The first of these systems has been installed on the M600 AUV sold to DeBeers Marine of South Africa which has reported that the first round of commercial surveys using the vehicle has been completed with total success. AV-Trak has been developed by Sonardyne to meet the needs of AUV manufacturers and operators requiring an independent source of positioning for their vehicles. One of the system’s primary roles is to provide real-time error corrections for an AUV’s inertial and doppler-based navigation systems, which suffer from inherent drift.

The new sensor is a combined Long Baseline (LBL) transceiver and Ultra Short BaseLine (USBL) transponder packaged in a compact housing depth rated to 3,000 metres. This provides the user with several different modes of operation depending on the mission scenario and enables the same positioning accuracy to be obtained as conventional survey methods, independent of water depth.

For a complete technical explanation and description on the system, click here...

Using the system in transponder mode allows the AUV to be tracked from the surface using a conventional USBL (range-bearing) system. Features have been incorporated into AV-Trak to allow full synchronisation between the surface vessel and the AUV, thus allowing downloading of the correct position to the AUV. Transponder mode is particularly useful during the critical stages of vehicle recovery and deployment and during a vehicle’s descent in deepwater to the seabed at which time a DVL is ineffective. In the event of a major systems failure, this mode will allow an AUV’s position to be precisely determined.

Maridan M600 AUVs are currently being built in Denmark to establish an inventory that will be used by the company’s own survey division. When this first production run is complete, four AUVs will be based in Houston and two will be based in Europe from where they will be able to meet the survey needs of the offshore industry worldwide.

Alastair MacDonald, Survey Director for Maridan believes that its use of Sonardyne equipment reinforces his company’s policy of maintaining its technical dominance over its competitors. “The Sonardyne technology is fantastic” he said “and this fits perfectly with what we are achieving at Maridan. There is now a link between our two world-leading technologies and this will enable us to maintain our position as number one in the AUV industry.”

Sonardyne International is based in Yateley, England and has offices in Aberdeen, Houston, Singapore, Brazil and Oslo. It is recognised as a world leader in the design and manufacture of advanced acoustic instruments and systems for accurate survey, positioning and tracking in shallow and full ocean depth operations within the offshore oil and gas industries. Visit the Sonardyne web site for the complete press release by clicking here or the Maridan web site by clicking here....

The Southwest Fisheries plan to install the Trackpoint II system on their new Phantom ROV. The system will be used to track the latitude and longitude of the ROV’s path as it maps an area deemed critical to the preservation of the White Abalone, which has recently been added to endangered species list.

For more information on the Trackpoint II system, or any of ORE Offshore’s products or services, please contact Steve Withrow at + 508-495-6600 or by e-mail at s.withrow@ore.com, or visit their web site at http://www.ore.com

Key players in the development of AUVs and end users will be attending UUST to share their experience and their needs. We encourage you to attend UUST and enjoy the intellectual challenge and the camaraderie of your colleagues in this most exciting and important field!

The deadline for advance registration is August 10th. The on-line registration form can be found on the UUST web page. We now accept VISA and MasterCard. A block of rooms has been reserved at the New England Center Hotel. Please make your reservation as soon as possible. Room availability and rates are guaranteed through July 26. Reservations can be made using the reservation form found on the UUST web page or by calling NEC toll-free 1-800-590-4334 (US only) or 603-862-2801 and mention UUST.

The emphasis of UUST for industry, academics, researchers, technologists and students is to discuss technology so that new insights and understandings evolve. A primary goal of the symposium is to provide an atmosphere conductive to information exchange that stimulates informal interaction among the attendees. This is done in a relaxed and informal setting with plenty of time for individual discussions.

For questions, please contact Linda Carter at +603-868-3221 or e-mail: carter@ausi.org or visit the web site at http://www.ausi.org

The system will be utilized on various NERC vessels. Following technical and scientific training at Brooke Oceans' Facility in June the intention is to deploy the MVP on the RRS Charles Darwin in the Indian Ocean for a cruise forming part of the UKs 'Marine and Freshwater Microbial Biodiversity' (MFMB) programme. This will comprise of a series of scientific stations to be occupied from the Seychelles to Oman, and the MVP will be deployed on the long transects between the daily stations and also for repeated profiles whilst the ship is stationary.

The MVP300 system is capable of reaching 300 m at 12 knots and 850 m at 5 knots and will be used to collect CTD, fluorometer and dissolved oxygen profiles while underway at speeds up to 11 knots. This ability to collect underway data will make the survey operation more efficient and improve data quality.

