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50 st / March 2015 www.sea-technology.com dimensions needed for calibration, ease of transducer mod- ule production testing and calibration, and ease of construc- tion. Huntington Ingalls Acquires Maker of UUVs Huntington Ingalls Industries (Newport News, Virginia) has acquired the Engineering Solutions Division (ESD), based in Panama City Beach, Florida, of the Columbia Group. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. ESD designs and builds unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). It employs about 30 engineers, analysts, craftsmen and technicians. The company's primary customer is the U.S. Navy. Prevco Ups Testing Capabilities Prevco Subsea LLC (Fountain Hills, Arizona) is increasing its pressure testing capabilities. Following a move in April 2014 to a 30,000-square-foot facility, Prevco is expanding the new building to add a 15,000 psi hydrostatic chamber. The installation took place last December. The vessel was raised above the building and lowered through a hole in the roof, fnally coming to rest on a specially designed mount- ing stand. 'Ocean Enterprise' Survey Completed The Maritime Alliance, (San Diego, California) in con- junction with ERISS Corp. (San Diego), has concluded the frst phase of The Ocean Enterprise: A study of U.S. business activity in ocean measurement, observation and forecasting. Sponsored by the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System, this study will help determine the extent of United States private sector activity in support of ocean measurement, ob- servation and forecasting and the use of ocean information to deliver safety, economic and environmental benefts. Phase one of the study identifed approximately 600 pri- vate sector frms that fall into one of two categories: provid- ers or intermediaries. Makai to Develop Sonobuoy Makai Ocean Engineering Inc. (Kailua, Hawaii) has been awarded a small business innovation research (SBIR) grant focused on developing a new deep-drifting sonobuoy. So- nobuoys consist of a surface foat connected by a tether to a hydrophone array that is used to listen for submarines in the ocean. Sonobuoys with hydrophones that have a short/shal- low tether have a limited listening range. The Navy wishes to develop sonobuoys that use longer tethers that extend 3 miles deep in order to increase the search coverage and detect targets located farther away. Nautilus Partially Pays Charterer's Guarantee, Completes Assembly of Collecting Machine Nautilus Minerals Inc. (Toronto, Canada) has prepaid $10 million of the $18 million charterer's guarantee that was to be provided to Marine Assets Corp. (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) on the commencement of the charter of the vessel to be frst deployed for use at the company's Solwara 1 Project. The mechanical and hydraulic assembly of Nautilus's second of three seafoor production tools, the collecting machine, has been completed and the commissioning of the systems has commenced. Largest Acquisition to Date for Harris Corp. Harris Corp. (Melbourne, Florida) announced plans to acquire Exelis Inc., a $3.3 billion global aerospace and defense company headquartered in McLean, Virginia. The combined company will have approximately $8 billion in annual revenue and employ more than 23,000 people worldwide. This acquisition is the largest in Harris's history, creating a larger business portfolio for long-term growth. Mexico President Commemorates Construction of Tugboats Under an agreement signed with Pemex (Mexico City, Mexico), Mexico's petroleum company, nine Voith (Heiden- heim, Germany) water tractors will be built for use at oil and gas maritime terminals on both coasts of the country. Construction on four of the nine tugboats began after a keel laying ceremony at Mexico's biggest shipyard, Astimar 20, which is located in the port of Salina Cruz on Mexico's Pacifc Coast. Mexico's President, Enrique Peña Nieto, at- tended the ceremony and spoke about the importance of the project for the country. Korean Register Authorized To Deliver Statutory Services in Canada Korean Register (KR), based in Busan, South Korea, has been fully authorized by the Marine Safety and Security Di- vision of Transport Canada to perform statutory services on behalf of the government of Canada. KR is now able to conduct relevant surveys and audits, as well as issue certifcates to Canadian-fagged ships for SO- LAS, MARPOL, ITC, ILL and ISM code. Because of Canada's geography, the administration is particularly active in the Polar Code discussions, and KR believes that this authoriza- tion will assist other KR-classed vessels operating in Arctic waters. Change of Command for US Coast Guard Cutter Coast Guard Cutter Sherman held a change of command ceremony at Coast Guard Base Honolulu. Capt. Aldante Vinciguerra relieved Capt. Kevin A. Jones as commanding offcer of the cutter. Jones will assume command of Rush, which was recently decommissioned. The Coast Guard Cutter Sherman, formerly assigned to San Diego, California, will replace Rush in Honolulu and assume Rush's responsibilities. Rush is the sixth high-endur- ance cutter to be decommissioned, with six remaining in service on the West Coast. Acoustic Test Tank Facility Completed FarSounder (Warwick, Rhode Island) recently completed the fnishing touches on a new test tank facility in the com- pany's main offce. Primary motivation for building the new facility was to increase production productivity, since every sonar unit produced by FarSounder is tank tested and cali- brated before shipment. The previous tank was located in a warehouse about 3 miles from FarSounder's offces. Design constraints for the test tank included room size, minimum ocean business