two subs was launched in 2013, and is registered port, which is located near a highly
about 250 km, the average time sub- by French Maritime Affairs for oper- abrupt shelf. The team observed
merged per dive day was 12 h, and ation in European waters. ICTINEU very steep terrain, even steeper and
the average time spent on bottom 3 has completed more than 100 dives more abrupt than shown by the
transecting and collecting was 8 h. at sea between 30- and 1,000-m detailed cartography. Near the sea-
At the beginning of 2018, the uni- depth. floor, very dense masses of plankton
versity announced that it would shut In 2017, ICTINEU deployed and krill were observed. Observations
down the submersible operations and their submersible for an expedition confirmed that some species of plank-
divest itself of the assets. The KOK re- to the Nice Canyon in Côte d’Azur, ton are abundant in the area, al-
search ship is due for recertification France. The expedition was organized though they are rarely sampled with
by mid-2018, whereas both submers- in cooperation with the Oceano- the usual sampling tools.
ibles remain in ABS class. The two Pisces graphic Observatory of Villefranche In early 2018, the company an-
submersibles represent the only U.S. sur mer (OO-CNRS-UPMC) and nounced the successful development
asset capable to deploy a tandem the research laboratory Géoazur, of the first battery module certified
team of submersibles to 2,000 m, France. The Oceanographic Obser- for operation at FOD in a joint ven-
with an operations team presenting vatory of Villefranche is a multidisci- ture with Triton Submarines. The
more than 25 years’ experience operat- plinary research center associated with new unit, a pressure-compensated
ing MUVs. This remains a unique the University Pierre et Marie Curie lithium polymer battery module pro-
asset in the U.S. roster of national ca- in Paris and the French National ducing 148 V DC, 10,36 kWh was
pabilities. The HURL reports multiple Research institution CNRS. The developed to extend ICTINEU’s ex-
standing projects for 2018 for the two mission took plankton observations isting 6,700-m-rated power unit to a
submersibles. The decommissioning through the water column, studied battery capable of diving to any
of these assets would reduce U.S. na- the crepuscular benthic communi- depth, from shallow to FOD. ICTI-
tional capabilities to a single MUV ties, as well as coral communities NEU reports the unit is currently un-
(Alvin) capable of deep submergence and their relationship to water acidi- dergoing DNV-GL type-approval; the
and stand in contrast with international fication. new battery named ITHACA is a
capabilities and developments (Kerby, The Géoazur center combines maintenance-free, 4,000-cycle-capable
2018) (Figure 15). earth, ocean, and space research. plug-and-play battery. Full production
Three subjects of particular interest of ITHACA is on schedule first deliv-
ICTINEU Submarins SL, Spain were (1) the Messinian Era in which eries in mid-2018 (Fores & Parareda,
ICTINEU Submarins is a the Mediterranean basin (sea) dried 2018) (Figure 16).
manufacturer-operator based in out and afterward refilled quickly;
Barcelona, Spain, founded in 2007 (2) a study of the −120 m zone
to develop and build the deepest where the sea level was during the Ifremer Nautile, France
private submersible in operation, the last glaciation; and (3) an evaluation Ifremer built Nautile in 1984, and
ICTINEU 3. This new generation of of the geologic risks on the Nice air- it was the first of a new generation of

FIGURE 17 FIGURE 18 The Shinkai 6500 had a major
overhaul in 2012, the largest upgrade
Ifremer deep-sea Nautile submersible. France’s deep submersible Nautile, launched
from its mothership Pourquoi Pas? made to the submersible since it was
launched. JAMSTEC has initiated a
second major upgrade, specifically
addressing the remodeling of the per-
sonnel sphere. The Shinkai 6500 was
traditionally piloted with a pilot, a co-
pilot, and one passenger/researcher. De-
mands from scientific communities are
continuously evolving, and one request
deep research submersibles rated to of the detector field for the recovery was for two researchers to be able to dive
6,000 m. Nautile counts among its of certain scientific instruments. together, with a single pilot. Although
achievements 116 dives on the RMS In February to March 2018, this has been a traditional operating
Titanic between 1987 and 1998, Nautile was scheduled to return to concept in other countries, JAMSTEC
early thermal vent exploration, and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge for a biologi- had to make changes to design, instru-
meeting up with Alvin at the bottom cal exploration of the hydrothermal ments, and concepts of piloting to
of the Atlantic in 1987. Although bud- vents and has planned 28 dives be- transition to single-pilot operation.
gets are strained, Ifremer has no plans tween 3,000- and 4,000-m depth. A major remodeling was carried
to replace Nautile and projects an ex- The submersible is scheduled for out from 2016 to 2017 to realize
tended life program for the pressure maintenance between April and August the single-pilot changes. The cabin re-
hull and periodic technology improve- 2018, which will include the replace- modeling and overhaul were completed
ments (Figure 17). ment of the equatorial O-ring sealing in March 2017. New equipment
Nautile remained active through the two hemispheres of the personnel and instruments had been installed
2017 with a scientific expedition on sphere. At the end of the year, Nautile and checked throughout the previous
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge from March is scheduled to be deployed on the site year to help with navigation and op-
to April 2017 aboard the research for a new underwater observatory eration. JAMSTEC performed several
ship Pourquoi Pas? During this expe- called MEUST, which is to replace dives in 2017, which allowed shake-
dition Nautile performed 20 dives to the existing ANTARES observatory. down training conducted under sim-
depths ranging from 3,500 to 4,500 m. The Nautile will be used to install ulated one-man pilot operations.
In December 2017, Nautile was and deploy new scientific equipment Some of the principal operational is-
deployed on a technical expedition (Ciausu, 2018) (Figure 18). sues to transition as a single pilot
in the Mediterranean. A series of are the concurrent operation of the
engineering dives to depths of HDTV camera, operation of the ro-
2,700 m were performed to prepare JAMSTEC Shinkai 6500, Japan botic arm to take samples, talking to
the submersible for its 2018 season Shinkai 6500 is the flagship deep- the surface ship, and managing the re-
with a series of new and advanced sci- ocean submersible for the Marine cording of the samples taken. Several
entific instruments designed for tak- Technology and Engineering Centerof challenges were extracted from the ex-
ing samples and perform in situ JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine- ercise, and final equipment improve-
analysis. Earth Science and Technology). Shinkai ments were made for 2018.
In January 2018, Nautile was 6500 was built in Kobe, Japan, in JAMSTEC is revising its operation
deployed in the Mediterranean for 1989, a three-person deep-ocean manual and confirms that single-pilot
work on the subsea neutrino detector research submersible rated to a maxi- operation is no hindrance. From
observatory ANTARES, located at a mum depth of 6,500 m. The Shinkai April 2018 onward, JAMSTEC plans
depth of 2,500 m. This is the European 6500 is operated from its mothership to start single-pilot operation for
equivalent to the North American R/V Yokosuka and passed the 1,500 research dives at well-known research
Sudbury Neutrino Observatory. The dive mark in 2017, completing its locations (Yanagitani & Onishi,
Nautile performed work at the base 1,509th dive during the season. 2018) (Figure 19).

