The facility will be located in Calgary and will include a team of leading scientists and engineers with an extensive knowledge of developing integrated solutions for land, air and marine applications.

Presently going through final testing at the Terramatics facility in Canada is the GPS aided inertial survey product (GIPSI) built and designed exclusively under contract for Veritas DGC Land.

Along with the new R&D team, Richard Pender will be contributing his valuable experience of the offshore and survey industry stretching over 30 years. Chief engineer Huangqi Sun, currently completing projects for land seismic and automobile racing, will lead the new engineering team.

Work on the next generation of aided inertial systems for the marine market has already commenced as TSS seeks to consolidate its reputation as a world leader in advanced motion sensor technology.

The work of Terramatics was on show on the TSS pavilion at the recent Oceanology International 2002 exhibition at the Excel Centre in London along with demonstrations of the unique TerraIntegrator software - key to the rapid development and introduction of new aided inertial navigation systems.

TSS, the world's foremost provider of attitude and heading solutions for marine applications, is dedicated to the development and support of systems that enable our customers to increase their performance. It is hoped that the new facility, along with the engineering team at Watford and Witney, will release several new concepts over the coming months emphasising TSS commitment to the marine industry and demonstrating its strategy of investment for growth.

For further information on this and other exciting new developments at TSS check-in at http://www.tss-realworld.com or contact Robert Balloch, Sales and Marketing Director, TSS (UK) Ltd e-mail: rballoch@tssuk.co.uk or Tel: +44 (0)1993 777700

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Fugro Survey (Middle East) Ltd, Abu Dhabi, has been awarded a US$ 5 million contract by Dolphin Energy Ltd to conduct onshore and offshore surveys and environmental impact assessments.

The $3.5 billion Dolphin Project will produce gas from the Khuff formation in Qatar's North Field and transport it to a gathering and processing plant at Ras Laffan. From there, two billion cubic feet per day will be transported through a 440km long subsea pipeline to the United Arab Emirates. It will be the first offshore pipeline between two nations in the GCC.

Fugro Survey's contract is for multi-disciplinary integrated surveys along the pipeline route, as well as onshore investigations at the landfalls. The work involves combined geophysical, geotechnical, oceanographic and environmental impact studies using a variety of shallow and deepwater vessels. The nearshore work will include refraction seismic studies using Fugro's Gambas system.

The work will call on a wide range of resources from the Fugro group worldwide. Fugro employs more than 350 staff throughout the Middle East and over 7,000 personnel worldwide and has just announced a result for Year 2001 of Euro 900 million.

More information from: Ian Roberts, Fugro Survey (Middle East) Ltd. Tel: +971 2 554 7810 Fax:+971 2 554 7811 email: i.roberts@fugro-uae.com

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A unique approach to acoustic navigation and positioning technology has been introduced with the launch of Fusion from Sonardyne International Ltd, UK.

A development programme costing over £3 million has achieved the creation of a "one box" system capable of meeting all of a user's present and future acoustic positioning and navigation requirements while eliminating a number of persistent problems and inconveniences experienced by offshore operators. The advanced technology developed by Sonardyne consequently makes Fusion an ideal solution for simple ROV tracking tasks through to complex construction projects that would have previously required the use of separate dedicated systems.

The launch of Fusion also introduces a dramatic improvement in the performance of the acoustic systems themselves. The basis of the Fusion concept is the merging of any combination of Long BaseLine (LBL), Ultra-Short BaseLine (USBL), Short BaseLine, GPS, Doppler Velocity Log (DVL), Inertial Navigation System (INS) and other sensor data to produce an optimised navigation solution. Fusion is being presented as a landmark in Sonardyne's growth as the company is now able to offer a comprehensive range of complete navigation solutions.

The Fusion system was developed with the single-minded objective of creating an entirely new approach to acoustic navigation technology that would meet the diverse needs of its users. It is also designed to provide the user with the reassurance that comesfrom knowing that it can easily accommodate any future product enhancements through firmware or software upgrades. Fusion has also been designed to address both the major and the minor criticisms made against existing acoustic systems. These include providing faster calibration and time to first fix, as well as incorporating additional capabilities that can handle the conditions experienced by users in today's congested and complex offshore activities.

