NASNet^™ is a totally new underwater and surface, positioning and navigation system.

Utilising advanced Acoustic Signal Spread Spectrum (ADS²) signalling, NASNet^™ allows large areas, including complete oilfields, to be covered with a few seabed stations. Each station is capable of transmitting position and data information over long distances (15Km). Further stations can be readily added owing to the network's self-calibrating feature, allowing field expansion to match Operator needs.

Unlike present systems, NASNet^™ is truly multi-user. The user's passive receiving equipment accepts continuously transmitted coded information from a minimum of 3 stations, from which it can then ascertain position to a high degree of accuracy (1m). The receive equipment consists of a small hydrophone, processor and a display screen. This can be mounted on surface vessels, ROV's, AUV's, Drill Rigs and Tow fish for navigation and DP operations as well as sub sea structures such as templates, for highly accurate positioning.

Derived from substantial military development programmes, NASNet^™ is a unique acoustic system. Current techniques such as long, short and ultra-short base lines are no longer relevant. Once NASNet^™ is calibrated it can be utilised throughout the life of the field, for all surface and underwater positioning requiruments.

NASNet^™ provides the opportunity for significant cost savings to be achieved, both in existing and new offshore field developments, while also providing a universal reference and consistent positioning for all operations within the field.

There are other benefits to be gained by NASNet^™ including use in deepwater. The system has a high tolerance to ray bending and also overcomes the problem of acoustic pollution. Although it is a long range system (15Km), it is very accurate (1m) with an option offering centimetric accuracy. Another main advantage is cost savings. Nautronix carried out calculations on a fairly recent North Sea field development and believe that in the construction and early years of production, over US$10 million could have been saved.

Parties interested in attending the VIP breakfast must RSVP by e-mail to carol.villagran@nautronix.com or Tel: +713-880-2866 as soon as possible. The VIP breakfast commences at 7.30am on Tuesday 18 September. Visit them on the web at: http://www.nautronix.com

Over the last few weeks we have expanded our service and support organization with the recruitment of John Carss. John brings with him many years of offshore and marine electronics experience and he will be supporting Euan Mackay, newly promoted to Operations Manager.

TSS are also pleased to announce that Grant Jennings has been promoted to General Manager of its Houston operation. Grant has spent more than 6 years in the US building TSS USA providing sales, support and service to our extensive client base. Grant's promotion is the first step in the development of a new, expanded and more self sufficient TSS presence in the US to support our business in the Americas.

To back up the larger team we are expanding our inventory of spares and equipment as well as our test facilities. TSS in Houston will become virtually self-sufficient providing support, repair and calibration of all TSS and SG Brown products. More space is required to accommodate our strengthened commercial presence in the US, being boosted to develop and promote new business opportunities and product lines ahead of new releases later this year. Our new official address will be:

The POS family of products have established themselves in airborne, land and marine markets by combining GPS with inertial sensors for robust positioning and orientation. “This is a natural extension of POS,” said Steven Woolven, Applanix’s Director of Engineering. “We can now give customers a choice of GPS receivers based on their requirements. The Trimble receivers are known for their reliability and performance, and we are pleased to be able to offer the option to our customers.”

Applanix Corporation develops, manufactures, sells and supports precision products that accurately and robustly measure the position and orientation of vehicles in dynamic environments. Applanix Position and Orientation Systems (POS?) are used in a variety of applications including road profiling, aerial survey and mapping, railroad track maintenance and seafloor mapping. Applanix strives to support customers around the world with exceptional service – anywhere, at anytime.

Established in 1991, Applanix Corporation has enjoyed continuous, profitable growth. It has been named one of the fastest growing Canadian companies by PROFIT magazine, and has been recognized as a leading exporter by FedEx Canada and by the Government of Ontario (as a recipient of a Global Traders award). For further information, or images, contact Mike Stanko (e-mail: mstanko@applanix.com) at Applanix Corporation, Tel: +905-709-4600 X269

The project will include riser drilling in water depths to 4,000 metres (2.48 miles) and riserless drilling to 7,000 metres (4.35 miles). These depths are significantly greater than the current oil-field drilling record of 2,953 metres (1.83 miles) and will advance the limits of known offshore drilling technology. The Sonardyne system will be installed on a new ultra-deepwater drillship that is being built in Japan for the Japan Marine Science and Technology Centre (JAMSTEC). The ship will enter service in 2004 when it will undertake geotechnical and geophysical drilling projects aimed at gathering data about the geological behaviour of the Earth's crust.

