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.