Acoustic interference is an important aspect of today's crowded offshore environment and as such, Fusion builds on concepts that allow many operators to work independently of each other without causing, or being impeded by, such interference. This is achieved through Fusion's evolving architecture providing a dramatic increase in the number of acoustic channels resulting in the freedom to share seabed transponder arrays. The Sonardyne approach is consequently not to offer a single unique solution for a particular offshore scenario, but to make a variety of techniques available that precisely meet the needs of different users while enabling them to retain their operational independence. Fusion makes this capability available as an integral part of an adaptable and versatile Navigation System that has a common interface configurable for all applications.

The principal and most immediate benefit for Fusion users is the elimination, for the first time, of significant quantities of separate on-board hardware normally needed for each survey or construction activity. Fusion can be used on a LBL project one day and a USBL project the next, yet use the same equipment inventory on both days. The "Data Fusion Engine" is the heart of the system and is an integrated navigation controller and processor platform supported by Sonardyne's successful Pharos software. This single unit is designed to meet the on-board hardware requirements of any USBL,LBL, SBL, GPS, DVL and INS application. Sonardyne believes that the system's exceptional capability is due to its ability to merge these applications to provide the optimum navigation solution.

The "Data Fusion Engine" was developed partly in response to market criticisms of the time, expense and inconvenience involved in installing and setting-up a different rack of hardware for each application. The single Fusion installation now combines and enhances the capabilities of all of the separate installations and gives users the freedom to expand its functionality when the need arises simply with the addition of appropriate software and firmware. The Pharos navigation software system used by Fusion is available initially in three versions: Survey, Construction and Navigation, with ability to install all if required.

Pharos Survey has been developed for standard tracking projects that require quick and easy calibration to position single targets. This makes it particularly suitable for ROV tracking, pipeline inspections, bathymetric surveys and salvage assessment. Pharos Construction is available for large-scale field development projects using wide field arrays to position multiple targets simultaneously. This makes it appropriate for structure positioning, touch-down monitoring, as-laid and as-built surveys and multi-vehicle tracking. It enables multiple transceivers and mobile beacons to be attached to a single target to determine attitude. Pharos Navigation incorporates USBL techniques to provide simultaneous tracking of one surface and two subsea targets. The software generates a USBL 'chart' display that, in keeping with all Pharos software, functions via an intuitive Windows user interface.

A feature of Fusion that will benefit many of Sonardyne's existing customers is its compatibility with previous generation hardware. It builds on these instruments by introducing a range of Fusion products, the most notable being the Compatt 5 transponder. These are designed to use a new acoustic architecture to provide faster performance, more channels and easier operation, whilst maintaining backward compatibility. Transceivers in the Fusion hardware range include a digital LBL transceiver that supports multiple remote transducers of different frequencies simultaneously. A range of digital USBL transceivers is also available that incorporate multiple DSP processors for high noise rejection and improved positioning performance.

Sonardyne International is based in Yateley, England. The company has offices in Aberdeen, Houston, Singapore, Brazil and Norway. 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. The launch of Fusion reinforces Sonardyne's leadership as a supplier of advanced acoustic navigation systems. Contact Paul Eastaugh at paul.eastaugh@btopenworld.com or David Brown at dpb@sonardyne.co.uk or Tel: +44 (0)118 934 1101 or visit the web site at: http://www.sonardyne.co.uk

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Applications are now invited by The Hydrographic Society for its 2002 Bursary Award Scheme from qualified students attending, or wishing to attend, a recognised course on hydrographic surveying anywhere in the world including any accredited by the FIG-IHO Advisory Board on Standards of Competence.

Worth up to £2000 per annum, the award is intended to help meet tuition fees for an accredited programme of study and is available for either the duration or remaining part of a course. It is open to any student of proven calibre and interest, irrespective of age, nationality or experience. To qualify for consideration, applicants must provide evidence of either a conditional or unconditional course offer from a recognised institution of their choice. Closing date for completed applications is 1 July with the winner being announced next October.

The Hydrographic Society¹s annual bursary award scheme is administered under the auspices of its Education Fund which has so far actively supported more than 30 students and 20 organisations worldwide. Previous award winners have included candidates from France, Indonesia and New Zealand.

Application forms for the 2002 award are available from The Hydrographic Society, University of East London, Longbridge Road, Dagenham, Essex RM8 2AS, UK (Tel: 020 8597 1946 Fax: 020 8590 9730 Email: hydrosoc@compuserve.com). Alternatively, they can be downloaded and completed via The Society's website at http://www.hydrographicsociety.org.