The Sonardyne equipment will be integrated with a MES dynamic positioning (DP) system to provide accurate and reliable acoustic positioning in extreme water depths and in unfavourable acoustic environments. This will enable the ship to hold station whilst supporting the weight of the drill string. Sonardyne will supply the project with enhanced standard equipment that includes a dual LUSBL (Long and Ultrashort BaseLine) acoustic positioning system. The high level navigation solution also includes dual positioning transceivers on the BOP (Blow-out Preventer).

Sonardyne International is based in Yateley, England. The company has offices in Aberdeen, Houston, Singapore, Maca¾ 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.

For the 'complete' press release, send enquiries to Paul Eastaugh Media Services, Tel: +44(0)118 934 1101, Fax: +44 (0) 118 934 1137 or contact Sonardyne International Ltd, Ocean House, Blackbushe Business Park, Yateley, Hants, GU46 6GD England or visit their website http://www.sonardyne.co.uk.

The CART is depth rated to 1,000 meters, has a release load of 500 kg and incorporates proven EdgeTech release mechanism and materials technology. A key feature of the CART is the new Active Biofouling Prevention (ABP) mechanism, which inhibits marine growth by scheduled rotation of key mechanical components.

EdgeTech designs, develops, and manufactures Acoustic Releases, Side Scan Sonar, Sub-bottom Profiling Systems, and Integrated Deep Survey Systems that, over the years, have become standards within the industry. More information is available at www.edgetech.com, or by contacting Greg MacEachern at 508-478-9500.

For more information, e-mail them at info@edgetech.com or contact them at Edgetech, 455 Fortune Boulevard, Milford, MA 01757 USA. Tel: + 508-478-9500, Fax: +508-478-1456

According to University spokes person, Ms. Paula Moreno, the Marine Mammal Research Program, Texas A&M University at Galveston has been studying the bottlenose dolphin population in Galveston Bay since 1989. Throughout the years a catalog with dorsal fins has been compiled to allow individual identification of dolphins that are either residents or immigrants in the Galveston Bay. Dolphins occur in the Galveston Bay throughout the year and approximately 1,000 dolphins have been identified, which demonstrates the importance of this habitat for the bottlenose dolphins. In addition, behavioral recordings have shown that feeding is their most important activity (approx. 50%). Bottlenose dolphins are opportunistic predators, feeding on a variety of fish species. They are also known to feed in association with shrimp boats, a common behavior in Galveston Bay.

Our hypothesis Ms. Moreno stated is that the distribution of the bottlenose dolphin in the Galveston Bay is related to the level of aggregation of their prey. Aggregation of fish is most likely to occur around trawling nets or in turbulence areas caused by vessels or along the jetties. As an attempt to understand whether distribution of dolphins is related to aggregation of fish, the MMRP will use a very high frequency sonar (Imagenex 855 Sector Scanning Sonar System) to estimate abundance of fish. During one year we will collect sonar data at fixed stations and along trawling operations. Hopefully, analysis of stored data will provide an abundance index to compare different areas of the bay. In addition, this study may offer valuable insight into seasonal variations on the number of dolphins in the Galveston Bay. It has been suggested that a decrease of dolphins in the winter is related to migration of the prey. However, so far no direct evidence has been obtained due to the considerable effort required to estimate fish abundance with fishing gears. Therefore, the opportunity to use this scanner sonar system is unique. This study is expected to contribute to a more detailed assessment of habitat requirements for coastal dolphins.

For more information, e-mail Roger L. Caron: rlc@ses-services.com, Sales & Marketing Manager, Survey Equipment Services, 1424 W. Sam Houston Parkway North Suite 160, Houston, TX 77043 Tel:+713-827-0430 Fax: +713-827-8093 or visit their website at http://www.ses-services.com

'This ROV is on contract to Coflexip Stena Offshore onboard the CSO Alliance in support of the Texaco/Hess/Talisman tripartite inspection agreement. This year the system has only been on downtime for repair and maintenance for 15 hours' said Gordon Kennedy, ROVTECH's Project Manager. 'This remarkable reliability and the satisfaction of our customers with the performance of the Tiger confirms our commitment to Seaeye ROVs and the decision to add another to our expanding fleet,' he added.

