Seatronics News

August 2009

BLUEVIEW AGREEMENT

Seatronics, has reached an agreement with BlueView Technologies under which the two companies will work together to market BlueView’s miniature multibeam sonar systems worldwide.

Seatronics, has reached an agreement with BlueView Technologies under which the two companies will work together to market BlueView’s miniature multibeam sonar systems worldwide.

BlueView, based in Seattle, USA. Until now, the majority of BlueView’s sales have been within the USA. Over 300 commercial systems have been sold for use on remotely operated vehicles (ROV), underwater vessels, surface boats and fixed surveillance platforms. These systems have been delivered to over 25 major US port security groups, US and international navies, NOAA, global defence contractors, universities, as well as offshore oil and gas groups for a wide range of underwater vision applications. In leveraging Seatronics’ global marketing network, and its excellent reputation in the marine electronics sales and rental field, BlueView Technologies sees an opportunity to promote their multibeam products into a greater range of subsea applications worldwide.

The 2D forward-looking multibeam sonar that BlueView provides are an effective replacement for a normal optical camera in zero-visibility conditions and may be used to navigate in chaotic surroundings or within complex subsea structures.

The 2D forward-looking sonars multibeam sonars that BlueView provide are an effective replacement for a normal optical camera in zero-visibility conditions and may be used to navigate in chaotic surroundings or within complex subsea structures.

From a practical standpoint, all the units are small, light and compact, and consume very little power (10–15 W). Hence, they are easy to mount on the smallest ROV or they can be used manually by divers. Units can be used in water depths varying from 300m to 4000m.

The units have been used extensively by the US Navy and counterterrorism organisations to survey ships’ hulls and berths for the presence of explosive devices. Customs authorities have also used them to counter assist in the smuggling of illegal substances under water.

Seatronics managing director David Currie is looking forward to the prospect of marketing the BlueView units and expects them to become an essential visual tool for ROV operators in the oil and gas industry working in water where visibility is a problem. “They have a lot to offer users involved in structural inspection tasks,” he says, adding, “One interesting application is the identification of pipeline leaks, as both gas and on aqueous liquids strongly attenuate the sonar beam and so show up well on the sonar image.”

Commenting further Currie believes that the BlueView products are significantly ahead of the field in terms of imaging performance and practicality describes them as based on “winning technology,” and points out that, even though thoroughly proven, they are still the subject of substantial research and development with further advances on technology expected.

“We initially started the agreement for Europe, Asia Pacific & Middle Eastern regions but due to popular demand and reputation we have recently expanded the distribution to the Gulf of Mexico region, meaning we now have a worldwide agreement to supply these high tech products.”

“With the support that Seatronics can provide for the units in the field, I am confident we will see a rapid uptake of the BlueView products,” Currie says. “Seatronics already has a number of models available for demonstration, sale or rental in all of their bases.”

For a demo or to discuss any of these systems please contact your local Seatronics base

July 2009

SEATRONICS TRAWLCAM SYSTEM

TrawlCam is a headline mounted camera which, by enabling skippers to visually identify the type of whitefish entering a trawl, will be invaluable in the predominantly mixed fishery Scottish vessels engage in, says Seatronics.

The system has just completed successful commercial fishing trials, after 18 months development, on Peterhead skipper John Buchan’s 30m single rig whitefish trawler, Ocean Venture II.

The company started with the initial idea of devising a camera system capable of mounting on single or twin rig trawls nearly two years ago. Seatronics had the hardware in place with other projects related to the oil and gas survey industry. While the operating principle and technique are virtually the same, the electronics used had to be fitted into much smaller housings suitable for mounting on a trawl headline and handling onboard a vessel at sea. These requirements created some interesting challenges that have been overcome.

Seatronics will release the TrawlCam onto the market during Fishing 2009 in Glasgow.

“Our initial thought was to design a system that could be interfaced into any vessel's existing cable winch system. Seatronics has many customers that use a cable winch with a side scan tow fish; a system that when deployed, has the capability to look directly across the mouth of the trawl. The skipper can easily unplug the side scan tow fish and replace it with TrawlCam which uses the same standard 2-core net sonde cable supplied on most vessels with sub-conn connectors as standard," said a Seatronics' spokesperson.

The TrawlCam is a full working system that enables the skipper to constantly monitor:

• The footrope (up to 10m from the seabed during trials)
• The belly of the net
• The size and species of fish entering the net

John Buchan jnr, skipper of Ocean Venture supplied some very interesting data during the last sea trial of Trawlcam.

“The data recorded is quite outstanding," said John Buchan. "On one occasion, we can clearly see the footrope, the ground gear and the net coming into contact with a very large boulder. The ground hoppers on Ocean Venture's trawl are 22 inches in diameter and we can clearly see the net coming fast, and the ground gear struggling to climb over the top of quite a large boulder. In normal circumstances, the tension of the wire increases, the skipper then watches patiently to see if the tension falls back to commence towing, but to 'see' why the tension on the wires has increased is a real eye opener. Half way through the trip, we saw that the trawl had part of the belly torn out, and to know this kind of information instantly is a clear indication that fishing effort has been saved."