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OSLO, Norway (March 19, 2002) -- Telenor Satellite Services announced today that it has formed a new company, Marlink, to provide a wide range of mobile satellite communication services, mainly for customers in the maritime sector.

Marlink will act as a ‘multi-supplier’ of mobile satellite airtime providing communication services from a number of suppliers, including but not limited to Telenor. Marlink will also provide traffic accounting services, hardware and value-added services.

"Marlink will be able to provide customers with flexible communication package solutions matching their specific needs and choices in this rapidly changing market. By operating under its own brand name, it will have a stronger position in the market, said Tore Hilde, general manager of Telenor Satellite Services.

"In launching the new company, our focus is on increasing the portfolio of services available to our customers, as well as on becoming the interface between the maritime industry and the mobile satellite services industry," says Søren Einshøj, Managing Director of Marlink.

Marlink brings together the retail arm of Telenor Satellite Services and SAIT Communications, one of the world’s largest accounting authorities, which Telenor acquired in 2001. The business currently serves around 8,000 vessels worldwide and had revenues in 2001 of nearly US$ 100 million, making it one of the world’s largest global mobile satellite service providers. It has offices in 10 key locations for the maritime market: Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Dubai, Hamburg, Houston, London, Oslo, Singapore and Tokyo.

Background information:
Telenor’s Satellite Services business unit is the world’s leading provider of global mobile satellite communications via the Inmarsat satellite system and is the only Inmarsat service provider with its own global network of earth stations. Telenor offers high-quality voice, data, e-mail, fax and telex services via Inmarsat and earth stations located at Eik in Norway, and at Southbury, Connecticut, and Santa Paula, California in the United States. Additionally, Telenor is the largest single shareholder of Inmarsat Ventures plc, holding the maximum allowable of 15 percent.

Telenor (NASDAQ:TELN) is a worldwide provider of high quality telecommunications, data and media communications services, with a particularly strong focus on mobile, Internet and broadband services. Headquartered in Oslo, Norway, the company is present in over 30 countries, has more than 21,000 employees, and had revenues in excess of US$4.5 billion in 2001. Internationally, Telenor has over the last several years steadily increased its investments within mobile, Internet, TV-distribution and satellite communications.

More from Tore Hilde, General Manager Telenor Satellite Services, Tel: +47 22 77 78 31 Fax: +47 22 77 71 78 Email: tore.hilde@telenor.com or visit http://www.marlink.com

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As previously announced, James J. Mulva, currently chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Phillips, will become president and CEO of ConocoPhillips. The following individuals, along with the senior managers named on Feb. 26, complete the ConocoPhillips management team that will report directly to Mulva.

Philip L. Frederickson, 45, will become executive vice president, commercial. He currently is senior vice president of corporate strategy and business development for Conoco, a position he has held since 2001. Frederickson joined Conoco in 1978 and has held several senior positions in the United States and Europe, including general manager, refining and marketing operations, Rocky Mountain region; general manager, strategy and portfolio management, upstream; and vice president, business development.

Gene L. Batchelder, 54, will become senior vice president and chief information officer. He currently is vice president and chief information officer for Phillips, a position he has held since 1999. Batchelder joined Phillips in 1972, and held a number of managerial positions in Phillips' chemicals division and Phillips 66 Company. He was named president of Phillips Driscopipe Inc. in 1990, and became finance manager of Phillips' gas gathering, processing and marketing subsidiary in 1994.

Thomas C. Knudson, 55, will become senior vice president, government affairs and communications. He currently is senior vice president of human resources, information management and corporate communications for Conoco, a position he has held since 2001. Knudson joined Conoco in 1975, and held a number of project engineering, operations, business development and trading positions. He was named vice president and general manager, Natural Gas and Gas Products, in 1994, and became chairman, Conoco Exploration Production Europe Limited, in 1997.

Joseph C. High, 47, will become vice president, human resources. He currently is vice president of human resources and services for Phillips, a position he has held since 2001. Prior to joining Phillips, High was named vice president of human resources development and corporate responsibility for Cummins Engine Company in 1992. He joined Rockwell Automation in 1996 as vice president of human resources for the components and packaged applications group.

Robert A. Ridge, 53, will become vice president, safety, health and environment. He currently is vice president of health, environment and safety for Phillips, a position he has held since 2001. Ridge joined Phillips in 1978, and held a number of managerial positions in the company's refining division. He was named manager of planning and budgeting, Phillips 66 Company, in 1992. In 1994, he became general manager of refining assets for Phillips' Sweeny (Texas) Business Unit.

