news case study new offices, workshops, oilfield wireless ...€¦ · 26 case study rov positioning...

04NewsNew offices, workshops, oilfielddevelopment, fleet upgrades andBOP installations

10FeatureWireless communications for data transfer and the remote control of subsea assets

16TechnologySonardyne’s new active sonarfor automatic leak detection, classification and localisation

26Case StudyScout USBL, the shallow watersof the Port of Seattle andWorld War II munitions

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Treinamento e Instalação

Levantamento eposicionamento submarino Serviço e Suporte Monitoramento

de EstruturaPosicionamento da

Embarcação

Rastreamento de Veículo Controle de BOP Construção Submarina

Comunicações de Dados Imageamento por Sonar Investimento no Brasil Segurança Marítima

For over 20 years, Sonardyne has been designing andmanufacturing subsea acoustic, inertial, communicationsand sonar technology for the offshore industry in Brasil.Our products are used to navigate underwater vehicles,position drilling rigs, control subsea wells, send data andaccurately install seabed structures.

We work closely with oil companies and contractors toensure that the most appropriate equipment has beenspecified to meet performance expectations, costs,

vessel operations and risk. We are committed toinvestment in Brasil and from our new headquartersin Rio das Ostras, we offer training, 24hr support andequipment servicing.

Everyday we apply our technology and expertise tosolve our clients’ most important subsea engineeringchallenges. Challenge us to solve yours.

www.sonardyne.com

PICTURE YOUR SUBSEA TECHNOLOGYPARTNER IN BRASIL.

04 News Products, orders and contracts08 Trials Report DP-INS10 Feature Wireless monitoring and control16 Technology Leak detection20 Case Study GyroCompatt

22 Project Report Bundle tow monitoring24 Product Focus Ranger 226 Case Study ROV positioning30 International News from the Regions31 Help & Advice Ask DarrenC

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Front CoverSonardyne’s Marine RiserMonitoring System (MRAMS)is deployed, ready to monitorand measure the differentialangle of a marine riser, BOPassembly and the vessel’sposition relative to it.

Editorial TeamDavid Brown, MarketingManager

Kelly Friend,Public Relations

Rob Balloch, StrategicDevelopment and MarketingDirector

Anthony Hammond,Marketing Co-ordinator

Design and Art DirectionMichael Lindley at TruthStudiowww.truthstudio.co.uk

PhotographyAstonleigh Studioswww.astonleighstudio.co.uk(pages 16, 19, 28, 29)

Published by SonardyneInternational Ltd. BlackbusheBusiness Park,Yateley,Hampshire GU46 6GDUnited Kingdom.© Sonardyne InternationalLtd 2012.

6G®, Sonardyne Matrix®,Sonardyne Wideband®

BlueComm® and Sentinel IDS®

are trademarks of SonardyneInternational Ltd.All othercompany or product namesused herein are trademarksof their respective owners.

www.sonardyne.com

@sonardyne

No part of this magazinemay be reproduced withoutpermission of the publisher.Colour repro by ProCo PrintLtd. Printed by ProCo PrintLtd. Every effort is made toensure that information iscorrect at time of goingto press.

WE’VE HAD A busy few months since the last issue of Baseline

and this edition marks a new era for Sonardyne in Brasil.The

team out there have just moved into their new purpose-built

offices in Rio das Ostras, built to better service the needs of

our customers and their Sonardyne equipment.We also

congratulate Paul Smith on his promotion to Operations Director for the region –

you can read his first regional review on page 30.

Something we’ve noticed lately is an increase in the number of custom engineering

projects we contribute to. In one example over the past 16 months, our Bundle Tow

monitoring system has been used to gather sensor data on eight pipeline tow-outs

varying in length from 2.2km to 7.2km.You can find the project report on page 22.

This issue also sees us taking an in-depth look into our capabilities in subsea

monitoring and control. Starting on page 10, Shaun Dunn takes you through some of

our key capabilities in wireless acoustic and optical communications before Dr.Graham

Brown finishes off the theme by looking at the evolution of our leak detection sonar.