FIGURE 19 in terms of fleet tonnage. Japan will national cooperation with national
also become the first nation to equip security (KHI, 2018; Fuyama, 2016)
JAMSTEC deep-sea submersible Shinkai
part of its submarine fleet with (Figure 20).
6500.
advanced lithium ion batteries, one of
Japan’s top military secrets, in order to
improve the submarine’s underwater JFD, UK
endurance. JFD is headquartered in Inchinnan,
Inspired by the Russian Kursk in- near Glasgow, and has over 30+ years
cident, NATO established the Inter- of submarine rescue operation experi-
national Submarine Escape and ence with facilities in Singapore,
Rescue Liaison Office to help with Australia, and Sweden. It has estab-
global assistance in submarine acci- lished itself as an international special-
Japan Maritime Self-Defense dents. At the same time, with the ist in this field. JFD provides design,
Force, Japan growing number of nations operating manufacture, maintenance, and train-
In September 2017, Kawasaki submarines over the past 25 years, the ing services. JFD provides submarine
Heavy Industries launched Japan philosophy of collective rescue spread rescue capability to several countries,
Maritime Self- Defense Force ’ s rapidly. Today, many countries col- including the submarine rescue vehi-
( JMSDF) third DSRV built for the laborate to offset the high cost of cles (SRVs) for the Indian navy.
Japanese Ministry of Defense. This developing these submarine rescue In Fall 2017, experts from nine al-
vehicle is the third DSRV, and it capabilities. Multilateral at-sea exer- lied nations committed submarines,
has been 18 years since the second cises such as Sorbet Royal bring to- submersibles, rescue vessels, specialist
DSRV was delivered in March gether NATO members and Pacific medics, helicopters, and divers for a
2000. Unlike airplane accidents, sub- Reach brings participants of Asia-Pacific 2-week-long Exercise Dynamic Mon-
marine accidents often have survivors, nations. Japan continues to participate arch. Taking part in the exercise was
and rescuing the crew of a disabled in these exercises since the early 2000s. the JFD-built NATO Submarine
submarine is a major concern of mod- Japan’s native submarine production Rescue System (NSRS), jointly
ern navies in the world. This technology technology and deep submersible ca- owned with the United Kingdom,
is more closely related to deep research pability present a growing national France, and Norway, capable of div-
and commercial submersibles than mil- asset as it now seeks to export its tech- ing down to a submarine in distress,
itary submarines. Common traits are nology around the world. Although “mating” with escape hatches, and
the deep depth of operation, its operat- coordination and standardization carrying out an evacuation of the ves-
ing crew, and the ability to accommo- challenges exist, in general the sel. Submersibles from 11 countries
date a large number of occupants with NATO countries enjoy a closer work- participated in exercises to depths of
the ability to reach a stricken vehicle ing relationship than does the pacific more than 720 feet. The NSRS, like
and mate to its rescue hatch. theater. China, Japan, and India face many rescue submersibles, can be
The JMSDF is the de facto navy of greater challenges balancing inter- transported anywhere in the world
Japan, and the new DSRV launch is within 72 h (Figure 21).
part of an effort by JMSDF to mod-
ernize its undersea capabilities with a FIGURE 20
JFD Submarine Rescue Vehicles
fleet of 22 diesel-electric submarines
Japan deep submergence rescue vehicle
by the early 2020s. This includes a DSRV III. SRV Nation Max Depth
total of 12 new Soryu-class subma- LR5 (DSAR-1) Australia 400 msw
rines by 2021, with a displacement DSAR-5 South Korea 500 msw
of 4,100 tons when submerged and DSAR-6 Singapore 500 msw
Japan’s first class of air-independent NSRS SRV-1 NSRS 610 msw
propulsion submarines. The JMSDF URF Sweden 450 msw
is one of the world’s largest navies INDIA DSRV I India 620 msw
and the second largest navy in Asia INDIA DSRV II India 620 msw

FIGURE 21 NASA’s Cassini space probe was which can lead to maneuvering
the first satellite designed to orbit problems.
JFD submarine rescue vehicle DSRV I for the
Indian Navy. around Saturn. Until then, very little NASA says: “By addressing the
was known about any of its moons, challenges of autonomous submersible
including Titan, the largest moon, exploration in a cold outer solar system
which is roughly the size of Mercury. environment, Titan Sub serves as a
Cassini mapped the moon’s surface pathfinder for even more exotic future
and even sent out a probe, called the exploration of the sub-surface water
Huygens probe, to the surface of the oceans of ( Jupiter’s moon) Europa.”
moon. The discoveries were extensive. If such a mission moves forward,
Data from the Cassini-Huygens it would represent a new frontier of
probe revealed Titan has seas of liquid space exploration as well as research
In 2017, JFD completed harbor methane and ethane. In 2008 the submersibles (Whigham, 2018).
acceptance trials for the first of two 400,000 km2 ocean was named Kraken
DSRVs for the Indian Navy. These Mare and thought to be the largest NIOT, India
two DSRVs are part of a third-generation body of liquid on Saturn’s moon. The NIOT, based in Chennai,
submarine rescue system developed by The temperature of the methane was established in November 1993
JFD to rescue the crew from a distress- ocean is −184°C. Today, NASA is under the Ministry of Earth Sciences,
ed submarine (DISSUB). The DSAR studying possibilities of exploring Government of India. The institute’s
class submarine rescue vehicle is capa- Titan’s oceans with a specially designed primary aim is to develop indigenous
ble of diving to deeper depths than pre- submersible vehicle (Figure 22). technologies for deep-ocean explora-
vious designs with a crew of three and Several probe ideas have been pro- tion and the harvesting of nonliving re-
up to 17 rescuees. Under a £193M posed, and NASA is considering a sources such as polymetallic
contract, awarded in March 2016, fully autonomous submersible. The manganese nodules, marine gas hy-
JFD is providing two complete flyaway space agency has a conceptual design drates, hydrothermal sulfides, and co-
submarine rescue systems including for the Titan submarine and is look- balt crusts. These resources are
DSRVs, launch and recovery systems ing at a mission challenge within the typically found between 1,000 and
equipment, TUP systems, and all next 20 years. Titan is 886 million 5,500 m water depths in the Central
logistics and support equipment re- miles from Earth, so it would require Indian Ocean Basin, Bay of Bengal,
quired to operate the service. The full a significant spacecraft to get the sub- and Arabian Sea.
certified systems are scheduled to be marine to destination. One of the Over the past 20 years, NIOT has
delivered to the customer in June challenges operating a submersible developed several underwater vehicles.
2018 (JFD, 2018). vehicle in such cold environments is These include a 6,000-m depth rated
the problem of bubbles. Any system ROV (ROSUB 6000) qualified and
based on heat-generating machines is tested to 5,289 m in the Central Indian
National Aeronautics and Space likely to generate nitrogen bubbles, Ocean Basin. The ROV explored for
Administration, United States natural gas hydrates at depths of
National Aeronautics and Space 1,000 m in the Krishna Godavari
Administration (NASA) believes that FIGURE 22 Basin, polymetallic nodules at depths
there may be life on a moon called of 5,000 m in the Central Indian
NASA Titan submersible concept.
Titan, as it is the only place in our Ocean Basin, and hydrothermal sul-
solar system where surface liquids fides at the Rodriguez Triple Junction
have been found—and where there in the Central Indian Ridge system at
is water, there is chance of life. a depth of 2,813 m. NIOT also de-
Their proposed submersible would veloped other submersible systems
be designed as an autonomous such as a 6,000-m depth rated
research and science vehicle aimed at in situ soil tester, a 3,000-m depth
the study of extraterrestrial seas. rated autonomous coring system,

and a 500-m depth rated underwater No MUV systems currently exist FIGURE 24
integrated mining system. For polar in India. NIOT continues to develop Nuytco DeepWorker submersibles atmo-
research, NIOT also developed a expertise and capacity in the develop- spheric dive suit.
500-m depth rated ROV (PROVe). ment of India’s manned submersible
The next step in the development technology with possible joint part-
is to utilize the expertise gained over nership of national and international
the past two decades to develop a organizations (Ramadass & Ramesh,
deep-ocean manned submersible— 2018) (Figure 23).
Matsya 6000, with a depth capability
of 6,000 m. The NIOT Matsya 6000
is designed for carrying three persons Nuytco Research Ltd., Canada
with an operational endurance of 12 h Nuytco Research Ltd. builds a
and emergency endurance of up to wide range of manned submersibles
72 h. The design follows a traditional in North Vancouver, Canada. The
architecture with the objective to lever- submersibles include the single occu- Nuytco also reported working for
age the newest technologies to keep the pant Deepworker and two-person the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval
submersible weight less than 20 tons. Dual-Deepworker vehicles rated to Research (ONR) on a new version
The 6,000-m rated cabin is based on 600 and 1,000 m, a five-person tour- of the submarine rescue system that
a 2.1-m diameter titanium alloy per- ism submersible Curasub, and the was originally designed and built for
sonnel sphere, made of two halves Orcasub personal vehicle. Nuytco the U.S. Navy and Australian Navy,
welded together. Hydrodynamics are also manufactures the EXOSUIT, an based on a new large, all-electric
aimed at achieving ascent and descent advanced version of the NewtSuit, work-class ROV, called the NewtROV,
rates of 30+ m/min, allowing the sub- which is an ADS system designed adapted to accept a one-atmosphere
mersible to reach full depth in 3 h. and classed to Lloyds Registry. personnel conveyance system (Nuytten,
Study work continues on view ports, In 2017, Nuytco made several ex- 2018) (Figures 24 and 25).
life support systems, reliable battery peditions, sending submersibles to
configuration, and launching and re- Brazil and diving for a month at the
covery systems. mouth of the Amazon River. Later FIGURE 25
in the year, Nuytco completed a con-
FIGURE 23 EXOSUIT atmospheric dive suit.
tract in California for fisheries research.
India NIOT deep-sea research submersible At the beginning of 2018, a full crew
Matsya 6000 concept. and two DeepWorkers went on a
month-long expedition in Antarctica
for Greenpeace, until the first week
of February. Greenpeace released
many photos and video clips as it called
for a large ocean sanctuary for the
newly discovered habitat. Greenpeace,
based in Amsterdam, is calling for a
sanctuary area covering 700,000
square miles (1.8 million km2) to be
set up in the Antarctic to keep species
including whales and penguins safe.
Proposals for the sanctuary have been
submitted by the European Union
and to be considered when the Antarc-
tic Ocean Commission convenes in
October 2018.

