The National Research Council (NRC) has announced a new R&D program aimed at reducing the operating costs and safety of marine vessels such as fuel tankers and cargo ships. The Marine Vehicles program is budgeted at approximately $8 million over five years with anticipated attributable economic impact of up to $70 million. The program is the second of three being launched through the NRC's Ocean, Coastal and River Engineering portfolio (R$, September 8/14). It will focus on technologies such as auto-pilot and roll stabilizers, improved monitoring and analysis systems for vessels, training simulators, advanced controls for unmanned marine vehicles and design tools for ice-class and inshore vessels. One fifth of undiscovered oil and gas lies beneath the Arctic and Atlantic oceans....