We’ve also got the usual news section with a summary of the latest contracts and

projects, including some interesting applications for Ranger 2, plus our ‘Ask Darren’

section where you can ask questions about your Sonardyne products.

Finally, this summer we launched PING, our regular email bulletin with the latest

news and information. If you would like to be added to PING’s circulation, you can

sign up via the E-News tab on the website.

Until next time,

Rob Balloch, Strategic Development and Marketing Director

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04 Baseline » Issue 8

NEWS

Leading marine contractor Gardline

Geosurvey has selected to install Ranger 2

USBL tracking systems as part of a multi

vessel upgrade programme. By equipping

its survey vessels with Sonardyne’s latest

generation acoustic technology platform,

Gardline will now benefit from Ranger 2’s

ability to track multiple subsea targets over

long ranges and with the highest level of

positioning accuracy.

Specialising in geophysical, hydro-

graphic, environmental, oceanographic and

geotechnical surveys, Gardline’s decision

to switch to 6G is further recognition of the

performance gains and operational savings

that the new technology offers.As a result,

the company decided to upgrade and

replace equipment on five of its vessels to

the latest Ranger 2 USBL specification. Four

of the vessels were equipped with

Sonardyne’s first generation USBL system,

whilst a fifth had a non-Sonardyne USBL

system installed.

“With the exception of the competing

USBL system that we have had some issues

with, the majority of our equipment was

legacy Sonardyne technology so we knew

the quality of the products we were looking

at,” said Steve Hodds, Navigation and

Positioning Manager at Gardline.“Since

installing the latest Ranger 2 systems we’ve

experienced a big jump in performance and

capability, meaning that we can continue to

provide our clients with quality data that has

been delivered in a safe,efficient manner

with minimal impact on the environment.”

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“Since installing the latest Ranger 2 systems we’ve experienced a big jump in performance and capability meaning that we can continueto provide our clients with quality data.”

Gardline Geosurvey’s Ocean Researcher is one of the vessels to benefit from the Ranger 2 upgrade, tracking multiple subsea targets over long ranges.

SURVEY

From First to 6G® –Gardline upgrades fleet

Baseline » Issue 8 05

SURVEY

Phoenix International and BluefinRobotics deploy Ranger 2Following the discovery of a potential debris field at Amelia Earhart’s proposed

crash site offshore Nikumaroro Island in the Western Pacific, Sonardyne can reveal

that Ranger 2 USBL with Lodestar GyroUSBL was the mission’s acoustic positioning

technology of choice. Ranger 2 positioned Phoenix International’s ROV and the

Bluefin Robotics AUV used in the underwater searches. Phoenix International was

contracted by The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR).

Upon arrival, the AUV began surveying the primary search area.After each

session, sonar imagery experts reviewed the data to identify targets of interest.The

ROV was then deployed to investigate these targets. From the Ka`imikai-o-Kanaloa

(K-O-K) research vessel, Ranger 2 monitored the subsea vehicles’ positions in real

time as they collected data and video imagery

A high performance underwater target tracking system designed upon

Sonardyne’s latest 6G® and Wideband 2 technology, Ranger 2 calculates the position

of a subsea target by measuring the range and bearing from a vessel-mounted

transceiver to an acoustic transponder on the target.

Due to the short term nature of the project, Phoenix International elected to install

a Lodestar GyroUSBL.The instrument combines a survey grade Attitude and Heading

Reference System and USBL transceiver in a single unit that can be quickly installed

on a vessel, requiring only an initial out-the-box calibration. GyroUSBL can be

subsequently moved from vessel-to-vessel without the need to perform a re-

calibration, reducing delays and generating cost savings for owners.

Will O’Halloran, Bluefin Robotics’Marine Operations Manager said,“We’ve long

been a user of Sonardyne products so Ranger 2 was a natural progression.We were

very impressed with the functionality of the latest 6G hardware and reliability of

Wideband 2.”

“The precision and repeatability of Ranger 2 was remarkable;we received USBL

hits from the AUV even though it was over 1,000 metres away,” said Evan Tanner,

Phoenix International’s Assistant Project Manager.“With ships of opportunity, a full

calibration is not always possible so the accuracy of GyroUSBL was fantastic.”

