Oceaneering was chosen by the Office of Naval Research to conduct technology studies in support of the Navy’s HiCASS Concept, a key component of its offshore floating port Sea Base Project. Sea Base ships would eliminate the need for the Navy to secure foreign ports for supply lines. Oceaneering will use the Siemens equipment to test theories for moving large containers between ships at sea. The energy storage capabilities of the new system will provide the large amounts of power required to move the containers, reducing the draw from the ship’s grid.

The scope of the contract includes the delivery of a drive system, programmable logic controller, and an energy storage system all as one integrated solution in a 30ft container. Siemens will also provide the motors, brakes and gearboxes and be responsible for the mechanical integration of the system with the customer’s winch drum.