Our oceans are the life support system for life on Earth. From transportation and recreation to climate moderation and the literal air we breathe, our oceans and seas are fundamental to our existence and our economy. This isn’t new information.
What is new and novel are the ways we’re interacting with our oceans, which are facing unprecedented threats. We have governments, companies and NGOs innovating in direct response to challenges of pollution, climate change and other threats. We’re trying to protect our blue planet.
June 8 is World Ocean Day. First proposed two decades ago, World Ocean Day seeks to rally the world for ocean and climate action to preserve our blue planet.
In recognition of World Ocean Day, we’re highlighting a handful of our customers from the Marine and Offshore industry.
Ashored: designing more sustainable fishing gear
The team at Ashored wanted to develop better fishing gear that could help avoid often-deadly entanglements of whales and other marine life that get caught in the lines connecting floating bouys to traps on down on the ocean floor.
Using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform, they’ve come up with a “wire-less” trap that keeps the lines out of the water column and allows marine life to pass unimpeded. The way it works is they actually contain the rope down next to the trap and when the fishermen approach the buoy, they send a signal down through the water that activates a release and calls the line to the surface so they can haul it in.
C-Cell: using biomimicry to protect nature
To fight ocean erosion, C-Cell has come up with a solution to grow barriers that reduce the impact of waves and help protect beaches and the coastal communities that rely on them.
The biomimetic solution mimics coral reefs – nature’s own solution to slowing powerful waves – uses renewable energy to form rock around a steel structure, around which corals and oysters can grow. While natural reefs take thousands of years to form, C-Cell is able to build an effective barrier over the course of a couple of months.
MerConcept: re-thinking sustainable marine mobility
A project driven by passion and engineered to fly, MerConcept’s SVR-LAZARTIGUE trimaran was developed using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform on cloud.
“MerConcept is about passion,” said François Gabart, founder of MerConcept and SVR-LAZARTIGUE skipper. “It’s a passion for the sea, the wind, and the waves – harnessing their power to go ever faster. It’s a passion for boats, which have made ocean racing my professional career.” Beyond racing, MerConcept is building on its ambition to harness its expertise in racing for the greater benefit of the global maritime industry, including setting up a sustainable innovation laboratory.
University of Adelaide: equipping students with digital skills
The University of Adelaide in Australia teaches students digital skills using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform. A few exciting projects include an autonomous underwater vehicle (UAV) that mimics a cuttlefish and the Australian Research & Experimental Submarine (ARES).
The UAV, digitally modeled as part of a recent team of mechanical engineering students’ final Honors project, can travel underwater without disrupting environment. Potential uses span multiple applications, such as marine surveillance and environmental research. The ARES project has two key purposes: Developing a reconfigurable model submarine to be used for research and teaching; and training the workforce, mostly students, in the shipbuilding lifecycle and the activities required to design, build and support a submarine.
Learn more about how the University of Adelaide is using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to give students digital skills and complete state-of-the-art projects.
HHI: eco-friendly engine manufacturing
One of the world’s largest marine engine manufacturers with a 35% share of the global marine engine market, Hyundai Heavy Industries – Engine and Machinery Division (HHI-EMD) is one of the companies leading the sustainability effort to hit the International Maritime Organization’s targets. HHI-EMD, which has its own mid-sized engine brand HiMSEN, has recently shifted its attention to dual-fuel engines. These engines run on both liquid and alternative eco-friendly fuels such as liquefied natural gas (LNG), allowing them to run more efficiently and reduce pollutants.
Learn how HHI-EMD is using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to support efforts to manufacture more eco-friendly engines.
Patrick Ball Patrick is a Senior Communications Manager on the Corporate Publishing team here at Dassault Systèmes. An experienced journalist, marketer, speechwriter and storyteller, Patrick's words have appeared on pages and stages around the world.