Sonardyne Inc.’s recent ‘Life of Field’ two day

workshop was well attended by over 40

industry professionals, ranging from major

oil representatives through to vessel captains.

Held at the 4 Points Sheraton Hotel, Houston,

day 1 focused on acoustic positioning

techniques whilst day 2 looked at advances

in Metrology,Autonomous Monitoring and

Inertial Navigation Systems (INS).

With sessions delivered by members of

Sonardyne’s Survey Support Group (SSG),

attendees debated achievable accuracies

in acoustic positioning and how to optimise

equipment selection for subsea positioning

tasks in the field development phase.The

second day’s presentation of inertial and

autonomous monitoring technologies

generated particularly high levels of interest,

resulting in an impromptu discussion of

real world applications with case studies

and data gathered from projects in the Gulf

of Mexico.

“We hold regular free workshops for

our customers all over the world,”

commented Ralph Gall,Technical Sales

Manager at Sonardyne Inc.“It provides an

opportunity for everyone to come together

and discuss the latest subsea techniques.

It also allows us to further interact with our

customers to find out about their upcoming

project needs and what we can to do help

achieve their objectives.”

TRAINING

INS interest leadsthe way at Houston‘Life of Field’two-day workshop

Senior surveyor Darioosh Naderi presents the keybenefits of Sonardyne 6G technology to a packedworkshop.


NEWS

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One of the largest offshore drilling

contractors in the world has awarded

Sonardyne a contract to supply a Wireless

Acoustic Emergency BOP Control system.

Noble Corporation has ordered the system

for its new deepwater drillship Noble

Globetrotter II, the fifth Noble new-build

vessel, along with other existing rigs, to be

equipped with Sonardyne’s safety critical

acoustic technology, providing reliable

through-water wireless communications,

positioning and BOP control in emergency

situations.

The Noble Globetrotter II is currently

en route to the Netherlands for tower and

drilling system installation and will be

capable of drilling in water depths up to

10,000ft.The vessel is due to begin work in

the Gulf of Mexico 2013.

In the event of loss of normal communi-

cations with a BOP stack, Sonardyne’s

acoustic command and control backup

system is used to execute emergency

shutdown and riser disconnect procedures.

The digital wideband acoustic signal

technology incorporated into the system

has been proven to offer reliable

performance in a well blow-out scenario

despite intense noise pollution that would

severely limit the performance of an

analogue acoustic BOP system.

“We have installed Sonardyne BOP

systems on several other Noble rigs so

we’re delighted to be able to continue

providing them with the critical positioning

and control solutions they need,” said Ted

Kenny, Business Development Manager of

Subsea Control Systems at Sonardyne.“As

the only provider with field-proven acoustic

systems in the immediate vicinity of a sub-

sea blowout, we have the technology and

in-depth knowledge to support Noble as it

continues with its deep water exploration

activities.The redundancy of the equipment

chosen for Noble Globetrotter II means that

they will be able to reliably communicate

with the BOP from the rig or remotely from

a standby vessel.”

CONSTRUCTION

Seatronicsand Subsea 7choose 6G forGuará-Lula

Sonardyne has been awarded a high value

contract for the supply of 6G acoustic

positioning technology for the Guará-Lula

NE oilfield development offshore Brasil.The

order was placed by Seatronics, an Acteon

company, who is hiring the equipment to

Subsea 7, the company responsible for the

engineering, procurement, installation and

commissioning (EPIC) phases of the project.

Guará and Lula NE are part of the pre-

salt giant discoveries in the Santos basin in

ultra-deep water depths of beyond 2,100

metres. Subsea 7’s project scope includes

the EPIC phases of two “uncoupled” riser

systems supporting 27 steel catenary risers.

The equipment Subsea 7 is renting for

the acoustic positioning of subsea

structures and ROVs includes multi-

functional Compatt 6 transponders, ROVNav

6 LBL transceivers and the latest addition to

the 6G product range, iWand - a hand-held

transponder test and configuration device.

