a bit unpredictable. Icebergs are a specialty at the Marine Institute's Marine Simulation Center, where vessel operators, shipping companies and offshore oil and gas companies learn about working in hostile ocean environments. "Our particular expertise is in modeling harsh environments, navigating in ice, operating in high sea states, and iceberg management," says Captain Anthony Patterson, Director of the Marine Simulation Center. "We are fortunate because we have people here who are experienced in ice navigation, and we have a community that can model the problem. "It's a natural thing for people who sail out of Newfoundland and Labrador to be exposed to bad conditions on a regular basis. Our role is to get people prepared to operate in these kinds of conditions." The center works closely with Memorial's engineering faculty and the Institute for Ocean Technology, raising the bar of excellence and putting the latest scientific research to work in its simulation facilities. "We don't want people learning something in the simulator and then going into the real world and that's not how the real world worked, we don't want that," says Patterson, who knows about real world conditions on the high seas from his days as an officer in the Canadian Coast Guard. "We have a very good program, and the word is out." The center's facilities and expertise attract people from across North America, and more Europeans are also sign-
ing up to learn about operating in the kinds of conditions that exist in the North Atlantic. "We're pushing the envelope quite a bit when it comes to high seas states and ice navigation," says Patterson. "We see simulation as a way of reducing risk."
Canadian Superior Expands Offshore Ops
Canadian Superior Energy Inc. said that its offshore Nova Scotia exploration acreage holdings have increased to 2.59 million net acres with the addition of the EL2412 and EL2413 deepwater blocks previously held by Richland Minerals, Inc. of Southern California. These two blocks have been named the "Falcon" and "Osprey" Blocks, and are EL2412 and EL2413, respectively, and complement Canadian Superior's "Mayflower" (EL2406), "Marauder" (EL2415), "Marconi" (EL2416), "Mariner" (EL2409) and "Marquis" (EL2402) exploration blocks. This now results in Canadian Superior becoming the largest exploration acreage holder offshore Nova Scotia. Canadian Superior as the largest exploration acreage holder offshore Nova Scotia is planning further drilling on its "Mariner" (EL2409) Block near Sable Island later this year. Speaking from Calgary today, Canadian Superior's Chairman, Greg Noval, said, "The new acquisitions also complement Canadian Superior's deepwater holding and as a result of this they should also inspire further deepwater drilling offshore Nova Scotia."
AUVSI-Canada to Promote Canadian Unmanned Systems
Representatives from Canadian defense companies, the Canadian government and academia have formed a national trade organization to promote the advancement and global application of Canadian expertise in the growing field of unmanned vehicle systems. The new organization, known as AUVSI-Canada, affiliated with the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI), is headquartered in Ottawa and will work to establish regional chapters. Its primary focus is to increase awareness of Canada's leading-edge research and capabilities in fielding state-of-the-art technologies and systems in the rapidly growing area of unmanned vehicle systems. The formation of AUVSI-Canada links Canada to AUVSI's initiative to network the global unmanned vehicle systems industry. "Canada will become the model that we use to create similar organizations in Australia, Europe and Asia in an effort to develop stronger ties among the leading organizations in unmanned systems around the world," said Daryl Davidson, executive director of AUVSI. An Advisory Committee has been established to guide the start-up of AUVSI-Canada including its incorporation and development of its charter, governance structure and business plan.
www.auvsi.org 46 MTR May 2007
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