View non-flash version
44 MTR March 2007 ate from the heavy construction vessel Skandi Acergy. They will be delivered in November 2007. Phoenix Receives Schilling ROVs Phoenix International took delivery of two ultra-heavy duty (UHD) work-class Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) from Schilling Robotics. UHD units 005 and 006 were delivered to Phoenix's Bayou Vista, La., facility. The ROVs will be used by the company's Houston based Subsea Projects Group for deepwater construction support. The Houston office provides project man- agement and engineering services for light to medium subsea construction projects. Phoenix's Bayou Vista, LA office will provide at-sea operators and logistics for UHD operations. C&C Technologies Purchases HUGIN AUV For C&C Technologies, the HUGIN Semi-Submersible autonomous underwater vehicle has been useful for all types of survey work. About six years ago, the com- pany put its own proprietary technol- ogy on the back burner and decided to work with Kongsberg Maritime to develop the HUGIN AUV 3000 (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle). C&C Technologies are currently buy- ing its third HUGIN Semi- Submersible AUV, to expand their surveying capabilities to reach 4500 m. C & C Technologies cooperated with Kongsberg Maritime on the development of the HUGIN 4500. Pete and Dave Alleman, C&C princi- pals, visited Horten, Norway this past fall to test and pick up C&C's third HUGIN. Not only can the new HUGIN AUV 4500 dive, 1.5 km further down to survey the seabed at a depth of 4,500 m, the technology has also been improved. Battery capacity has been extended by 30 per- cent and the vehicle can carry more advanced sonar and echo sounder sys- tems that feature higher resolution and more precise measurements. C&C Technologies has used HUGIN to chart the seabed for oil companies that operate in West Africa, the Gulf of Mexico, Brazil, the Mediterranean and Australia. In addi- tion to significantly more accurate mapping facilities, the autonomous vehicle operates considerably faster. "What it used to take two to three weeks to survey, we do in five days with HUGIN," said, Alleman. For more information visit www.kongsberg.com Bluefin to Build Four Spray Gliders for WHOI Bluefin Robotics won a contract from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) to build four Bluefin Spray Glider vehicles. Bluefin licensed the glider technology from Scripps Institution of Oceanography in 2003 and has leveraged its 15 years of experience in autonomous under- water vehicles to bring the Spray to the commercial market. The buoyancy-driven vehicle uses a battery-powered hydraulic pump to vary volume and glide through the water in a saw-tooth pattern for dura- tions of up to four to six months. Data on the profile of the water col- umn are collected through a variety of oceanographic sensors measuring conductivity, temperature, depth, flu- orescence, turbidity, dissolved oxy- gen, and altitude. The Spray Glider measures 200 cm in length, 20 cm in diameter, weighs 51.8 kg and typical- ly operates between 200 and 1000 m in depth. Delivery is scheduled for November of this year. Alistar 3000 Engineering Inspection AUV Further to a series of demonstrations conducted offshore Toulon, France, in December 2005 and March 2006, ECA has just suc- cessfully completed 10-day deep water trials of Alistar 3000 AUV in GoM (Gulf of Mexico) for BP America Production Company. This trial was carried out as part of the BP Exploration and Production Technology Group Alistar 3000 is an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) able to carry out pre-programmed inspection missions in deep water without physical link to the surface. The deep water trials took place with the local support of ECA's partner in the USA, Harvey Lynch Inc. The vehicle was launched from an Oceaneering vessel hired by BP. Between the 6th and the 15th of July, ALISTAR 3000 executed numer- ous missions at 4450 ft on a 9" x 13" pipe-in-pipe flowline around BP's King Field. For more information, visit www.eca.fr MTR#2 (33-48).qxd 3/2/2007 11:23 AM Page 44
