International
April 2008 IssueSpanish Research Council Purchases New
SeaSoar System for RV Sarmiento de Gamboa
West Molesey, England-based Chelsea Technologies Group (CTG) is pleased to announce delivery of a new SeaSoar towed undulating system to CSIC (Madrid, Spain) for its new vessel, RV Sarmiento de Gamboa. This SeaSoar has been fitted with a Seabird Electronics (Bellevue, Washington) SBE911 conductivity, temperature, depth sensor.
The SeaSoar will provide CSIC with the capability to gather oceanographic data from near the surface to depths of 500 meters while moving at speeds up to 12 knots, according to the company.
The sale was secured by CTG representatives EMS SL (Malaga, Spain), who will be adding further instrumentation within the vehicle, including a Brooke Ocean Technologies (Dartmouth, Canada) laser optical plankton counter, illustrating the versatility of the SeaSoar payload area within the vehicle, the company said. The new vessel was launched during summer 2007, and the first mission is set for 2008.
This sale follows an increased interest in the SeaSoar, according to the company, with recent sales of two systems to EPSHOM (Brest, France) and a major SeaSoar upgrade for Scripps Institute of Oceanography. For more information, visit www.chelsea.co.uk.
IXSEA Delivers PHINS 6000 Navigation Units to NCS Survey
IXSEA (Marley-le-Roi, France) has announced the sale of two PHINS 6000 units to NCS Survey (Westhill, Scotland).
PHINS 6000, with a Doppler velocity log-ready option, is a subsea inertial navigation system, providing subsea vehicles with position, true heading, attitude, speed and heave, said IXSEA. NCS Survey will use PHINS 6000 for trenching, seabed leveling and remotely operated vehicle-related survey projects.
“We are delighted with this latest sale, as it enables NCS to enhance their subsea positioning operations with a solution which will save them time, whilst improving their overall accuracy,” said Ed Cheesman, technical sales manager for IXSEA.
“Inertial navigation is at the forefront of survey technology, improving positioning accuracies and strengthening the capabilities of the survey sector,” said Alan McDonald, engineering manager for NCS Survey. “NCS selected IXSEA’s PHINS system due to its proven reliability and the ease with which it can be interfaced with other survey sensors.” For more information, visit www.ixsea.com.
WHPacific Inc. First in the Americas To Take Delivery of LYNX Mobile Mapper
Optech Inc. (Vaughan, Canada) announced last month that WHPacific Inc. (Anchorage, Alaska) will be the first North American firm to take delivery of Optech’s new LYNX Mobile Mapper™. WHPacific chose Optech’s LYNX Mobile Mapper to complement its land, precision control, boundary, mapping and hydrographic surveying services. “Given the experience WHPacific has with such precision technologies as GPS [global positioning system] and 3D laser scanners, we are excited to have them as the first U.S. company to take delivery of the LYNX Mobile Mapper,” said Brent Gelhar, vice president of sales and product strategy for Optech. Andy Potts, WHPacific’s survey manager, pointed to his company’s corporate mission to be recognized by their clients and within the industry as a leader in customer responsiveness, satisfaction and quality. “The LYNX system will allow us to continue to provide civil engineering and survey services to our clients at efficiencies and quality that are unparalleled,” he said. “This equipment reduces our crew size requirements, increases productivity and vastly broadens our survey capabilities. For our clients, this means fast, accurate and cost-effective surveying services.” For more information, visit www.whpacific.com.
Marport Receives R&D Assistance From National Research Council Canada
Marport (St. John’s, Canada) recently announced that it has signed a contribution agreement with the National Research Council Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC-IRAP) that will provide the company with technical research and development (R&D) assistance in the form of advisory services, networking and monetary assistance. Under the terms of the agreement, Marport will develop signal and image processing capabilities for next-generation sonar systems. The objective is to develop the tools necessary to enable high-resolution sonar imaging through a synthetic aperture approach, including advanced signal shaping and beam-forming techniques for a multitude of applications, according to company representatives. Marport is already integrating a patented 3D-imaging sonar with the company’s software-defined sonar (SDS) technology. Marport is a developer of SDS technology—an adaptive, future-proof solution for subsea sensing and communications, they said. With SDS, one common platform replaces fixed hardware with programmable components that are controlled by software. “We are very pleased to be receiving assistance from NRC-IRAP,” Karl Kenny, Marport’s president and chief executive officer, said. “NRC is recognized globally as a leader in the development of an innovative, knowledge-based economy for Canada through science and technology. Their participation in this project provides us with a significant boost in resources that will allow us to complete this project in a timely manner.” The Marport contribution agreement involves a financial contribution of $498,300 from NRC-IRAP covering three fiscal years, from 2007 to 2010. For more information, visit www.marport.com.
UKHO Global Initiative to Strengthen Ties with Distributors
In a major initiative to strengthen ties with its global network of distributors, the U.K. Hydrographic Office (UKHO) has been undertaking an extensive series of worldwide seminars for its unique network of more than 140 Admiralty distributors, representatives from the organization said. Spread across 54 countries, the distributors act on behalf of the UKHO to support mariners worldwide. The Admiralty Partnering Programme was introduced with the aim of reinforcing trading links and to help support the growing portfolio of Admiralty digital navigational products. Led by UKHO partnership manager John Dawson and international sales manager Guy Edwards, the program demands a significant investment from the UKHO, with two-day training seminars arranged across three continents, the UKHO said. So far, events have been held in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Birmingham and London, England; Singapore; Shanghai, China; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. “These sessions are a vital component of our distributor support mechanisms, ensuring the best possible customer service and product knowledge,” Dawson said. For more information, visit www.ukho.gov.uk.
World’s First Commercial-Scale Tidal Stream Turbine Installed
Bristol, England-based Marine Current Turbines (MCT) deployed its 1.2-megawatt SeaGen Tidal System in Strangford Narrows, Northern Ireland, last month. Producing enough clean energy for 1,000 homes (when fully operational), this will be the first commercial-scale tidal stream turbine installed and operating anywhere in the world, said the company. It will generate one of the most environmentally friendly forms of energy—it makes no noise, is almost completely below the surface, never runs out and has zero emissions—MCT continued. A British invention, SeaGen will be installed by the crane barge Rambiz, operated by Scaldis (Antwerp, Belgium) and overseen by MCT’s own in-house engineering team in partnership with SeaRoc Ltd. (Brighton, England). For more information, visit www.marineturbines.com.
ETS Invests in Sonardyne Technology to
Support Customers in Deepwater Operations
Houston, Texas-based Equipment and Technical Services (ETS) Inc. recently made a commitment to supporting its customers’ deepwater operations with a purchase of Sonardyne Wideband® Compatt 5 transponders, the company said. ETS will now have the capability to supply operators in the Gulf of Mexico with high-accuracy, long-baseline positioning equipment for construction survey applications in water depths up to 5,000 meters, according to the company. This order for Compatt 5s complements ETS’s existing inventory of Sonardyne equipment, which includes ROVNav 5 transceivers, rated to 7,000 meters. Both products incorporate Sonardyne’s wideband technology. The fast position update rate and immunity to signal interference offered by the wideband digital technology has been shown to overcome the problems commonly experienced with conventional analogue acoustic positioning systems, Sonardyne representatives said. “By investing in appropriate acoustic positioning technology now, ETS will be ready to supply the rental market with the products it needs, whatever the water depth,” ETS vice president Mike Knight said. For more information, visit www.ets-houston.com.
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