Sonardyne International Limited has received an order for 6G acoustic positioning equipment worth over £1m from hydrographic survey and diving equipment specialists Unique System (UK). The purchase was made on the final day of the Oceanology International 2012 exhibition and conference held in London earlier this month and is Sonardyne’s fourth major order from a rental company in as many weeks.
Unique System (UK) Ltd, which is part of Unique Maritime Group based in Sharjah, UAE, is a major distributor and rental company for advanced marine and diving equipment. It offers an extensive range of products, services and turnkey solutions to the diving and survey industries.
The Fusion LBL 6G equipment ordered by Unique System will be added to the equipment inventory pool held at its new regional headquarters in Aberdeen and will be made available for use on survey construction projects across Europe. 6G products utilise Sonardyne’s ultra-wideband width, digital ranging and telemetry protocols offering ease of use, reliable performance and the flexibility to reconfigure the equipment to meet the broadest possible range of subsea positioning and wireless communication applications.
Ray Hughes, Managing Director of Unique System UK said: “This order comes at a time of significant advancement for the Company. As we continue to expand and develop our European infrastructure and facilities, so too are we growing the size of our rental stock. This is our first investment in 6G technology which has been purchased in direct response to client demand for the flexibility, excellent performance and cost savings that Sonardyne’s latest technology platform delivers.”
He continued, “ Initial analysis suggests that there was very little variation in the sound velocity during the 39 day recording period with a fairly stable average of around 1500m/s throughout the deployment. This figure correlates well with independent measurements made at the deployment site. The data demonstrates the ability to accurately track the average water column sound velocity over long periods and this is thought to be of significant interest to oceanographers to enable them to better understand the physical processes that occur in the deep ocean. Sonardyne’s Wideband®2 PIES instrument provides an ideal platform from which these measurements can be made with a high degree of accuracy and repeatability”
[mappress] Subsea World News Staff , March 26, 2012; Image: Sonardyne