French connection for new Osiris vessel
UK seabed mapping and coastal survey specialists Osiris Projects of Bromborough in Cheshire have commissioned an Octans gyrocompass/motion sensor and a Hydrins inertial navigation system from iXSea of France.
The installation will be aboard a new 27.5m semi-swathe vessel, Bibby Tethra, which is nearing completion at Socarenam’s yard in Boulogne.
Due for delivery in April, the catamaran type vessel will provide an extremely stable working platform and is expected to operate more like a 60m vessel in terms of seaworthiness and capability due to its hull design.
Ancillary survey equipment already installed includes a C-Nav 3050 GNSS unit, a Reson SeaBat 7125 SV-2 multibeam sonar, a Sonardyne Scout underwater acoustic positioning system, and a Knudsen 320M echosounder.
The vessel will begin operations for UK renewable energy markets, although Osiris Projects also plan to use it in conjunction with AUVs and ROVs for oil and gas industry requirements. The company, which has completed over 50,000 line/km of geophysical data for wind farm sites since 2002, says it has successfully managed to date over 350 contracts throughout the UK and northern Europe using five dedicated survey craft.
Undertakings have ranged from inland surveys to full scale multi-parameter seabed mapping ventures covering hundreds of sq/km of coastal seabed.
