The meeting has led to Ruco being appointed as the UK distributors for Tuscon, USA based Sonotronics, which has been producing a range of equipment marking pingers for 30 years. The EMT pingers address a gap in the marketplace for an inexpensive method of marking equipment to aid the re-location of items lost in diving and sub-sea operations.

Many in the offshore industries have learned through bitter experience that once a drill string, a 20ft container, an ROV or even a diver is cast adrift, they become virtually impossible to relocate.

The EMT pingers are small, disposable and low-cost ($250 to $500), with a life span of up to 4 years. They are attached to the target using cable ties and activated by removing a magnet which can be replaced once the target is back on the surface, prolonging the battery life even longer.

Should a target be lost, it can be located and tracked from the surface using the Mantrak tracking kit, which takes searchers to near the target, at which point a hand-held or ROV mounted tracking device pinpoints the target. Plans can then be made to recover the target. The pingers can also be used for marking an underwater site, enabling divers to return without difficulty.

This can be especially useful in underwater archaeology, where an object may be found but cannot be removed due to its historical interest or fragile nature. Such sites are often re-buried by sand but a Sonotronics marker would enable re-location even in zero visibility.

MJ Information No: 19418