Bordelon Marine, providers of vessel services to operators in the Gulf of Mexico and around the world, has selected acoustically-aided inertial navigation technology from Sonardyne Inc., Houston, for its new Ultra-Light Intervention Vessel (ULIV), Brandon Bordelon. The dual Ranger 2 Pro DP-INS systems, the highest specification available, will be used to track ROVs during inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) activities and provide an independent position reference for the vessel’s Marine Technologies Class 2 dynamic positioning (DP) system.
The Brandon Bordelon was delivered at the end of 2015 and is currently under a 60 day contract with Tidewater Subsea. Designed to support complex IRM operations, the vessel features a high capacity deep water crane, infrastructure for two Work-class ROVs and a large, reconfigurable back-deck area.
Specialised vessels such as the Brandon Bordelon, conventionally rely on Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL) acoustics and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) as their primary sources of DP reference data. However, a vessel’s station-keeping capability can be compromised in the event that the USBL is affected by thruster aeration or noise and the GNSS signal is simultaneously interrupted. The latter is particularly common around equatorial regions and during periods of high solar radiation.
Sonardyne’s Ranger 2 Pro DP-INS system addresses this operational vulnerability. It aids vessel positioning by exploiting the long term accuracy of Sonardyne’s Wideband 2 acoustic signal technology with high integrity, high update rate inertial measurements. The resulting navigation output has the ability to ride-through short term acoustic disruptions and is completely independent from GNSS.
In addition to the system’s deep water positioning performance and safety benefits, DP-INS has been proven to deliver valuable time and cost savings for vessel owners. It does not need a full seabed array of transponders to be installed and calibrated before subsea operations can commence. For most subsea tasks, positioning specifications can be met with only one or two transponders deployed on the seabed. Additionally, as the system needs only occasional aiding from the acoustics, transponder battery life is substantially increased and the need to task an ROV to deploy and recover transponders for servicing is reduced.
The equipment supplied to Bordelon Marine included Sonardyne’s ship-mounted inertial navigation sensor and two HPT 7000 acoustic transceivers. The HPTs have been installed on the Brandon Bordelon through-hull deployment poles and are optimised for tracking and dynamic positioning in ultra-deep water.
[blockquote author=” Wes Bordelon, President/CEO Bordelon Marine”] “Equipping the Brandon Bordelon with Sonardyne’s Ranger 2 DP-INS, reflects our commitment to providing hi-tech, hi-spec equipment on our fit-for-purpose Stingray vessels and ensuring our fleet is safe, efficient and cost-effective.[/blockquote]
[blockquote author=” Ralph Gall, Technical Sales Manager, Sonardyne Inc”] “Ranger 2 DP-INS is a mature, field proven technology that addresses operators’ need for a robust, independent DP reference that provides an update rate and accuracy on par with GNSS. The Brandon Bordelon joins a significant fleet of vessels which depend upon our acoustically-aided inertial technology for safer and more efficient dynamic positioning operations.”[/blockquote]
For more information on Sonardyne’s Ranger 2 DP-INS click here.
The Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organisation (DALO) has procured high resolution imaging sonar technology from maritime security company, Sonardyne International Ltd, UK to support its country’s Mine Counter Measure activities. The Solstice side-scan sonar will be fitted to Saab Seaeye’s Double Eagle SAROV and used to search for and classify mine-like objects on the seabed.
Denmark’s naval forces are internationally recognised for their expertise in the detection, classification, identification and disposal of mines and ammunition at sea. They conduct both domestic and international operations as part of NATO, and have at their disposal specialised ships, containerised command and control facilities, diving equipment, autonomous surface craft and unmanned underwater vehicles.
Designed for use on a variety of underwater platforms, Solstice is a low-power, compact side-scan sonar that uses full dynamic focus and multi-ping integration techniques to gather high fidelity imagery of the sea floor beneath it, fully corrected for vehicle motion.