Sonardyne’s Survey Support Group has

been working closely with Subsea 7 to

determine the optimum number of

Compatts to deploy and the maximum

range apart at which they can be placed to

ensure that stringent positioning tolerances

are achieved. Subsea 7 will also benefit

from the multi-user mode of the Compatts,

enabling operations in both LBL and USBL

mode simultaneously.

DRILLING

SonardyneBOP for NobleGlobetrotterII

The Noble Globetrotter II is of similar design to its sister vessel, the Noble Globetrotter I.The vessel isdue to begin work in the Gulf of Mexico in the second half of 2013.

“The digital wideband technology has been proven to offer reliable performance in a well blow-out scenario.”


Sonardyne Brasil has recently moved into its new offices in Rio das Ostras, a 10,000 square foot headquarters

facility.An area popular with companies servicing the offshore industry, the new premises is designed to meet

the needs of Sonardyne customers.A large acoustic test tank allows equipment to be tested and re-calibrated

before delivery whilst training rooms provide the opportunity for operators to simulate using the equipment.

A large warehouse enables stock holding of spares and new products so that we can satisfy immediate

demands for equipment.

“Our existing stock of 6G equipment

has proven itself on many occasions so

further investment in the technology

ensures that we are well placed to meet ever

increasing demands from our customers,”

said Phil Middleton, Operations Manager

at Seatronics.“With the kit ear-marked for

the milestone Guará-Lula development,

supported by Seatronics’ Brazil office, we

know that the project will benefit from the

reliability of the 6G product platform.”

Subsea 7’s Hugh Ferguson said,“We

were looking for equipment to fulfil very

challenging project requirements and

Seatronics was able to supply Sonardyne

6G kit which would meet these objectives.”


Trials Report

Acoustically-aided inertial navigation

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Dynamic Positioning Sea Trials for

In July of this year, Sonardyne’s

new independent DP reference

system, DP-INS, was installed on

Oceaneering’s Ocean Intervention

where it was commissioned on sea

trials at a depth of 2,991 metres

(9,814 feet) in the Gulf of Mexico.

The DP-INS system supplied consisted

of a HPT 7000 USBL transceiver and

Lodestar INS sensor mounted on the

vessel’s through-hull deployment machine.

Co-location of the transceiver and INS is

important in order to sense even the smallest

changes to the USBL transceiver’s attitude.

On the bridge, a Sonardyne Ranger 2 USBL

acoustic tracking system provided the

power, communications and user interface.

The Ranger 2 system commands the

USBL transceiver to measure the range and

bearing to a transponder on the seabed.

The Lodestar works in co-operation with

the transceiver to provide precise pitch, roll

and heading stabilisation for the received

acoustic position.All the acoustic

measurements are then fed into the Lodestar

INS which combines them with its sense of

movement to produce an INS position that

is approximately three times better than the

USBL.The INS position is then sent to the

DP system.

Sea Trials

For the sea trials, a single DPT6 transponder

was deployed on the seabed at a depth of

2,991 metres.The vessel was then placed

on DP using the INS as the sole Position

Monitoring Equipment (PME) source and

was left holding station for six hours.

Following this, the vessel was manoeuvred

around a 30 metre box and then the heading

was varied.At all times the INS position was

recorded along with the vessel’s GNSS

position which was used to analyse DP-INS

performance.

The Ranger 2 screenshot (Figure 2)

shows the operator interface while on DP

during the test.The USBL acoustic position

for the vessel is shown in green and the INS

position is shown in blue.The 2.9m 1DRMS

is the conservative real-time value.

The screenshots taken from the vessel’s

DP (Figures 3 and 4) show the response of

the system to the DP-INS where it was the

sole PME input during a six hour test of

station keeping functionality.

The DP screenshot (Figure 5) shows

how the DP desk responded to having two

GNSS receivers selected along with the

DP-INS system labelled HPR-1. Note that

the DP-INS was using a single DPT6

transponder to aid the INS system.