Malcolm Woodward, a Marine Chemist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory, UK, has particular responsibility for this MVP purchase and is part of the team responsible for acquiring the funding. This MVP will be the first in the UK, and will be part of the National Marine Equipment Pool based at Southampton.

It is intended that this MVP will become a new integral part of the AMT (Atlantic Meridional Transect) cruise program which has already had 11 successful Atlantic transects on-board the RRS James Clark Ross between the UK and The Falklands, with 6 more being planned from 2002. It is intended to have a fast acting nutrient sensor, and upwelling and downwelling light sensors fitted in the future to increase the data gained during these transect cruises.

The MVP is an underway CTD or sound velocity profiling system which permits near vertical data profiles to be collected with the use of a recoverable free fall fish. The system includes a computer-controlled smart winch and deployment system that permits the free fall fish to be deployed while the vessel is underway. MVP is completely automated, can be operated by computer without the requirement for personnel on deck, and can provide real time sound velocity input into a multi-beam sounder.

The free fall fish can also be equipped with a variety of sensors, including a sound velocity probe, fluorometer and plankton counter. For multibeam surveys, MVP saves a minimum of 3 hours per day of ship time by eliminating the requirement to stop and complete a static cast. Significant savings in multibeam data processing can be realized through improved data quality.

BOT is a Canadian based manufacturer of sensor platforms, cable handling systems, and launch/recovery systems. Other MVP systems are in use in Canada, USA, Japan, China and Norway.

For further information visit http://www.brooke-ocean.com or contact Arnold Furlong, Brooke Ocean Technology Ltd. at e-mail: afurlong@brooke-ocean.com or Hans-Jorgen Hansen, MacArtney Denmark, at e-mail: hjh@macartney.com or via their web site at http/www.macartney.com

Director of the Hydrographic Science Research Center at the University of Southern Mississippi RADM Kenneth Barbor’s, USN (Ret) 28 year career in the U.S. Navy culminated with his assignment as Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command where he directed the Navy’s operational hydrography, oceanography and meteorology activities.

RADM Barbor’s opening address at CARIS 2001 will discuss the increasing demand across all hydrographic industry segments for accurate hydrographic data highlighting the application of the hydrographic survey beyond its traditional use in the delineation of channels for safe passageway. Today such data is being applied for electronic charting, coastal zone management, pollution control, fisheries management, onshore development, and for determining exclusive economic zones among others. Where the tools are available now to extend these boundaries we must learn to use and best manage them.

This presentation will set the tone for the sessions to follow. Some of the topics will include: Hydrographic Database Management, Ports and Harbours Management, Marine and Coastal GIS, Real-time GIS for Marine Applications, Law of the Sea, Multibeam Surveys, ECDIS, Applications of GIS to Fisheries Management, New technologies in Digital Mapping, and ENC to DNC.

The 6th Annual International CARIS Users’ Conference and Educational Sessions, CARIS 2001, will be hosted in San Diego, California USA, October 30th – November 2nd at the Hyatt Regency Islandia. For more information, visit http://www.caris.com/caris2001

The discovery, drilled last month in 925 feet (282 meters) of water to a depth of 10,535 feet (3,200 meters), tested at a maximum combined flow rate of 10,022 barrels per day of high-quality, 39-degree API gravity crude from two separate zones. The discovery will be followed by geologic and engineering studies to appraise the field and assess its potential reserves.

"Angola's deep water continues to be an attractive asset for Chevron and its partners," said Peter Robertson, president of Chevron Overseas Petroleum Inc. "We have set aggressive production growth targets for West Africa and we are very encouraged by this latest discovery." For the complete press release, click here...

In the past five years deepwater reserves totalling some 5.4 bn barrels of oil equivalent (boe) were bought onstream by 13 oil companies - in the next five years 26 companies have prospects totalling 20.7 bn boe. According to the new third edition of 'The World Deepwater Report 2001-2005' by energy analysts Douglas-Westwood and offshore industry data specialists Infield Systems, this could result in annual capital expenditure in the sector growing from its present $5 bn to more than $10 bn in 2005.

Addressing an audience of delegates to the 'Business Strategies for Deepwater' in New York, Douglas-Westwood director John Westwood said that 'production from the shallow water regions of the world is now in serious decline. But below 500 metres water depth (wd) it is set to increase dramatically as the oil majors target more than 20 bn boe of reserves slated for development in 114 fields in the 'golden triangle' of Brazil, the Gulf of Mexico and West Africa'.