Special meetings of stockholders of both Phillips and Conoco were held on March 12, and the shareholders of both companies approved the merger. The merger remains subject to receipt of necessary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in the second half of 2002.

Phillips is an integrated petroleum company with interests around the world. Headquartered in Bartlesville, Okla., the company has 38,700 employees and $35 billion of assets, and had $26.9 billion of revenues in 2001.

Conoco is a major, integrated energy company active in more than 40 countries. Headquartered in Houston, the company has 20,000 employees and $27.9 billion of assets, and had $39.5 billion of revenues in 2001. Contact Kristi DesJarlais (Phillips) 918-661-6117 or Carlton Adams (Conoco) Tel: ++281-293-1043.

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The product portfolio of the newly created company includes POSIDONIA, the best ultra-deep acoustic positioning solution, Fibre-optic gyrocompass OCTANS and inertial navigation system PHINS, together offering a unique combination of surface and underwater positioning solutions.

With over 25 years accumulated experience of serving the offshore construction, dredging, hydrographic and oceanographic markets, iXSEA - OCEANO bring together the very best and latest acoustic and fibre-optic gyroscope technologies.

We look forward to continuing to supply effective answers for positioning and navigation from the surface to the deepest abyss.

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A gigantic bridge project that will eventually connect mainland Italy with Sicily is an example of why the coastal monitoring system will be installed. Driving across the bridge you will find yourself at an impressive 200 meters above the water. This airy experience is reached after having covered a distance of 15km uphill on a 6-lane ramp. In all its grandeur, there is little doubt that the bridge will impose changes on the environment; the question is just what changes. It is believed that the coastal monitoring system will answer these questions.

Before anything is built the existing currents in the area will be studied in detail. Numerical models will then be used with various ramp and bridge designs to study the impact on the environment. Finally, when the impressive project is completed, new current measurements will seek to confirm the changes predicted by the models.

The initial plan was to deploy 20 single point current meters on 10 fixed mooring positions but when the project consortium discovered that the combined low cost and high performance of Nortek's Aquadopp Profiler made it possible to spend less money while still getting significantly more information, they decided instead to invest in 10 Nortek Aquadopp Profilers. Their choice was easy; why spend excessive money on a solution that results in less information?

The monitoring system, being one of the main tools for coastal management in the area, will be installed and operated during the first three years by a joint venture including Italian companies TEI and Nautilus, and UK-based HR Wallingford. Nautilus will have the operational responsibility.

The Aquadopp Profiler is the most advanced, and yet most inexpensive Doppler current profiler available. It is highly flexible, consumes a minimum of power, and can even be used for wave measurements. For more information about the Aquadopp Profiler visit Nortek's web site at http://www.nortek-as.com.

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The conference will be held in conjunction with Hydro 2002 in the premises of GEOMAR Research Institute in Kiel and will offer a forum for exchange of information amongst users of multibeam systems all having different approaches and priorities. MUC'2002 is ideally suited for scientists, navies and commercial survey service providers. The participation is free of charge.

The previous MUC has hosted guests from 13 countries. For information contact Ralf Timm or MUC2002@elac-nautik.com.

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A former Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy with a PhD in Physical Oceanography, Casey brings international project management experience gained with Global Marine Systems and C&C Technologies. He is tasked with the further development of the multibeam service business as a separate brand and to position it as the leading multibeam service provider worldwide.

The Octopus offshore multibeam services team has expanded recently with the appointment of Adrian Jones and Matt Duree, as senior multibeam surveyors. Adam Williamson joins the team from the Institute of Martine Studies at the University of Plymouth, as a graduate trainee surveyor.

Octopus offshore staff have recently supported multibeam projects in Indonesia, South Africa and Israel for survey contractors and port authorities using Reson and Seabeam-ELAC systems. Via their partnership with Ashtead Technology any multibeam system can be provided anywhere in the world, with full technical support and offshore expertise. All enquiries to services@octopusmarine.com

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The feature this month is all about the raising of the sail of the DAKAR submarine from its watery grave of 10,000 feet. The sail is now back home in Israel being conserved for the memorial to the 68 lost crew members. See the latest issue at: http://www.nauticos.com/news/2002-02_newsletter01.html or for more information, e-mail Lynn R. Jourdan at: lynn@nauticos.com

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Two of the TSS 340 systems will be mobilised immediately by Fugro on the company's multi-role ROVSV "Skanda Inspector." Others will follow on its sister vessel the "Skanda Carla". Commenting on the purchase, Fugro-DI's ROV manager, Mr Robert Gilespie said: "We have a long term record of providing our clients with high quality survey data on major pipeline projects and the TSS equipment has enabled us to satisfy our contractual commitments. With over 10 years experience of operating TSS pipetrackers in tough conditions, our decision to acquire several new systems is a sign of our continued faith in TSS's ability to provide quality equipment."