Conclusions

An analysis of logged data from the test

showed that at 3,000 metres depth, the

DP-INS system was accurate to 1.2 metres

(1DRMS) when the vessel was static, and

1.4 metres (1DRMS) when the analysis

includes manoeuvring.This equates to

0.04% and 0.05% water depth respectively

and assumes that the GNSS system was

without error.

DP response is also improved by the

INS sensing the acceleration and position

change of the vessel which it sends to the

DP systems at rates of 1 second or better

without having to wait for the next acoustic

position to detect the movement.

Oceaneering’s Ocean Intervention is now fitted with DP-INS, Sonardyne’s new independent DPreference system.DP-INS seamlessly integrates acoustic and inertial technologies for high accuracyand precision.

DP-INS:Benefits at a glance

● New DP reference independent from

GPS/GNSS

● Proven to deliver time and cost

savings

● Able to ride through short-term

disruptions to acoustic references

● Delivers LUSBL performance with

fewer transponders, saving

operational time

● Better than a three fold improvement

over USBL

● Optimum update rates to match DP

requirements


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r Oceaneering’s Ocean Intervention

(Above) Figure 1.Graph showing the relative Latitude and Longitude of the vessel output from the DP-INS and GNSS system.(Below) Figure 2.The Ranger 2 operator interface while on DP during test.

(Above right and below left) Figure 3 and 4.Screenshot of the vessel’s DP shows the response of the system to the DP-INS.(Below right) Figure 5.Screenshots showing how the DP desk responded to having 2 GNSS receivers selected along with the DP-INSsystem labelled HPR-1.

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Wireless monitoring and control

Feature

A long-life subsea loggingnode, Fetch enables thewireless extraction of datavia an integrated highspeed acoustic modem.Fetch can be configuredwith an array of differentsensors depending on themonitoring application.

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AvTrak 6 is an integratedAUV tracking and controlsystem combining acousticpositioning and wirelesscommunications in asingle instrument.

The position, depth,inclination and currentprofile of risers, risertowers, mooring lines andturret buoys can bedetermined using multi-function 6G transponders.Riser integrity monitoringusing ultrasonic sensorsand acoustic modems isused to determine thecurrent extent, and predictthe future rate, of corrosionto metallic parts of thestructure.

Sonardyne’s navigation anddata telemetry technologyis used to support all stagesof reservoir surveys usingOcean Bottom Nodesincluding deployment,quality control datacollection and recovery.

Autonomous MonitoringTransponders (AMTs) arelong-endurance instrumentsused extensively for seabedand structure movementsurveys.They autonomouslyacquire acoustic ranges andsensor data without surfacecontrol for up to 5 years.

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Sonardyne–Connecting you toyour subsea world

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Over the last decade, the use of wireless acoustic communications to transfer data andcontrol remote subsea assets has become very much a mainstream activity in theoffshore industry. Writing for Baseline, Engineering Business Development ManagerShaun Dunn reviews a selection of monitoring and control applications made possibleby Sonardyne’s acoustic and new optical communications technologies. >>

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Monitoring riserinclination is importantfor ensuring integrityis maintained.Sonardyne’s RiserProfiling System offerswireless real-timeprofiles of currentspeed and direction,temperature andinclination.

Sonardyne has developedan Automatic LeakDetection Sonar capableof detecting small oil andgas leaks around subseastructures.From a singlesensor, one billion cubicfeet of water can bemonitored.

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Sonardyne can equipAutonomous SurfaceVehicles (ASVs) with6G acoustic modems,preparing them forwireless sensor dataextraction.Using ASVsin this way cansignificantly reduceoperational costs.

DP-INS is anacoustically-aidedinertial positionreference for DP rigsand constructionvessels.It deliversLUSBL performancewith fewer seabedtransponders savingoperational time.

Seabed networks of 6Gtransponders deliver thehighest levels of positioningand measurement precision.Simultaneous operations aresupported, ensuring tasksare fast and efficient.

Sonardyne’s acousticData Loggers are usedto monitor variouscharacteristics ofsubsea wells.They areprogrammed tomeasure and recordsensor data within awell before beinguploaded for analysis.

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In the event of loss ofprimary control of awellhead, Sonardyne’semergency acoustic BOPcontroller allows safe andsecure shutdown anddisconnect procedures.