Saab Seaeye’s Double Eagle SAROV enables autonomous mine reconnaissance missions over vast areas to be conducted. Using Solstice, operators will now be able to view high definition side-scan imagery and bathymetry in real-time without the need for time-consuming, post-mission data analysis. If a contact is identified, the vehicle is able to deliver a disposal charge before moving away to a safe distance to allow the mine to be destroyed
[blockquote author=” Ross Gooding, Business Development Manager, Sonardyne Maritime Security”] We are delighted that DALO has selected Solstice to support Danish MCM operations. During evaluation trials led by Saab, we were able to demonstrate how its proprietary technologies are able to increase the operational envelope of underwater vehicles by providing wide swath coverage, long endurance and very high resolution imagery.” He added, “We now look forward to supporting DALO during the installation and commissioning phase of project.”[/blockquote]
For more information about Solstice, click here.
Subsea engineering company, Sonardyne International Ltd., UK, has successfully demonstrated its wireless integrity monitoring technologies during a series of in-water demonstrations held at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Lab (NBL) in Houston, Texas.
Hosted by OneSubsea, a Cameron and Schlumberger Company, senior oil company executives, chief engineers, equipment specifiers and offshore operators attended the two-day technical symposium in November to witness first-hand the capabilities of Sonardyne’s and other vendors’ subsea innovations. The event was followed by a further two days of demonstrations organised by underwater vehicle manufacturer, Saab Seaeye, with Sonardyne as its primary technology partner.
Located near NASA’s Johnson Space Centre, the NBL is an underwater training facility used to prepare astronauts for the micro-gravity conditions they will experience in space. At 202 feet long, 101 feet wide and 40 feet deep, and holding 6.2 million gallons of water, the pool is the largest indoor body of water in the world and contains a full size replica of the International Space Station (ISS).
OneSubsea conceived the technical symposium as a way for invited manufacturers like Sonardyne, to demonstrate how subsea asset monitoring and electric oil field technologies are able to integrate with OneSubsea’s own Ethernet-enabled communications network. The NBL proved the ideal test bed for this unique event, allowing each manufacturer to demonstrate how their solutions enable asset management teams to make more informed decisions regarding planned maintenance, structural integrity and enhanced oil recovery programmes.
Around the pool, Sonardyne deployed acoustic data telemetry, sonar imaging and optical communications technologies to simulate some of the typical remote inspection and intervention scenarios its low risk technology can be utilised for. 6G sensor nodes suspended mid-water were used to show how critical data from remote assets such as satellite wells can be recovered using robust, long range acoustic communications. On the pool floor was Sentry IMS, a wide area sonar that automatically warns operators of integrity breaches around subsea oil and gas assets. Positioning moving targets in the water was Ranger 2, a high accuracy system for tracking and commanding ROVs and AUVs as they carry out their work.
Creating significant discussion amongst attendees was Sonardyne’s high speed optical data modem, BlueComm. Installed on Saab Seaeye’s Sabertooth hybrid ROV/AUV, a link was established to a matching BlueComm unit on apparatus designed to replicate a subsea manifold. This enabled through-water wireless control of the vehicle including commanding the actuation of a standard Class 4 subsea valve. A simultaneous video feed provided by BlueComm from the Sabertooth to poolside allowed the vehicle’s pilot, and the gathered audience, to monitor the valve operation.
After docking in a separate, optically enabled subsea docking station, BlueComm was also used to harvest mission data at very high data rates and to provide the vehicle with details of its next mission. With the exception of an acoustic emergency stop using Sonardyne’s WSM6+ mini-beacon, BlueComm was the only means of communication between the Sabertooth ROV/AUV and shore during the entire 30 minute demonstration run.
[blockquote author=” Stephen Fasham, Business Manager for Subsea Asset Monitoring, Sonardyne”] “Everything we and others demonstrated during the symposium; hybrid vehicles, BlueComm, acoustic positioning, data transfer and the wireless enabled subsea hub, is commercially available, off-the-shelf technology. Having deployed them operating next to the ISS, we’re actively working on making these solutions a reality offshore.” He added, “Our thanks goes to OneSubsea for hosting the symposium, in particular Dr Diana Grauer, their guests for taking the time to travel to the NBL, and also Saab Seaeye for extending the event to enable as many people from the Houston subsea community to experience the capabilities of our technology first-hand.”[/blockquote]
To find out more about BlueComm, click here.