OceanGate, Inc., United States Titan was launched in February not pursuing classification by IACS
OceanGate, Inc., is a privately 2018 in the waters around Everett, class societies. Instead, it has devel-
held company in Washington State Washington, for 2 months of testing oped a test program modeled on the
established in 2009 for the develop- in a series of engineering dives to aircraft test industry where perfor-
ment, manufacture, and operation of nominal depths of <300 m. Titan is mance envelopes are systematically in-
manned submersibles for commercial, an experimental design incorporating creased based on a thorough review of
scientific, and tourism projects. the largest carbon fiber and titanium performance data from prior tests.
OceanGate owns and operates the pressure vessel, the first ever constructed While in the Bahamas, the factory
five-person Antipodes MUV rated for for external pressure; therefore, factory acceptance tests are scheduled to con-
300-m depth and Cyclops 1, a five- testing and the validation program are duct multiple dives to 4,000 m to val-
person submersible rated to 500 m. critical. The company has invested idate the operations and robustness of
The main thrust of the company’s 6 years of design and testing of this its hull design with real-time hull
activity is the development of a pressure vessel design in partnership health monitoring, its large viewport,
next-generation experiment based on with technology organizations such as the control, propulsion and battery
composite materials for deep-ocean the Applied Physics Lab at the Univer- systems, sonars, laser scalers, its iner-
operation. Developed as Cyclops 2, sity of Washington and the Boeing tial navigation system (iXBlue Phins
the new submersible was launched at Company. The partnership provides INS), 4K cameras, and other systems.
the end of 2017 as Titan, designed for OceanGate extra technical expertise OceanGate reported that the deep
a depth of 4,000 m with space for five and confidence for innovation, which diving will be tested gradually toward
occupants. The focal point of the new incorporates a hull monitoring system its goal of 4,000 m, ascertaining the
design is a composite laminate pres- to determine the early onset of hull health of all components and systems
sure hull, a large acrylic viewport, failure and detect potential longer- before diving deeper. The company
and a specialty designed launch and term fatigue and undetected damage acknowledged that if unexpected lim-
recovery platform for both near- over the life of the pressure vessel. itations are encountered during the
shore and offshore operation. This system is based on nine separate trials, the submersible could be dera-
Titan features a single, large view- acoustic sensors and 18 strain gauges ted to a level deemed safe by its engi-
port, and its carbon fiber and titanium to measure all mechanical loading of neering department.
construction is designed to make the the hull using both passive and active Titan was transported to Marsh
submersible lighter than traditional measurements to compare with histor- Harbor in the Bahamas for deep
deep-sea submersibles. It will be outfit- ical performance at depth. The objec- water testing in late April 2018. The
ted with external 4K cameras, multi- tive is active monitoring to permit transport and rough weather during
beam sonar, laser scanner, inertial more efficient designs, requiring the transit caused both damage to
navigation, and an acoustic synthetic lower safety factors than used in tradi- the submersible’s electronics and
baseline positioning system. In parallel tional design techniques and thereby caused delays to the testing schedule.
with the new submersible develop- saving weight (Figure 26). The company announced in May
ment, OceanGate plans to mobilize a Because of the nonconventional that, due to these delays, the 2018
new subsea launch and recovery plat- nature of the design, OceanGate is planned Titanic Survey Expedition
form. The two elements are intended would be postponed (Rush 2018).
to work in tandem to form the Titan in-
tegrated diving system. The platform FIGURE 26 Pisces Submarines,
will be used to launch and recover the OceanGate Titan submersible and launch United States
sub and serve as a floating platform for platform. Pisces VI is a sister vessel to Pisces IV
service and maintenance. The integrated and Pisces V operating in Hawaii. The
system is designed to eliminate the submersible was acquired by Pisces
need for A-frames, cranes, and divers, Submarines in 2015, located in Salinas,
allowing expedition crews simpler, Kansas, and is in the process of refurb-
low-cost deployment option in remote ishing the submersible. Just like its
locations. sister vehicles, Pisces VI is a three-person

research submersible that was designed able science basket, and a lateral investments. At its core is the devel-
and built by Hyco International Hy- thruster system. The company reports opment of a world-class floating
drodynamics of North Vancouver, operation expected to commence in laboratory for hadal science and tech-
Canada, in 1976, with a maximum op- 2019 (Waters, 2018) (Figure 27). nology. The project was scheduled in
erating depth of 2,000 m (6,560 feet). two phases. The first phase focused
The vehicle has a 2.1-m hull diameter, Rainbowfish Ocean Technology on the construction of a new 4,800-
made of HY-100 steel with three Co., Ltd., P.R. China ton research mother ship, Zhang
forward-looking 6-inch acrylic view- Rainbowfish Ocean Technology Jian, and the R&D engineering for
ports. When completed, Pisces VI will Co., Ltd. is based in Shanghai, the Rainbowfish11000 manned sub-
be the deepest diving privately owned China. The company’s objective is mersible. The second phase plans a
submersible. The submersible will to lead research in deep-sea technology, series of vehicle tests to FOD, starting
maintain an operational depth of industrialization, and marketing with- with science landers, followed by a
2,000 m, hold one pilot and three ob- in China and internationally. Of spe- new unmanned autonomous remotely
servers, and is projected to weigh only cial interest is the challenge of hadal operated vehicle (ARV), and finally
15,000 lb. The design is also focused zones extremes and creating technology leading to the construction and sea
on streamlining the dimensions in to explore to FOD. Rainbowfish is the trials of the FOD manned submers-
order to fit, along with all support commercial partner of the Hadal Sci- ible. Rainbowfish aims to reach the
equipment, inside a 20-foot shipping ence and Technology Research Center depth of 11,000 m in the Mariana
container. The company’s mission is (HAST) of Shanghai Ocean University, Trench, which would mark the first
to provide low-cost deep submersible which was established in 2013. Rain- time a team of three crew and scien-
services for the science and film indus- bowfish and HAST announced in tists reach the floor of the Mariana
try, using Pisces as an underwater plat- 2016 its plans to challenge the Trench.
form for exploration and education. 11,000-m depths with plans to launch In December 2016 to February
In 2017, the refurbishment of the a deep research manned submersible 2017, Rainbowfish made its first re-
cabin, the main ballast tank, and rated to FOD (Figure 28). search cruise aboard its research ship
frame configuration was completed. Supported by Shanghai Ocean Zhang Jian, deploying a set of three
Several modifications and additions University, Professor Cui Weicheng FOD landers. All three landers
are planned, which include battery set up the first Hadal Science and reached the seafloor at the Challenger
pack, ballast air, the variable and Technology research center in China Deep and performed successfully.
main ballast tank arrangement, the with its goal to develop new frontier The unmanned ARV system was
thruster arrangement, the interior ar- deep-sea technology to promote also deployed and reached a maxi-
rangement and mounting method, HAST to become a world-famous re- mum depth of 6,300 m, hampered
the fairings, and its transport method search and design institution. This co- by some technical difficulties. The
to ensure it fits inside a standard ISO operation between Rainbowfish and team returned to the lab to improve
container. The company also plans HAST was created to connect scien- the ARV design and started the de-
upgrades on the electronics to include tists and entrepreneurs, utilizing sign of the FOD manned submers-
auto pilot, GPS navigation, a retract- both national support and private ible vehicle. Through 2017, the
major research was focused on the
FIGURE 27 FIGURE 28 personnel sphere. Rainbowfish engi-
neers elected for a two-part Maraging
Upgraded Pisces VI submersible concept. Rainbowfish research ship Zhang Jian.
Steel hemisphere design, like that
used on the Russian Mir submers-
ibles. In April 2017, the Finnish
foundry Tevo Lokomo Ltd. completed
its delivery for the hull after successful
pressure testing at the Rainbowfish
laboratory in Shanghai. The laboratory
has several test chambers, including

