Underwater Intervention Archives
Asian Companies and Govt. Agencies Expand Underwater Search Capabilities
Over the past year a number of Asian companies and government agencies have acquired underwater search equipment to aid in the location of lost objects and assist in performing survey operations. In China, Guangzhou Advanced Maritime Academy has added a remote operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to their program.
Reforms and opening to the outside world have paved the way for development of the country's shipping industry. The throughput of cargo and containers at China's ports has been the largest in the world for the past five years with an annual growth rate of 35%.
The mission of the academy is to train people to work in this burgeoning field using the latest technology. ROVs are now routinely employed in ports for inspection of ship hulls and propulsion systems. They are also used to appraise the integrity of piers, seawalls, and other underwater structures. The underwater vehicle the academy selected is the SeaLionmade by JW Fishers Mfg. 
Main photo: Daekee Marine's team deploys the TOV-1 towed video, Inset photo; Side scan image of harbor bottom littered with tires, pipes, and debris
Another Chinese agency buying underwater search equipment is Tianjin Science Instruments and Equipment Corp. The state run firm is responsible for supplying equipment to the vast array of government agencies within the province. Recently the company acquired a dual frequency side scan sonar from JW Fishers.
The system consists of a towfish with 100K and 600K transducers mounted on each side, 100 meters of tow cable, and a laptop computer running Sonar View software. The side scan produces detailed images of the bottom of a river, lake, or ocean. The sonar allows the system operator to see the make up of the bottom (i.e.rocks, sand, mud) and any objects lying there, regardless of water clarity. The sonar can perform a variety of functions from mapping navigable waterways, to searching for sunken vessels, and locating drowning victims.
In Korea, Sonar Tech Co Ltd, a pioneer in the design and manufacture of equipment for underwater research is using a PR-1 acoustic receiver made by Fishers. The receiver helps find towed equipment that may become entangled on the bottom and separates from the umbilical. It also allows measuring instruments anchored to the seafloor to be quickly and easily relocated. The PR-1 pinpoints the exact position of the missing device by detecting a signal transmitted by an acoustic pinger attached to the equipment. The receiver can either be deployed from a boat or carried by a diver, and is capable of detecting the acoustic signal at hundreds of meters away.
Korea's Daekee Marine Corp. is a member of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation. The company manufactures marine lighting systems, installs aids to navigation, and is involved in the construction of lighthouses. An essential tool routinely used in performing this work is the TOV-1 towed underwater video unit obtained from JW Fishers. The system is compact enough to fit in a small boat and be deployed by one person, but robust enough to withstand the rigors of a commercial operation. Daekee can survey the ocean bottom in areas where navigation buoys are deployed to ensure the mooring system is stable and secure. Using the VRM-1 video monitor with built-in video recorder purchased with the system, Daekee is able to record the entire survey operation and provide a DVD complete with position coordinates, text overlay, and audio commentary.
To read the more about JW Fishers underwater underwater search systems go to www.jwfishers.com.
Special Forces Rely on Mariscope ROV’s
Mariscope Meerestechnik recently sold three ROVs to the Austrian Military (1) and German Police (2) through their representative AQUALUNG Europe.
All three vehicles are of the model FO II, each specially equipped following the needs of the clients. Since most of the tasks the ROVs have to fulfill are search and recovery, the FO II is equipped with sonar and tracking devices, as well as special cameras and lighting, manipulators, and more.
Different from most other competitors, Mariscope manufactures the ROVs with stainless steel frames and housings, in order to make them applicable in every environment. Coupled with a unique life time warranty in this market, these vehicles will now be acquired also by other special forces in Europe.
Not only in Europe special forces are using Mariscope ROVs. In South America, Mariscope Ingenieria, based in Chile, is cooperating with the Argentinean and Chilean Army, Coast Guard, Civil Protection and Police Corps. The Armada Argentina purchased a Diavolo II ROV and the same did the Prefectura Naval (Argentina´s Coast Guard). In December 2011 the Prefectura Naval additionally ordered a Special ROV (modified Comander MKII ) with 2 hydraulic manipulators.
In Chile, Mariscope provides permanent service related to search and recovery tasks with local authorities. Due to the many severe problems along the country, related with marine accidents, earth quakes and volcanic activities, Mariscope Ingeniería during the last 10 years was involved in an important number of rescue tasks, using the german ROVs with an enormous success due to their reliability.
Bluefin Spray Glider Completes Two-Month Shallow Op at Pulley Ridge
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“The Spray Glider is an ideal platform for ocean monitoring over large areas and in diverse environments. This mission took place in shallow water; the next one will be in waters close to a mile deep. The Spray Glider’s combination of endurance, depth-capability, reliability and payload capacity fills the exact needs of oceanographic research and monitoring,” said Fraser Dalgleish, Ph.D., Director of the Ocean Visibility and Optics Lab at HBOI. “The data acquired are providing valuable information about the large scale distribution of plankton and larval populations and the next mission will allow us to venture into much deeper waters with two Spray units to also determine background hydrocarbon levels around these deep coral reef ecosystems.” The deployment was in support of the Florida Shelf Edge Exploration (FLOSEE-II) expedition led by HBOI. The expedition objectives were to locate and characterize coral reefs that are so deep that natural light barely reaches them. The scientists focused on coral communities and commercial fish species on these reefs. They also collected data about the effectiveness of marine managed areas for ecosystem restoration, and took samples to test for the presence of hydrocarbons. Results of this cruise will be presented by HBOI researchers at The American Geophysical Union’s Ocean Sciences Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah in February 2012. |
SMD's Ultra-Compact Atom ROV Goes Into Production
The SMD Atom Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) goes into production with two systems ordered for early 2012. Both systems will be 100 hp models and include Tether Management Systems (TMS), A-frame launch and recovery systems (LARS) & winches and control cabins. 