In addition to large reserves, another factor driving activity is the high productivities of the deepwater field prospects. 'Down to 100m water depth the average field is expected to produce some 16,000 boe per day - in 1,000 to 1,500m it is 62,000 boe per day' said Infield Systems data manager Dr Roger Knight.

In the past five years only two companies, Petrobras and Shell, have bought more than 1 bn boe of deepwater reserves onstream, but in the next five years Petrobras has 3.3 bn boe of prospects, BP Amoco 2.6 bn boe, ExxonMobil 2.4 bn boe, Shell 2.3 bn boe and Chevron Texaco 1.5 bn boe. TotalFinaElf will be a newcomer to the billion-barrel deepwater club as its huge Girasol development comes onstream offshore Angola.

'This activity will result in a major growth in demand for the services of the offshore contractors' said analyst Dominic Harbinson', lead author of the report. Over the next five years we expect the deepwater sector to require some 51 platforms (mainly floaters), 719 production & injection wells, 5,961 km of flowlines, 2,598 km of control lines and 140 templates and manifolds. In fact the upside could be higher than we forecast - our modelling adopts a very conservative stance as we are concerned that the deepwater sector may be limited by a lack of human resources and specialised vessels.'

For more information regarding 'The World Deepwater Report 2001-2005', contact the publishers Douglas-Westwood Limited, Whitebeams, Pett Bottom Canterbury CT4 6EH, UK. Further details, including charts and tables, are available from John Westwood at E-mail: admin@dw-1.com .  Click here to download the leaflet...

Under those circumstances, the Boards of Directors of Technip and Isis have unanimously approved, on July 1st and July 2nd, 2001 respectively, an agreement setting forth the terms and conditions on which Technip, Isis, and Coflexip are to combine, thus creating a world class leader in oil and gas engineering, products, and solutions. For the complete press release, click here...

"There has been considerable debate about the effects of offshore activity - and especially seismic exploration - on populations of cetaceans," explained John Duncan, who established the new company in Bude, Cornwall, UK, as part of the Westland GeoProjects Group. "Our system - developed in collaboration with Seiche Measurements Ltd - will commercialise technology originally developed with support from the UK Offshore Operators Association (UKOOA) and Shell."

OceanEar will detect and then monitor the effects of offshore activity on cetaceans during survey operations. It can also be used in advance of exploration activity as part of an environmental impact assessment.

Using passive sonar techniques to listen to the unique "chatter" of cetaceans and to acoustically "view" them underwater, OceanEar is a non-intrusive method that will help advance the debate about the effects of underwater activity on these animals.

For more information, contact John Duncan or Andy Cox at Westland GeoProjects Ltd., or e-mail: info@wgeo.co.uk or visit their web site at http://www.wgeo.co.uk

The US rig count for June 2001 was 1,271 up 37 from the 1,234 counted in May 2001 and up 393 from the 878 counted in June 2000. The Canadian rig count for June 2001 was 302 up 64 from the 238 counted in May 2001 and up 11 from the 291 counted in June 2000.

The worldwide rig count for June 2001 was 2,333 up 109 from the 2,224 counted in May 2001 and up 507 from the 1,826 counted in June 2000. For the complete details and graphical information, visit: http://www.bakerhughes.com/investor/rig/

Applanix is currently expanding worldwide sales and support activities. In particular, Applanix is currently looking for experienced people in the Marine sector to fill the following key roles:

Houston,Texas:
• Sales,Marine Products
• Customer Support Manager
• Field Support Engineers
• Office Administrator

United Kingdom:
• Sales, Marine Products - Europe, Far East
• Field Support Engineers

Singapore:
• Field Support Engineers

All Sales and Support roles require a degree and relevant experience (or understanding) in one or more of the following areas:

• Hydrographic /Offshore Survey
• Inertial Sensors
• Marine Survey Instrumentation
• GPS
• Multibeam Operations
• ROVs or AUVs

Strong analytical skills in the face of demanding timelines -as well as the ability to communicate technically -are crucial in these roles. Join our team and you will see that attracting and retaining talented people is a priority at Applanix. Email your resume today to hr@applanix.com or Fax to: (905)709-6027, Phone:(905)709-4600. To learn more about Applanix visit http://www.applanix.com