three chambers rated to 140 MPa, one habitat near the wreck. The expedi- area, the sidescan sonar could not
chamber rated to 180 MPa, and an tion took still images for a photo mo- be used and the position of the
open test tank 10 m × 20 m 7 m saic of the wreck using an in-house wreck was established with the sub-
deep. cu stom-built camera for photo mersible, producing high-resolution
During 2017, two areas of special mosaicking that could integrate the video images. As Joachim Jakobsen
focus involved the testing of the acrylic picture in the sub (Figure 29). describes, “The final discovery was
windows and the syntactic foam, due Instrumental to the U-boat discov- made by looking out of the large acrylic
to the desire to have three viewports ery was the use of multibeam and side- viewport of our research submersible.
in the personnel sphere, the size and scan sonar working in great depth In the end, we were also very lucky.
thickness of the windows was a con- when the search started in 2016. We had been following a deep-sea
cern. Based on the ASME PVHO U-581 left for the Azores with the order fish for filming on this dive. We
calculations, the window thickness to sink the British vessel Llanggibby followed that fish from 800 m to
became too thick and a newly de- Castle, which, on February 2, 1942, 870 m of depth. Suddenly, we noticed
signed smaller configuration was tested had to leave Horta harbor on the island a long cigar shaped echo on the
based on a smaller included angle from of Faial/Azores. The British destroyer onboard sonar of our submersible.
the standard 90° conical frustum HMS Westcott detected U-581 and We approached and finally had a
window. The test results failed to threw depth charges. The impact of breathtaking view to the cannon and
confirm and validate the model. those charges caused severe damage the tower of U-581.”
Rainbowfish reported that they start to the U-boat, and the commander The wreck represents a valuable
the manufacture of the manned gave order to the crew to abandon object for studies on cold-water corals
cabin after the successful testing of and sink the U-581. U-581 sank in and the conditions that make possible
the window model. Similarly, testing the morning hours on 2nd February the creation of coral reefs in great
of the syntactic foam material available 1942, south of Pico Island. Four men depth. Cold-water corals are considered
nationally does not meet the pressure died at surface from depth charges, vulnerable ecosystems. Until now, lit-
testing to the desired safety factor of and 41 men were rescued and tle is known on the growth rate of such
1.5× maximum operating pressure. became prisoners of war. After ana- corals. Some species can become several
The company projects to complete lyzing German and British reports hundreds or even several thousands
the FOD submersible by 2021 (Cui, about the sinking, the team defined of years old. Being that the exact
2018). a search area of 4 × 8 nautical miles. date of sinking and thus the maximum
A first-phase multibeam sonar was age of any colonizing organism is
Rebikoff-Niggeler Foundation, used to produce bathymetric 3D known, valuable conclusions may be
Portugal Azores charts of the search area. However, drawn from this warship wreck that
LULA 1000 is a three-person, because of seamounts in the search became a hotspot of deep-sea coral life.
1,000-m rated research submersible During 2017, LULA also dove ex-
operated by the Rebikoff-Niggeler FIGURE 29 tensively in research projects for map-
Foundation (FRN). The FRN is a ping of deep-water habitats off the
Portuguese nonprofit organization FRN research submersible LULA 1000. Azores Islands. The submersible oper-
for marine science located on the is- ates in near open ocean conditions
land of Faial, Azores. Since 2000, and was designed for high-quality
Kirsten and Joachim Jakobsen dive deep-sea filming. In the fifth year of
deep around the Azores. In 2017, operation, the LULA 1000 continued
the team discovered and made multiple to work on habitat mapping along the
dives to document the wreck of the islands’ often steep slopes. This in-
U-581, a German U-boat found at a cluded documentation of deep-sea
depth of 870 m off Pico Island. FRN fauna and habitats such as sponge
produced a video documentation of fields and coral communities and col-
the wreck itself and coral colonies lection of base data on the deep-water
that settled on it, as well as on the habitats.

LULA 1000 also deployed for In 2017 and 2018, RIDE contin- in the Caribbean, and the remaining
deep pelagic dives in the feeding ued to fulfill its mission statement by samples were first-time collections in
grounds of sperm whales. The dives providing the public with cost-effective, the Mesoamerican Reef. Finally, at
proved to be extremely challenging direct access to the deep ocean. The the end of the year, Idabel received
and interesting, a research activity company completed the construction several system upgrades, most notably
that carries on in 2018. The continuous of a new watercraft called the subsled, an autopilot system (Stanley, 2018)
expedition aims to understand what designed to dock with Idabel and pro- (Figure 30).
sperm whales find to feed on, and the vide a hydrodynamic bow and addi-
team reports that the extended bottom tional ballasts for long-distance SEAmagine Hydrospace
time offers the opportunity to film towing. This increased the maximum Corporation, United States
unique and never-seen pelagic species. towing speed from 3.5 to 7.5 knots. SEAmagine Hydrospace Corpora-
Part of this incredible footage includes Since the submersible is launched tion is a California-based company es-
the filming of the whalefall featured on from shore, this innovation drasti- tablished since 1995 and is a leading
the Blue Planet II deep episode showing cally increased its range of explora- designer and manufacturer of small
a large number of sixgill sharks feeding tion. On its first mission with the manned submersibles with over
on a dead sperm whale ( Jakobsen & sled, Idabel was towed to an underwa- 12,000 dives accumulated by its exist-
Jakobsen, 2018). ter feature 14 miles away. Docking ing fleet. The company produces two-
and undocking were safely completed to six-person models with depth
in the open ocean in 4-foot seas. In ratings ranging from 150 to 1,500 m
Roatan Institute of Deepsea 2017, RIDE added a custom fish col- for the professional, scientific, and
Exploration, Stanley lection device and a temperature and superyacht markets. All SEAmagine
Submarines, Honduras depth recorder to monitor ocean tem- submersibles are classed by the ABS
The Roatan Institute of Deepsea peratures on 100+ dives per year. The and are based on the company’s pat-
Exploration (RIDE) was established new animal collection device used an ented technologies.
by Stanley Submarines, operating anesthetic solution, when adminis- The company has been producing
in Roatan, Honduras, since 1998. tered to a target fish, dazed or sleep- its two- and three-person Ocean Pearl
When he was 9, Karl Stanley dreamt ing, the fish is sucked into a models for many years and a new
about submersibles and launched his collection tank. The system was suc- three- to six-person Aurora submarine
first winged, gliding submersible the cessfully deployed on six dives with product line rated up to 1,500 m.
week he graduated college. The deep researchers from the University of The Aurora design is based on a hy-
submersible Idabel was completed in Washington and the Smithsonian, perhemisphere acrylic cabin with an
1998, operating off the island of Roatan, who also funded the project. The re- enhanced field of view by moving
where it still takes tourists, film search dives collected over 30 fish the access hatch away from the top
makers, and scientists on dives down specimens: three entirely new species, of the window into a separate com-
to 2,000 feet. 7–10 had only been visually observed partment behind the main cabin.
Although the Idabel design was This design’s ability to tilt at surface
never formally reviewed by a class so- FIGURE 30 provides a stable platform that does
ciety, the submersible was extensively not require forward pontoons that re-
Idabel submersible with towing sled.
tested and validated at sea over many strict peripheral viewing.
years. RIDE is one of three deep div- During 2017, SEAmagine started
ing submersibles in the world offering the formal submersible pilot and
trips on a continual basis. Through crew training for 10 officers from
his work diving with the public, re- the Argentinian Coast Guard, called
search scientists, and personal explora- the “Prefectura Naval.” The class-
tion, Karl Stanley has accumulated a room theory classes were given in
remarkable dive log, piloting over California, and the practical submers-
2,000 dives, ranging from 500 to ible diving exercises were performed
2,000 feet, and over 5,000+ h at depth. in Argentina with the ABS-classed,