The Atom is an Ultra Compact hydraulic vehicle available with either 60 hp or 100 hp of onboard power. It uses the latest versions of Curvetech components & DVECS II control system, as used in the larger Quasar and Quantum vehicles. Despite it’s compact footprint, it comes with full size 7-function and 5-function manipulators.
SMD is the only work-class ROV manufacturer to design and build a full range of LARS and associated deck equipment, thus simplifying the ownership of an vehicle spread. Training, spares and technical support are provided through SMD’s Houston, Macae, Singapore and Newcastle facilities.
SMD, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of remote operated intervention equipment, will be exhibiting at the Subsea Survey & IRM show in Houston from Dec. 13 – 15th at stand 107 and hosting a ‘Games Night’ hospitality on the evening of Wednesday 14th.
US ROVs Invade South America
Subsea Engineering in Santiago, Chile is one of many South American enterprises and military establishments adding ROVs in an effort to expand their operational capabilities. The company offers a complete package of design and construction services including the building of pipelines and installation of submarine power and communications cables. Owner Pedro Campos is a certified Naval and Marine Engineer, and a member of the International Association of Diving Contractors. Campos says “performing underwater operations in my country is complex and challenging. We have the Los Andes Ridge in the east and deep trenches in the west. Along the coast, great depths are reached rapidly and sophisticated diving equipment is required with the associated extra-cost. An ROV is an essential tool for working in these environments.” The company purchased a JW Fishers SeaLion ROV to assist in their projects as it has the power and depth rating required to operate there. A scanning sonar was added to help the ROV operator navigate the vehicle in the area’s low visibility waters.
Photo – Chile’s Fernando Landeta of Landmarine (r) with Fisher SeaOtter ROV; Top inset – Ecuador’s Edwin Ortega with his new SeaOtter-2 ROV at Fishers factory; Center inset; Chile’s Pedro Campos of Subsea Engineering with his SeaLion ROV in crash cage
Another marine engineering firm in Chile that has added an ROV is Landmarine Ltda. Landmarine’s owner, Fernando Landeta, is certified in trimix and rebreather diver and served as one of the scientific divers on an expedition to recover the bell from the German cruiser Dresden sunk in 200 feet of water in 1915 near the Chilean island of Mas a Tierra (today known as Robinson Crusoe island). Landmarine offers a variety of services including underwater inspection and repair. “We acquired a Fishers SeaOtter ROV to help in these operations”, says Landeta. “The ROV dramatically reduces in-water time of the diver and sometimes completely eliminates the need to dive.” The company recently added a Pulse 8X handheld underwater metal detector to aid in their search and recovery work.
Next door in Argentina is Prefectura Naval (PNA), a branch of the country’s Interior Ministry with a mission similar to the US Coast Guard. Like the USCG, PNA’s job is to protect the country’s rivers and maritime territory. Part of their responsibility is ensuring safety and security in Argentina’s ports. PNA routinely inspects inbound and outbound ships to prevent smuggling of drugs or other illegal cargos, and to make sure the vessels are not polluting local waters. To aid in these operations Prefertura Naval purchased a SeaLion ROV. The highly maneuverable underwater vehicle can quickly and easily inspect the hull of vessel in search of secret compartments and looking for discharge of fuel or other fluids.
On the other side of the continent the Brazilian Navy is using a SeaLion-2, Fishers’ newest ROV model. Brazil’s Navy is the largest in Latin America with 60,000 active personnel, 100 commissioned ships including 5 submarines, and 89 aircraft. With its two cameras and four powerful thrusters, the new compact ROV gives the Navy the ability to perform immediate in-water inspections of a ship’s hull or propulsion system, even in open ocean. Having the ROV also allows instant inspection of any of the underwater structures or vessels at the more than a dozen Navy bases throughout the country.
Over in Ecuador, the GDC Dive Center and Submarine Activities Cdla Miraflores has added a new SeaOtter-2 to assist in their underwater operations. One of the principals in the business is Edwin Ortega, an officer in the Ecuadorian Navy and a man with extensive diving experience. He reports the ROV will be used for recreational applications such as inspecting new diving sites for the dive center, and also for commercial projects such as inspection of seawalls, piers, bridge supports, and other underwater structures.
Up in Venezuela construction conglomerate Trime C.A. used their SeaLion to inspect a 305 meter long dam in a water depth of 50 meters. Company spokesman Bertram Buhl reports, "the ROV allowed us to inspect the entire face of the dam without once deploying a diver. Trime also acquired one of Fishers high intensity underwater lights system which was attached to a drop camera to assist in the operation.
For more information on Fishers ROVs or any of their extensive line of underwater search systems go to www.jwfishers.com.
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