Target detection by the TSS 340 is achieved by pulse induction enabling it to locate any conductive material, exposed or buried and to output highly accurate survey data on any type of cable or pipeline. This can range from large gas lines down to small non-armoured communications cables and it provides considerable advantages over magnetometer based systems.

For further information on this and other exciting new developments at TSS check-in at http://www.tss-realworld.com or contact Robert Balloch, Sales and Marketing Director, TSS (UK) Ltd e-mail: rballoch@tssuk.co.uk or Tel: +44 (0)1993 777700

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The systems, which are due to be commissioned around this spring in readiness for seafloor mapping in North Atlantic and Arctic regions, comprise a Hydrosweep DS-2 multibeam echosounder with a depth capability of 10,000m together with Hydromap on and offline software for acquisition, logging, processing and management of data. It will be complemented by a Parasound DS-2 narrow beam sounder for high-resolution studies of sediment layers with a penetration of up to 100m; the system, which is also capable of operating at depths of 10,000m, will be supported by associated Parastore processing software.

The Russian order for Hydrosweep and Parasound systems follows a similar recent one from the German Navy for installation of configurations aboard a new 73m-long research and test vessel presently being built by Thyssen Nordseewerke in Emden. It is expected to begin sea trials in 2004.

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The WG-50 is a third-generation capacitance wave gauge. It has a linear response and a 2ms response time, which make it perfect for use in hydraulics laboratories. The all-weather construction and diverse probe length selection allow the WG-50 to be used in numerous deployment strategies, including mid-ocean directional wave arrays, harbour tide measurement, boat wake monitoring, and coastal wash assessment.

About RBR: Freshwater and marine instruments have been the subject of many years of R+D at RBR. For over 25 years they have been providing appropriate engineering solutions for individuals, scientists, private companies, universities and government agencies. For more information please visit http://www.brancker.com or e-mail info@brancker.com.

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The TSS 340 will be delivered during the next two weeks after which DeepOcean will use it to inspect and survey over 2000 kms of pipeline in the Norwegian sector of the North Sea. The company has developed a close relationship with TSS which attaches considerable value to the help that it gives with the testing of new pipe tracking technologies.

The TSS 340 system chosen by DeepOcean uses pulse induction to locate any conductive material that is exposed on, or buried below the seabed. The system is able to output highly accurate survey data on any type of cable or pipeline. This can range from large gas lines down to small non-armoured communications cables and provides considerable advantages over magnetometer based systems.

TSS Launches New High Performance Motion Sensor At Oceanology
A high performance motion sensor designed to set new standards in dynamic measurement has been launched by TSS (UK) Ltd at the Oceanology 2002 Exhibition in London (Stand 4/5). The new Dynamic Motion Sensor (DMS) is the fifth generation of the successful range of TSS motion sensors and despite an outward similarity to its predecessors, it incorporates entirely new internal technology developed to provide a level of performance not previously available. This performance, combined with realistic pricing, is expected to make the new DMS particularly suitable for a wide range of applications that require input from a highly accurate and reliable motion detector. These include single and multi-beam echo sounders, ROVs and AUVs, acoustic and dynamic positioning systems plus a wide range of other applications in which accurate motion measurement is critical or where IHO (International Hydrographic Office) Class 1 survey standards are demanded.

The DMS now incorporates new solid state gyro elements that have made a dramatic reduction in overall size possible along with an increase in dynamic performance. The new DMS family will be available in four variants: 03, 05, 10 and 25 - the designation identifying the dynamic pitch and roll performance. This capability ranges from 0.025° with a ±5° amplitude in the 03 version to 0.2° for a ±30° amplitude from the 25 model. By offering a choice of performance levels the new DMS is able to meet the needs of a wide range of users accurately and economically.

For further information on this and other exciting new developments at TSS check-in at http://www.tss-realworld.com or contact Robert Balloch, Sales and Marketing Director, TSS (UK) Ltd e-mail: rballoch@tssuk.co.uk or Tel: +44 (0)1993 777700

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