FIGURE 31 FIGURE 32 leading manufacturer of manned sub-
mersibles for recreation, science, ar-
SEAmagine Aurora 3C luxury submersible. MSubs S351 DCS.
cheology, exploration, and filming.
Triton offers a comprehensive line of
products from one- to seven-person
models designed around state-of-the-
art transparent acrylic pressure hulls.
Their most popular submersibles
range in depth rating from 500 to
1,000 m (1,650–3,300 feet). The
company also promotes acrylic hull
marines, established in 1986, which designs capable of diving to 2,280 m
built up a portfolio of manned sub- (7,500 feet) with three-person capacity
mersibles ranging from tourist sub- and a design capable of achieving FOD
350-m depth rated, two-person marines to swimmer delivery vehicles of 11,000 m (36,000 feet).
Ocean Pearl model that was delivered and submarine rescue vehicles. In All Triton submersibles are classed
there in 2016. All practical dive train- 2016, Lockheed Martin and Submer- either by the ABS or DNV-GL.
ing was performed in the 440-m deep gence Group announced a partner- Triton submersibles have been used
fresh water lake called Nahuel Huapi ship to build, integrate, test, and in numerous research and scientific
near Bariloche in the Andes of South deliver three dry combat submersibles missions around the world, ranging
Patagonia, Argentina. A total of (DCS) to U.S. Special Operations from local work in Florida and the
65 dives were performed during the Command (USSOCOM). The DCS Bahamas to expeditions in remote
training down to maximum depth of is designed to support two operators corners of the Pacific. Highlights of
300-m deep during that training period. (pilot and navigator) plus up to six missions over the past 5 years include
SEAmagine also relocated to its swimmers with the ability to lock capturing the first-ever live images of
new larger offices and shop facilities them out and in. the giant squid in its natural habitat
in 2017 from Claremont to nearby The DCS contract will supply a (Bonin Islands, Japan); a deep-sea
Upland, California. Among other pro- new class of seal delivery combat shark documentary for NHK and
jects, the company is currently under submersibles to operate at greater the Discovery Channel in Sagami
contract for the fabrication of two of depths and with longer endurance. Bay Japan; the first dives in Antarctica
its new Aurora submersible models In 2017 and 2018, Submergence in over 50 years (since Cousteau in
with one vessel depth rated to 460 m Group and MSubs continue to sup- the 1960s); David Attenborough’s
and the other to 1,000 m. Both new port SOCOM and WARCOM with dive on the Great Barrier Reef; a
submersibles will be classed by the S351 submersible operations and the BBC series in the Galapagos; and a sci-
ABS and approved by the Cayman construction of the three, new ence expedition in Bermuda for the
Island Shipping Registry Flag State. DCSs. The original S301 prototype Nekton marine science organization.
The deliveries of these new Aurora sub- has been the subject of a CRADA To date, Triton has delivered 12
mersibles will take place in 2018 and (Cooperative Research and Develop- submersibles including two Triton
2019 (C. Kohnen, 2018) (Figure 31). ment Agreement) with SOCOM and 1000/2s, which are a two-person
continues to be used as an R&D asset capacity unit rated to a depth of
Submergence Group, LLC for the Navy, now entering its 10th 1,000 feet; eight Triton 3300/3s,
(United States) and MSubs year of operations (Phaneuf, 2018) which are capable of diving to 3,300
Ltd. (United Kingdom) (Figure 32). feet for three people; a Triton 1650/3
Submergence Group and MSubs LP superyacht submersible rated to
Ltd. provide manned and unmanned Triton Submarines, LLC, 1,650 feet for three people; and a Triton
submarines and vehicles for defense, United States 3300/1 MD (minimum displacement)
research, and commercial sectors. Triton Submarines was formed in with a diving depth of 3,300 feet for
MSubs is an extension of Marlin Sub- 2008 in Vero Beach, Florida, and is a one person. The company has three

submersibles currently in construction Triton 3300/6, rated to 1,000 m commercial tourism operation on
that are to be announced shortly. (3,300 feet). In September 2017 at board of cruise liners. The U-Boat
Triton submersibles are used for the Monaco Boat Show, Triton Worx includes the C-Explorer line
recreation, scientific research, and announced its Project Neptune, a of two- and three-person submersibles
filming. The most active submersible joint design collaboration with Aston rated to 300-m depth; the Super
is a Triton 3300/3 named Nadir, Martin for a three-person, 500-m Yacht Sub designed as a three-person
which is based aboard the vessel depth rated submersible. Design model rated to 300 or 500-m depth;
M/V Alucia. Nadir has been used to work is ongoing, and construction is and the HiPer Sub models designed
make numerous movies and docu- scheduled to be completed in 2019 as high-performance vehicles for
mentaries. In 2017, Nadir was used (Haley, 2018). two- or four-person capacity but lim-
to film the Blue Planet II series. The ited to 100-m depth rating.
pair of Triton submersibles based in U-Boat Worx, Netherlands U-boat Worx has developed two
Malta includes a Triton 3300/3 and U-Boat Worx was founded in new model series with innovative de-
a Triton 3300/1 used for scientific 2005 as a manufacturer of private signs, the C-Researcher for scientific
and historical research in the Mediter- and luxury submersibles in the exploration of the deep and the
ranean, including filming of the Netherlands. The company has a Cruise-Sub for leisure and tourism.
HMHS Britannic, sister ship to the wide range of models ranging from The C-Researcher 2 and 3 offer
RMS Titanic. Both Triton 1000/2 one to nine people and operates to two- and three-person capacity with
submersibles are used for scientific depths up to 1,700 m. U-Boat a maximum depth capability of
research and documentary filming Worx submersibles are designed, 3,000 m for a two-person model
by the Global Sub Dive group. engineered, and built to DNV-GL and 2,500 m for a three-person
These two Triton submersibles are classification. U-Boat Worx entered model. The Cruise-Sub presents a se-
based aboard the M/V Go America in a partnership with Exa Limited, ries of multipassenger submersibles
(Figure 33). part of the Asian conglomerate Gent- ranging from capacities of 5–11 per-
In the period from January to ing Group, in 2013, which enabled sons, ranging in depth capacities
December 2017, Triton completed the company to increase production from 200 m for up to 11-person
construction of the eighth Triton and reduce delivery times. In 2015, models to 1,700 m for five-person
3300/3 and a new model, the Triton U-Boat Worx produced its first pri- models (Figure 34).
1650/3 LP. The Triton 1650/3 LP is vate submersible for a cruise ship. In 2017, U-Boat Worx delivered
a “low profile” model, which is de- This was followed by a C-Explorer two Super Yacht Sub 3 models to un-
signed to easily fit and be supported delivered for the Crystal Esprit cruise disclosed clients. It also delivered two
by superyachts. Plans are to complete ship and Genting Dream. C-Explorer 5 submersibles for opera-
a second Triton 1650/3 LP in 2018. The company has developed a tion on the new World Dream cruise
The company also signed a contract range of acrylic submersibles for the ship, sister ship to the Genting Dream.
for a new six-man submersible, the private and luxury market, which ex- The company reports having several
tends into the tourism market with Cruise Sub models in production
vehicles of larger capacity. The in-
FIGURE 33 creasing thicknesses of cast acrylic
Triton six-person 3300/6 deep touring submersible.
has enabled large acrylic submersibles FIGURE 34
to reach ever deeper depths. This is
U-Boat Worx multipassenger cruise submersible.
led by specialized capabilities devel-
oped by acrylic manufacturers such
as Evonik in Germany and Blanson
Ltd. in the United Kingdom.
U-Boat Worx developed a production
line approach to build a wide range of
models for private explorers, super-
yacht owners, research vessels, and