February 2009

IXSEA PRODUCT INVESTMENT

With the recent increase in interest and demand for inertial navigation systems Seatronics has decided to invest a further €500,000 in iXSEA PHINS and GAPS Usbl systems. PHINS  systems are the first inertial navigation systems to meet IMO resolution A424(XI) and A694(17) standards and are seen as a market  leader in providing quality X,Y,Z positioning, attitude and robustness during periods of GPS navigation drop out.  Systems ordered will come complete with Doppler Velocity Log, “DVL ready” option, calibrated alignment plate and cabling.

The GAPS, (Global Acoustic Positioning System), order will see a 2nd Seatronics rental system introduced into our rental pool complementing the increasing worldwide demand of this type of system for Diver, ROV,/AUV and towfish tracking. With its own inbuilt inertial navigation system the calibration free GAPS combines USBL, INS and GPS technologies. One of the most accurate USBL’s in its category, it has proven to work in deep or extremely shallow water depths and in difficult operating environments where other systems have known to have failed.

Commenting on the recent iXSEA purchases Seatronics Managing Director David Currie, explains: “Again iXSEA products have shown to be a valuable addition to the Seatronics rental inventory providing our clients with the most up to date subsea positioning capability using the latest INS and fibre optic technologies available in the marketplace.”

January 2009

DEREK SYKES NEW ENGINEERING MANAGER

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Derek Sykes to the important position of UK Engineering Manager.
Derek has been with Seatronics for almost 18 years during which time he has assumed various engineering roles including those of Technical Manager for the Far East and more recently responsibility for much of the workshop capability at our Aberdeen facility, his extensive experience will be invaluable in his new role.
Many of our customers will know Derek but for the few who may not please drop by our Aberdeen Office and Derek will be pleased to discuss your technical requirements and at the same time give you a tour round our newly expanded workshop facility.

December 2008

SEATRONICS EXPAND CLIENT SUPPORT SOLUTIONS

Equipment rental specialist, Seatronics Inc, an Acteon company, has opened a new calibration and cable moulding facility in Houston, USA, offering customers previously unavailable, local, calibration services.

The $200,000 state-of-the-art, calibration laboratory, which will provide sound velocity, conductivity, depth and temperature calibrations traceable to national standards, is the only independent suite in the USA providing calibration for brands such as Valeport, Paroscientific, Sonardyne International, Ixsea, Tritech International and Aandera.

The new laboratory means Seatronics' USA customers no longer need to send equipment back to the manufacturer in the UK or far east, saving on time and money. A fast-track service option will reduce the turnaround time to only five days.

Erik McGuire, vice president, Seatronics Inc, explains, "For example, sending a single instrument from the USA to the UK and back again is a significant cost, even without customs charges, plus it is out of use for perhaps six weeks.

"Not only is the equipment back in a quarter of the time, but we are also saving our customers airfreight, customs charges and paperwork."

The laboratory, complemented by the $50,000 cable moulding facility, has nearly doubled the size of Seatronics' USA operations. Customers were given tours of the new facilities on 17-18 July 2008, following the grand opening.

Seatronics has been operating successful local calibration services in the UK and Singapore for several years, and hopes, in the future, to expand the list of equipment for which calibration services are offered. Valeport, for whom Seatronics are the USA agent, has approved the laboratory.

"The new facility has created three new jobs and shows our dedication to the USA offshore industry," said McGuire. "This is about us improving our service for our clients. By expanding its range of services, Seatronics has become more than just a rental company - we are a solutions provider."

July 2008

NEW CALIBRATION LAB AND CABLE MOULDING FACILITY IN HOUSTON
Leading marine equipment rental and sales company Seatronics Ltd has expanded its operation in the USA with a recent $200,000 investment in a new calibration lab and cable moulding facility.

The move reflects the company's ongoing expansion and increased business from new and existing clients in the region. The new facilities should be open for business in July 08.

June 2008

RTS COLLABORATION
Maintaining their excellent relationship with Norwegian area representative RTS AS, Seatronics are to combine their technical resources with their Norwegian counterparts to establish a new Product Technology Division. The new division will incorporate all the technical resources within the two companies and, based on client feedback from overseas offices, introduce new products that are tailor-made to client requirements.

Already manufactured to client specification is the new RTS programmable 'Subsea Logger' package, which allows the operator to programme the unit to record, transmit and display a variety of underwater positioning sensors.

Data can be downloaded accurately via ROV or directly to the construction vessel. The logger package is the latest in a long line of products developed by RTS and Seatronics which includes fibre optic and copper multiplexer systems, NDT equipment and subsea video products.

SONARDYNE RECENT PURCHASES
Continuing their long association with Sonardyne Ltd, Seatronics Ltd have committed to another £2m worth of investment in digital wideband LBL and USBL equipment.

Included in that new spend, and to support the digital USBL systems on order, Seatronics are purchasing three Lodestar AHRS ( Marine attitude and reference systems) providing a highly accurate measurement of the heading, pitch, roll and heave data in all operational sea states.