Sonardyne's Scout to Guide MoD Surveys
The UK Ministry of Defence has become the first military organisation to commission Sonardyne International 's new Scout underwater tracking system, which calculates the position of beacon-fitted subsea targets by measuring their ranges and bearings from a vessel mounted transceiver using ultra-short baseline positioning (USBL) methods.
Following successful trials, the portable system is to be used by the MoD's Defence Logistic Organisation's Salvage & Marine Operations Integrated Project Team to track ROVs and divers during surveys of wrecks and aircraft crash sites. It now forms part of the Ministry's salvage equipment inventory for rapid deployment from specialist recovery units at Plymouth and Greenock in Scotland.
Meanwhile, Sonardyne also reports an order for four of its acoustic data logger systems from FMC Kongsberg Subsea of Norway. Featuring the Yateley company's new Fusion wideband technology for acquisition of data via acoustic telemetry at depths down to 3,000m, they are being assigned for operation in the Greater Plutonio offshore field, Angola, where they will store and relay data from downhole pressure and temperature gauges at depths of around 1500m. Comprising six satellite oil fields discovered between 1999 and 2001, Greater Plutonio's exploitation is being managed by BP Angola.