with its flagship model, the seven-seat FIGURE 35 fully assembled the TUP capability to
Cruise Sub with a depth rating of connect the PRM to the decompres-
U.S. Navy Falcon rescue submersible.
1,140 m. Construction is ongoing, sion chambers. Testing is ongoing to
and pressure testing of dual acrylic support URC’s operational training
hyperhemisphere hull with a Titanium and for the certification of the Navy’s
mid-section has been successfully deep-sea submarine rescue capability.
completed under DNVGL rules and In November 2017, the URC also
inspections. deployed to Argentina as part of the
U-Boat Worx reported its subopera- American response to a missing sub-
tions diving at locations around the marine and its 44 sailors. Three U.S.
world, including Thailand, Malaysia, Air Force C-17 Globemaster III and
Philippines, Indonesia, Maldives, threatening consequences of decom- one U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy aircraft
Seychelles, Japan, Antarctica, Mediter- pression sickness (Figure 35). transported the SRC and an ROV.
ranean, Caribbean, Scotland, Russia, The Falcon is rated to a depth of Eight aircrafts were mobilized, the
Greenland, and Norway (Hasselman, 2,000 feet and designed to mate to a first arriving in Argentina within 43 h
2018). disabled submarine at a list and trim and the last within 120 h. Two VOOs
angle of up to 45°. The Falcon has a were mobilized, the first as a search and
crew of two and can transfer up to ROV support vessel and the second as
U.S. Navy SRDRS and PRM 16 personnel at a time. The older the SRC rescue chamber support ship.
Falcon DSRV, United States DSRVs (Mystic and Avalon) operated The mobilization time to set up each
In 2008, the SRDRS replaced the on batteries and required 2-h battery ship was 20 h for the ROV ship and
U.S. Navy’s two older DSRVs Mystic recharge between dive cycles. The 68 h to install the SRC system. Search
and Avalon as the primary deep-sea PRM is surface powered via an umbil- parties never found the ARA San Juan,
rescue vehicle for submarine rescue. ical and can operate continuously. and the team returned to California in
Unlike Mystic, which could only be The SRDRS is operated by the December. The SRC is a McCann res-
transported via modified submarines, Undersea Rescue Command (URC) cue chamber designed during World
the SRDRS was designed as a “fly- homeported in San Diego, a compo- War II and is still used today. The
away” system that can be mobilized nent of Submarine Squadron 11 in SRC can rescue up to six persons at a
via military or civilian transport air- Point Loma, California, which is time and reach a bottomed submarine
craft and installed aboard a variety also home to four Los Angeles-class at depths of 850 feet. It is operated by
of VOOs upon notification of a sub- nuclear-powered fast-attack subma- two crew members and mate with a
marine in distress. The SRDRS sys- rines. Phoenix Holdings International disabled submarine by sealing over its
t e m co n s i s t s of (1 ) t h e D S R V is contracted to maintain and operate hatch, allowing sailors to safely transfer
Falcon, a tethered, remotely operated the SRDRS and provide support to the rescue chamber (Hazenberg
PRM, along with its launch and re- maintenance under U.S. Navy certifi- et al., 2018).
covery system, and (2) the Submarine cation requirements. These efforts in-
Decompression System that allows clude the support and maintenance of WHOI, United States
rescued submariners to remain under the Submarine Rescue Chamber The WHOI’s Deep Submergence
pressure during the transfer from the (SRC) rescue chamber and the four Operations Group operates the Alvin
PRM to hyperbaric treatment cham- 2,000-foot rated ADS systems. submersible. Launched in 1964,
bers aboard the VOO. The TUP These ADS systems were decommis- Alvin has seen several overhauls.
capability allows sailors to transfer sioned in 2017 and replaced with an Since 2012, the latest upgrade was
from a pressurized compartment ROV system. completed, which included a new per-
aboard a disabled submarine to a re- Although the PRM Falcon has sonnel sphere rated to 6,500 m. Today,
compression chamber aboard the res- been operational for many years, in the deep submergence vehicle Alvin is
cue ship to begin decompression. 2017 the complete SRDRS system America’s advanced, state-of-the-art,
This is designed to increase the was installed aboard the URC’s training deep diving submersible available for
chances of survival and avoid life- ship. This was the first time the Navy direct observation and investigation

FIGURE 36 at the WHOI. In 2020, Alvin will Acknowledgments
complete the final systems conversions I wish to acknowledge the Marine
Woods Hole deep-sea research submersible
Alvin. for operations to 6,500 m, enabling ac- Technology Society and the MUV
cess to over 95% of the world’s oceans Committee for all their support and,
(Strickrott & Tarantino, 2018). in particular, all the industry profes-
sionals who have answered the call for
updated information on their submers-
Conclusion ible developments and/or operations.
The MUV sector is an active inter- The information contained in this
national industry that is moving for- overview was provided in personal in-
ward at a fast pace and continues to terviews, referencing websites, articles,
build momentum year by year. De- and publications. The active participa-
spite a prevalence of unmanned sys- tion of most of these companies in the
tems in the subsea sector, MUV MUV Symposium held at the Under-
design and construction is growing water Intervention Conference each
of the deep ocean. Alvin provides a and driven by new market trends year makes these assessments easier.
front-seat, first-person diving experi- and new technologies. Commercial This review is a collection of annual
ence that is unmatched by remote im- growth is specifically in the luxury developments of engineering, operations,
aging systems, enabling excellent yachting industry and ocean expedi- and regulatory progress around the
investigations of deep-sea environ- tions. The tourism sector is finding world.
ments. Alvin’s numerous sensors pro- new high-end expeditions markets,
vide large quantities of high-quality and deep-ocean exploration continues
data, and new digital network inter- to be of national interest in Asia. Author:
faces allow integration of unique scien- Developments in materials, batteries, William Kohnen
tific devices and sampling tools. and instruments offer an increased Hydrospace Group, Inc.
Digital images, HD video, and dive array of opportunities for new organi- 9559 Center Avenue
data travel over a new fiber-optic zations to develop new underwater Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
computer network for superb image vehicles, both for classed designs or Email: [email protected]
collection and advanced systems mon- experimental concepts. Size and
itoring and data analysis (Figure 36). weight remains a focus of attention
Alvin recently completed the most throughout to find better, more effi- References
extensive period of systems upgrades cient ways to transport MUVs and Ciausu, V. 2018. Personal communication.
and improvements in its 50-year his- increase the range of operation. Ifremer, www.ifremer.fr.
tory. This included a new, larger per- Classification and certification organi- Cui, W. 2018. Personal communication.
sonnel sphere with an ergonomically zations continue to support a well- Shanghai Ocean University. Rainbowfish
designed interior and enhanced exter- developed framework of design and Project. www.rainbowfish11000.com.
nal viewing, digital command and construction safety rules; however,
Flemming, H. 2018. Personal communication.
control system, improved propulsion although little guidance exists for
Aquatica Submarines. www.aquaticasubmarines.
system, advanced imaging system safety of operation of MUVs, there
com.
capable of high-definition still images is ongoing industry development to
and 4K/HD video, new digital scien- organize best industry practices Fores, P., & Parareda, C. 2018. ICTINEU 3
tific instrument interface system, new under an MUV operations consen- exploration of Nice Canyon to 1000 m depth.
science workspace and manipulator sus standard. The foundation of In: Underwater Intervention ‘18, MTS
configuration, and numerous other that standard has been provided in Manned UW Vehicles Symposium.
improvements. this paper and will serve as a basis Fuyama, C. 2016. Overview of Submarine
Alvin is owned by the U.S. Navy’s of clearly identifying the capabilities Escape and Rescue in Japan Maritime Self-
ONR and operated as a part of the and safety background for all types Defense Force. Undersea Medical Center
National Deep Submergence Facility of submersibles. JMSDF, Japan. https://wss.apan.org/3574.