This month Seaeye Marine has delivered another Seaeye Tiger system to ROVTECH together with the new Seaeye Type 5 TMS which features a variable height garage opening, winch and slip ring mechanism and a 240 metre ROV excursion capability. This TMS was first developed for the Seaeye Lynx ROVs delivered to Stolt Offshore earlier this year for whom it has proved extremely reliable and easy to operate and service. It is available as an alternative to the Seaeye bale arm TMS systems for all Seaeye ROVs.

Seaeye Marine has delivered 26 Seaeye Tiger systems worldwide with two more in production. ROVTECH own and operate 6 Seaeye Tigers, 1 Seaeye Puma, 2 Seaeye Panthers and 2 Seaeye 600DT systems. For more about the Seaeye Tiger, download the brochure, visit their site: http://www.seaeye.com/prods1tiger.html or call Ken Cast on Tel: +44 1329 289 000.

An optional design can be provided to operate one "Off" and three "ON' positions, and with single or dual redundant switches. Custom configurations are available with dimensions available on request. For more detailed technical specifications on the product, or to get a catalog, contact Hydracon Company, Inc., PO Box 17921, Anaheim, CA 92817 U.S.A. Tel:+(714-281-2460 Fax: +714-281-1199 or E-mail Alex Pullos: hydracon@hydracon.com. Visit their web page for information on their other products at http://www.hydracon.com

The BP-CVIS was introduced at Offshore Europe 2001 and already an order has been received for the first system. The response at the exhibition was very encouraging and even competitors were complimentary of the quality of the system. One of the main advantages of this system is that it is built into a Pelican Case measuring just 490mm (W) by 400mm (D) by 190mm (H). Not only is this system small, it only weighs 10Kg which makes this a truly portable system.

The CVIS comprises of a Digital VCR which produces noiseless digital images, even when playback is frozen, it has a built in Video Overlay with Date & Time Generator and also a digital zoom facility; a 6.8" colour TFT LCD Monitor ( a larger size is available as an option); audio input; a light up to 75 Watt complete with a dimmer circuit; a monochrome or colour camera; video and audio output to enable connection straight into a separate monitor etc.

The system is operated from 240Vac mains power and/or12Vdc battery power and it can also be operated from 120Vac and/or 24Vdc if specified at the time of order. For further details E-mail: bowtech@bowtech.co.uk or contact them at Bowtech Products Ltd, Howe Moss Crescent, Kirkhill Industrial Estate, Dyce, Aberdeen, AB21 0GN Tel: +44 (0)1224 772345 Fax: +44 (0)1224 772900. Visit the website: http://www.bowtech.co.uk

The DHI Water and Environment study, which is funded by DANCED (Danish Cooperation for Environment and Development) and DANIDA (Danish International Development Assistance) aims to improve the conditions in the bay by preventing further siltation and to increase the flushing of the area. The RDI instrumentation is supporting the project by collecting waves and current data over a four-month period in the bay and on the Atlantic coast outside the peninsula.

" We chose RDI's combined current and wave measuring instruments for two main reasons," said a spokesman from DHI Water and Environment. "We needed both current and wave direction information and so rather than use two instruments it was much more beneficial to deploy just one. "Secondly, one of the installations is in 30 meters water depth and this precludes a traditional pressure gauge. In addition, a surface mounted wave riding buoy would be subject to theft or collision with surface vessels and was thus not an alternative. The RDI instrument is installed on the seabed out of harm's way and no surface marking is required if the equipment is properly positioned and moored."

DHI Water and Environment has many years experience in collecting data with systems supplied by RD Instruments. It bought its first acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) in 1987 and since then has purchased a further 25 units. All have been used intensively, some in long-term deployments of nearly four years. For more information, contact Harry Maxfield, RD Instruments, 9855 Businesspark Avenue, San Diego, CA 92131-1101, USA. Tel: +1 (858) 693 1178 Fax: +1 (858) 695 1459 or Email: news@rdinstruments.com. Visit their website at http://www.rdinstruments.com

*** POSTPONED Oceanology Int. Pacific Rim, Singapore, Dec 4-6 ***