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VT Halter Marine to Build Three for NOAA VT Halter Marine will build another Fisheries Survey Vessel, valued at $38 million for NOAA. NOAA exercised its option for the third of four planned vessels under an existing contract. Construction will begin later this year with delivery planned during the second half of 2007. VT Halter Marine designed the 208-ft. FSVs in accordance with strict guidelines for acoustic quieting set by the International Council for Exploration of the Seas. The first ship in the class — Oscar Dyson — was delivered to NOAA on January 5, 2005 and is one of the most technologically advanced fisheries ships in the world. These NOAA sister ships, with a cutting edge low acoustic signa- ture, will have the ability to perform hydro-acoustic surveys of fish. They will also be able to conduct bottom and mid- water trawls while running physical and biological-oceanographic sampling dur- ing a single deployment. Circle 27 on Reader Service Card Oscar Dyson: Acoustically Quieted Ship NOAA FRV The First-in-Class Fisheries Research Vessel (FRV), Oscar Dyson, delivered to NOAA on January 5, 2005, was designed and built by VT Halter Marine, Moss Point. The ship is outfitted with state-of- the art sonar technology, but its most sig- nificant feature is that it has been designed to be "acoustically" quiet underwater. The underwater radiated noise requirements were those specified by the International Cooperative for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES). VT Halter Marine subcon- tracted all the acoustical engineering efforts to Noise Control Engineering (NCE) of Billerica, Mass.. NCE is an engineering consulting firm that special- izes in shipboard noise & vibration con- trol and marine acoustics. NCE performed all noise prediction cal- culations, recommended the treatments necessary to meet the stringent underwa- ter noise requirements and conducted an extensive sound and vibration testing pro- gram. NCE used Designer Noise, a new 3-D acoustic modeling program devel- oped by NCE with Proteus Engineering (Annapolis, Md.) under a Navy SBIR grant, now commercially available. NCE engineers worked closely with engineers from VT Halter Marine and NOAA to optimize all of the noise treatments. In one case, aluminum was recommended over steel for damping cover plates, sav- ing 20 tons. NCE engineers participated in seven sea trial events, conducting com- partment noise, equipment vibration, ship-wide vibration and sonar self-noise surveys. Circle 28 on Reader Service Card As a leading global provider of a full range of remote IP data, and voice communications solutions, Stratos delivers the newest and most advanced satellite technologies. StratosITek™ satellite broadband combines the convenience of always-on connectivity and the power of broadband to support a host of IP-based applications. With coverage in multiple regions throughout the world, StratosITek delivers business-grade broadband for a single monthly service cost – no per minute charges. Stratos now also offers the revolutionary new Fleet family of marine products designed for those with a need for superior fax and data applications. Fleet offers Inmarsat reliability, global coverage and a family of products featuring superior fax and multiple-speed data services, in addition to global voice. Contact us today to find out more about our reliable maritime communications solutions. General Enquiries: Phone: +1 709 748 4233 Toll-Free: 1 888 766 1313 E-mail: info@stratosglobal.com www.stratosglobal.com superior maritime communications StratosITek ™ • Fixed, transportable and stabilized terminals • Always-on speeds up to several Mbps • Secure Internet, intranet, e-mail, VoIP, video conferencing • Low-cost alternative to traditional VSAT Fleet • 64 kbps fax • 64 kbps data • new MPDS service • always-on, pay by the byte Circle 275 on Reader Service Card Circle 240 on Reader Service Card MR MARCH 2005 #3 (17-24).qxd 3/1/2005 12:17 PM Page 5