Haley, M. 2018. Personal communication. Marine Technology and Standards, Oct. 16–17, During Exercise. Jane’s 306. Available at: https://
Triton Submarines. www.tritonsubs.com. 2017 Washington, DC. https://doi.org/10.1115/ www.janes.com/article/74585/chinese-rescue-
MTS2017-0409. submersible-attaches-to-foreign-submarine-
Hasselman, E. 2018. Personal communica- during-exercise.
tion. U-Boat Worx. www.uboatworx.com+. Kohnen, W. 2018. Overview of manned
submersible activity in 2018. In: Underwater Thomas, R. 2018. Personal communication.
Hazenberg, M., Dean, M., Schleef, M., & Intervention ‘18, MTS Manned UW Vehicles ABS. www.eagle.org.
Webner, M. 2018. United States Navy sub- Symposium.
marine rescue systems deployment to Argentina, Waters, S. 2018. Pisces VI deep sea submarine
commercial and industry. In: Underwater In- KRISO. 2017. Personal communication. renovation. In: Underwater Intervention ‘18,
tervention ‘18, MTS Manned UW Vehicles Korea Research Institute of Ships and Ocean MTS Manned UW Vehicles Symposium.
Symposium. Engineering. www.kriso.re.kr.
Whigham, N. 2018, February 13. NASA Is
Hissmann, K. 2018. Personal communica- Nuytten, P. 2018. Personal communication. Contemplating Sending a Submarine Into
tion. Geomar-Helmholtz Center of Ocean NUYTCO Research Lab. www.nuytco.com. Space. Available at: http://www.foxnews.com/
Research. www.geomar.de. science/2018/02/13/nasa-is-contemplating-
Pauli, H. 2018. Personal communication.
sending-submarine-into-space.html.
Hobson, E. 2018. Building a new generation DNVGL. www.dnvgl.com.
of composite submersibles for tourism and Woody, C. 2017, September 14. Here’s how
Phaneuf, B. 2018. Personal communication.
recreation. In: Underwater Intervention ‘18, drugs are getting smuggled from South
Submergence Group. www.submergencegroup.
MTS Manned UW Vehicles Symposium. America to the US. Business Insider. Available
com.
at: www.businessinsider.com/heres-how-drugs-
Jakobsen, J., & Jakobsen, K. 2018. Personal Ramadass, G.A., & Ramesh, S. 2018. De- are-getting-smuggled-from-south-america-to-
communication. Rebikoff-Niggeler Founda- velopment of manned submersible ‘Matsya the-us-2017-9?r=UK&IR=T.
tion, Portugal. www.rnf.org. 6000’. In: Underwater Intervention ‘18, MTS
Yanagitani, M., & Onishi, T. 2018. Shinkai
Manned UW Vehicles Symposium.
Jeong, M. 2018. The Final, Terrible Voyage 6500—On operation after remodeling inside
of the Nautilus. Wired. Available at: https:// Rodriguez Consulting. 2018. 19–20% Growth the pressure hull In: Underwater Inter-
www.wired.com/story/final-terrible-voyage- Projected for the 2017 Global Yachting Industry. vention ‘18, MTS Manned UW Vehicles
nautilus/. Available at: https://rodriquezconsulting. Symposium.
com/19-20-growth-projected-2017-global-
James Fisher Defence. 2018. Delivery of Ye, C. 2018. Personal communication. China
yachting-industry/.
JFD’s 3rd Generation Submarine Rescue Ship Scientific Research Center. www.cssrc.
System. Oceans News, 14 Feb. Rush, S. 2018. Personal communication. com.
Oceangate Inc. www.oceangate.com.
Kerby, T. 2018. Personal correspondence.
Hawaii Undersea Research Lab (HURL). www. Sagalevich, A. 2018. 30 years Anniversary of
soest.hawaii.edu/HURL. Mir submersibles creation. In: Underwater
Intervention ‘18, MTS Manned UW Vehicles
KHI. 2018. Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle
Symposium.
Launched [Press Release]. Available at: https://
global.kawasaki.com/en/corp/newsroom/news/ Stanley, K. 2018. Roatan Institute of Deepsea
detail/-?f=20161130_3930. Exploration Year in Review 2017. In: Under-
water Intervention ‘18, MTS Manned UW
Koh, H.S., Chew, Y., & Ng, X. 2010. Submarine
Vehicles Symposium.
Rescue and Its Challenges, 2010. www.dsta.gov.sg.
Strickrott, W., & Tarantino, A. 2018. Alvin
Kohnen, C. 2018. Overview of SEAmagine’s
operations and 6500 meter conversion over-
HOV pilot training performed for Argentinian
view. In: Underwater Intervention ‘18, MTS
Coast Guard in 2017. In: Underwater Inter-
Manned UW Vehicles Symposium.
vention ‘18, MTS Manned UW Vehicles
Symposium. Tarantino, A. 2018. Personal communication.
WHOI, www.whoi.edu.
Kohnen, W. 2017. Manned underwater ve-
hicles operations consensus standard. In: Pro- Tate, A. 2017, October 03. Chinese Rescue
ceedings of 4th ASME/USCG Workshop on Submersible Attaches to Foreign Submarine

UPCOMING MTS JOURNAL ISSUES CALL FOR PAPERS
The MTS Journal
November/December 2018 includes technical
Advancing Oil Spill Technology: papers, notes and
Beyond the Horizon commentaries
Guest editors: Dana Yoerger, Steve Murawski, of general interest in
and Liesl Hotaling
most issues.
Contact Managing Editor
January/February 2019
Amy Morgante
General Issue
([email protected])
if you have material you
would like considered.
Specifications for
submitting a manuscript
are on the MTS website
under the Publications menu.
www.mtsociety.org
E-mail:
[email protected]
Or visit our homepage at

Check the Society website for future Journal topics.
www.mtsociety.org
www.mtsociety.org
STATEMENT OF OWNERSHIP
Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation Average No. No. Copies of d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail)
(Required by 39 U.S.C. 3685) Copies Each Single Issue 1. Outside-country as Stated on Form 3541 0 0
1. Publication Title: Marine Technology Society Journal Issues During Published 2. In-County as Stated on Form 3541 0 0
2. Publication Number: 0025-3324 Preceding 12 Nearest to 3. Other Classes Mailed Through the USPS 0 15
3. Filing Date: 9/10/18 Months Filing Date 4. Free Distribution Outside the Mail 25 0
4. Issue Frequency: Bi-monthly a. Total Number of Copies (Net Press Run) 500 475 e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution
5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 6 b. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail) (Sum of 15d) 25 15
6. Annual Subscription Price: $232.50 Domestic; $250 Foreign 1. Mailed Outside-Country Paid Subscriptions f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) 475 420
7- 8. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication Stated on PS Form 3541 (include paid g. Copies not Distributed 25 55
and Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher (Not distribution above normal rate, advertiser’s h. Total (sum of 15f and g) 500 475
printer): Marine Technology Society, 1100 H Street NW, LL-100, proof copies, and exchange copies) 400 380 i. Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100) 94.7% 96.4%
Washington, DC 20005 2. Mailed In-County Paid Subsriptions 16. Electronic Copy Circulation
9. Publisher: Marine Technology Society, 1100 H Street NW, LL-100, Stated On form 3541 (include advertiser’s a. Paid Electronic Copies 60 50
Washington, DC 20005; Editor: Emily Ralston & Kelli Hunsucker, MTS, proof and exchange copies) 0 0 b. Total Paid Print Copies
1100 H Street NW, LL-100, Washington, DC 20005; Managing Editor: 3. Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 510 455
Amy Morgante, 1100 H Street NW, LL-100, Washington, DC 20005 Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and c. Total Print Distribution
10. Owner: Marine Technology Society, 1100 H Street NW, LL-100, Other Non-USPS Distribution 0 0 (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) 535 470
Washington, DC 20005 4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of d. Percent Paid (Both Print & Electronic Copies)
11. Known Bondholders, Mortgagees, and Other Security Holders Mail Through the USPS 50 25 (16b divided by 16c times 100) 95.3% 96.8%
Owning or Holding 1 Percent or More of Total Amount of Bonds, c. Total Paid Distribution (sum of 15b, (1), (2), 17. Publication Statement of Ownership will be printed in the
Mortgages, or Other Securities: None (3) and (4) 450 405 Vol. 52, No. 5 issue of this publication, SEPT/OCT 2018.
12. Tax Status: Has Not Changed During Preceding 12 Months I certify that 50% of all my distributed copies (electronic and print)
13. Publication Title: Marine Technology Society Journal are paid above a nominal price. I certify that the statements above
14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: JULY/AUG 2018 made by me are correct and complete. Amy Morgante
Marine Technology Society Member Organizations
GOLD MEMBERS BUSINESS MEMBERS Poseidon Offshore Mining, Oslo, Norway
ABCO Subsea, Houston, Texas Aerolift eXpress LLC, Houston, Texas QPS, Portsmouth, New Hampshire
AFGlobal Corporation, Houston, Texas Anekonnect Inc., Northridge, California R2Sonic, LLC, Austin, Texas
BMT Scientific Marine Services Inc., Houston, Texas Ashtead Technology Offshore, Inc., Houston, Texas Remote Ocean Systems, Inc., San Diego, California
Boeing Company, Arlington, VA ASV, LLC, Broussard, Louisiana Rio Engineering, Austin, Texas
C-MAR Group, Houston, Texas Atlantis Deep Sea Ltd, Valletta, Malta RJE International, Irvine, California
Compass Publications, Inc., Arlington, Virginia Austal USA, Washington, DC Rolls Royce Marine North America, Walpole, Massachusetts
Deloitte & Touche, LLP, Houston, Texas Baker Marine Solutions, Mandeville, Louisiana Rowe Technologies Inc., Poway, California
DNV GL, Houston, Texas Bastion Technologies, Inc., Houston, Texas SeaLandAire Technologies, Inc., Jackson, Mississippi
EMAS AMC, Houston, Texas BioSonics, Inc., Seattle, Washington SEATECHRIM, Moscow Oblast, Russia
Fluor Offshore Solutions, Sugar Land, Texas Blade Offshore Services Ltd., Gosforth, Newcastle Sonardyne, Inc., Houston, Texas
Forum Energy Technologies, Houston, Texas upon Tyne, UK Soundnine, Inc., Redmond, WA
Fugro Pelagos, Inc., San Diego, California The Boeing Company, Arlington, Virginia Stress Engineering Services, Inc., Houston, Texas
Fugro USA, Houston, Texas Braemar Engineering, Houston, Texas SURF Subsea, Inc., Magnolia, Texas
Fugro USA Marine, Lafayette, Louisiana C-LARs LLC, Bryan, Texas TALON Technical Sales, Inc., Houston, Texas
Geospace Offshore Cables, Houston, Texas CLS America, Lanham, MD Tension Member Technology, Huntington Beach,
GE Energy Power Conversion, Houston, Texas Continental Shelf Associates, Palm City, Florida California
Glenair, Inc., Glendale, California Deepsea Technologies, Houston, TX Triton Submarines LLC, Vero Beach, Florida
Guidance Marine, Leicester, Leicestershire, UK Deepwater Rental and Supply, New Iberia, Louisiana Ultra Deep, LLC, Houston, Texas
Harris Corporation, Melbourne, Florida DPI Pte Ltd., Singapore Unitech International, Houston, Texas
Hydroid, LLC, Pocasset, Massachusetts Energy Sales, Redmond, Washington
Innerspace Corporation, Covina, California Enviro-Tech Diving Inc., Woodinville, Washington INSTITUTIONAL MEMBERS
INTECSEA, Houston, Texas Falmat, Inc., San Marcos, California CLS America, Inc., Lanham, Maryland
Interspace, Houston, Texas Forum Subsea Rentals, Houston, Texas Consortium for Ocean Leadership, Washington, DC
JFD, Glasgow, UK GAMbIT Marine Solutions, Alexandria, Virginia Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and
Klein Marine Systems, Inc., Salem, New Hampshire General Dynamics Mission Systems, Pittsfield, Innovation, St. John’s, Newfoundland
Kongsberg Maritime, Inc., Houston, Texas Massachusetts and Labrador, Canada
Lockheed Martin Sippican, Marion, Massachusetts Global Marine Consultants and Surveyors, Ltd, Fundação Homem do Mar, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
MacArtney, Inc., Houston, Texas Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, UK Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Fort Pierce,
Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Co. Ltd., Tokyo, GMC Inc., Houston, Texas Florida
Japan Greensea, Richmond, Vermont International Seabed Authority, Kingston, Jamaica
Oceaneering Advanced Technologies, Hanover, Maryland GRI Simulations Inc., Mount Pearl, Newfoundland Jeju Sea Grant Center, Jeju-City, South Korea
Oceaneering International, Inc., Houston, Texas and Labrador, Canada Marine Institute, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada
OceanWorks International, Houston, Texas Horizon Marine, Inc., Marion, Massachusetts Matthew Fontaine Maury Oceanographic Library,
Oil States Industries, Inc., Arlington, Texas INSPIRE Environmental, Newport, Rhode Island NAVOCEANO, Stennis Space Center, Mississippi
Phoenix International Holdings, Inc., Largo, Maryland INSTALL marine survey, Naples, Italy Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing,
Quest Offshore Resources, Sugar Land, Texas Integral Consulting Inc., Annapolis, Maryland California
Saipem America, Houston, Texas Kongsberg Maritime Contros/Embient, Kiel, Germany NOAA/PMEL, Seattle, Washington
SBM Offshore, Houston, Texas Liquid Robotics, Sunnyvale, California Oceangate Inc., Everett, Washington
Schilling Robotics, LLC, Davis, California Linden Photonics, Inc., Westford, Massachusetts Schmidt Ocean Institute, Lake Forest Park, Washington
Schottel, Inc., Houma, Louisiana London Offshore Consultants, Inc., Houston, Texas Stockton University, Port Republic, New Jersey
SEACON, El Cajon, California M3 Marine Expertise Pte Ltd., Singapore University of Massachusetts–Dartmouth, New Bedford,
Sebastion AS, Ulsteinvik, Norway Makai Ocean Engineering, Inc., Kailua, Hawaii Massachusetts
SonTek/YSI Inc., San Diego, California Marinevinylfabric.com, St. Paul, Minnesota
South Bay Cable Corp., Idyllwild, California Maritime Applied Physics Corporation, Baltimore, MD
Southwest Electronic Energy Group, Stafford, Texas Maritime Assurance & Consulting Ltd., Aberdeen,
Stress Engineering Services, Inc., Houston, Texas United Kingdom
Technip, Houston, Texas Matthews-Daniel Company, Houston, Texas
Teledyne Marine Systems, North Falmouth, Massachusetts Northwest Technical Solutions, LLC, Houston, Texas
Trimble, Inc., Westminster, Colorado OceanGate, Inc., Everett, Washington
Universal Pegasus International, Houston, Texas Offshore Analysis & Research Solutions (OARS), LLC,
Vencore, Inc., Stennis Space Center, Mississippi Austin, Texas
Wartsila Corporation, Houston, Texas Okeanus Science & Technology, LLC, Redmond,
Washington
The Marine Technology Society gratefully acknowledges the critical support of the Corporate, Business, and Institutional members listed.
Member organizations have aided the Society substantially in attaining its objectives since its inception in 1963.
Postage for periodicals
is paid at Washington, DC
1100 H Street NW, Suite LL-100 and additional mailing offices.
Washington, DC 20005

Vol. 52.5 State of Technology Report 2018

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Vol. 52.5 State of Technology Report 2018

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Vol. 52.5 State of Technology Report 2018

Uploaded by

Copyright:

What are some of the topics covered in the journal?

What are some of the topics covered in the journal?

What organizations are mentioned as members of the Marine Technology Society?

What organizations are mentioned as members of the Marine Technology Society?

Jou

State of Technology Report 2018

MTS International Buoy Workshop

State of Technology Report 2018

The Teledyne Marine Imaging group provides a range of high

Visit www.teledynemarine.com to learn more.

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 5

State of Technology Report:

T oday’s marine technology is riding a wave of innovation spurred by advances in con-

Advances in Consumer Technologies

6 Marine Technology Society Journal

Competition in Military and Defense

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 7

8 Marine Technology Society Journal

Efﬁciencies to Improve Proﬁt Margins

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 9

Other Emerging Developments

10 Marine Technology Society Journal

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 11

12 Marine Technology Society Journal

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 13

Flynt, J. 2017. A detailed history of 3D printing. 3D Insider. Available at: https://3dinsider.com/3d-printing-

Heckman, J. 2018. DARPA: Next-generation artiﬁcial intelligence in the works. FederalNewsRadio.com.

14 Marine Technology Society Journal

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 15

StormGeo. 2018. Ship Routing Services. Available at: http://www.stormgeo.com/solutions/shipping/ship-

16 Marine Technology Society Journal

Ocean Economic Potential

T he economic potential from the

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 17

18 Marine Technology Society Journal

Blue Economy of India and Technology

O ceans, with an estimated asset

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 19

20 Marine Technology Society Journal

Shore Line Protection

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 21

City is being undertaken with a pro-

FIGURE 7 Coral Reef Monitoring

22 Marine Technology Society Journal

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 23

24 Marine Technology Society Journal

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 25

Venkatesan, R. 2017. Real time data from

Venkatesan, R., Arul Muthiah, M., Ramesh, K.,

Venkatesan, R., & Vedachalam, N. 2018.

26 Marine Technology Society Journal

New Dynamic Positioning Reference System

Autonomy involves a range of ings and conditions

ing degree of human intervention. ■ Mission and meeting security challenges

levels of autonomy, but it is important ■ Project manager and adaptation

sarily mean unmanned. Autonomy is ■ Management to the operating environment

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 27

28 Marine Technology Society Journal

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 29

30 Marine Technology Society Journal

Cybersecurity: A Deep Dive Into the Abyss

T o understand the complexity and

September/October 2018 Volume 52 Number 5 31