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Feature

USERS OF WIRELESS acoustic communicationssystems have applied Sonardyne technologysuccessfully in countless applications, rangingfrom long term measurement of phenomena suchas seabed settlement, changes to ambienttemperature and sound velocity, to the real timemonitoring of positions, attitude and movement

of subsea structures and vehicles such as Autonomous UnderwaterVehicles (AUVs).

Well monitoring Sonardyne’s range of acoustic Data Loggers have long been usedto monitor various characteristics of subsea wells, removing therequirement for expensive umbilicals and surface infrastructure.

These devices are programmed to measure and record pressureand temperature data from sensors deep within a well over periodsranging from a few months to several years. A surface vessel uses anover-the-side acoustic modem to periodically upload this data foronward transmission to the client where it is analysed by reservoirengineers.

The wireless nature of the Data Logger enables it to be used in theinfancy of a well prior to the arrival of a surface platform with umbilicalconnections to the wellhead. In this instance, the data is used to modelthe size and connectivity between individual oil deposits and to monitorthe effects of hydrocarbon extraction on production pressures.

As production pressure reduces towards the end of a well’s life, it is oftenabandoned and the surface infrastructure removed. In this case, theData Logger is used to provide long term monitoring and, in the event ofrising well pressure, to help drive the decision to re-establish production.

BOP controlSharing the same robust acoustic communications protocols as DataLoggers, Sonardyne’s Emergency Acoustic BOP Control System allowsa subsea well to be shut-in and the riser disconnected if control via theriser umbilical is lost. The additional wireless functionality provides anindependent means to actuate the BOP from a vessel or lifeboat. Withsystems installed worldwide, an excellent track record for reliableoperation has been established.

In 2011, subsea solution provider Trendsetter Engineering Inc. wascontracted by the Marine Well Containment Company to develop asubsea capping stack for rapid deployment anywhere in the Gulf ofMexico in the event of a well blow out incident. During an emergency,the supplied Sonardyne system monitors pressures within the cappingstack, transmitting the data to the surface in real time. This ensures thatcontainment engineers are provided with up to date information whenmaking critical operational decisions.

Acoustic networksOften, the sensors required to make subsea measurements are locatedseveral miles away from the nearest convenient data extraction point

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(Left) AMTtransponders have aunique autonomousoperating mode thatallow them to log vastamounts of acousticranges (distance) andsensor measurementsover many yearswithout userintervention.Theirprecision enables anydeformation of theseabed or slightestmovement by astructure, to bemeasured to lessthan a centimetre.Recovering data isboth fast and secure,and by removing theoverhead of adedicated ROV andsupport vessel, remotemonitoring projectsusing AMTs havebeen proven to deliversubstantial costsavings.(Right) Sonardyne hasa proven track recordin supplying acousticpositioning andcommunicationssolutions to theworld’s leading AUVmanufacturers andoperators.


with no communications cables in place to transmit the data.The maximum range of any wireless acoustic system is governed

by many environmental factors that can limit the ability to transmit datadirectly from the sensor to the platform. To overcome this, Sonardynehas created networking capabilities for its autonomous monitoring andcommunication transponders that enable sensor data to be routedthrough several transponders, greatly improving the operational rangeof the system.

In West Africa, an autonomous monitoring and data acquisitionsystem was commissioned by Subsea 7 to investigate a pipelinethat exhibited signs of axial creeping. Elsewhere in the region, a systemis currently being engineered for Hess Equatorial Guinea, Inc. that willmeasure pipeline pressure and temperature at several choke valveslocated on the seabed in nearly 1,000 metres of water. Every fewhours, each instrument will wake up, collect measurements and thentransmit the data along a 10 kilometre backbone of transpondersmoored a few metres above the seabed and ultimately to an acousticmodem deployed from an FPSO. Analysis of this data will enable theoperator to decide when valves must be opened or closed to controloil production rates.

AUV tracking and controlAUVs are beginning to be used in oilfields to conduct autonomousinspection tasks such as pipeline positioning and integrity inspections aswell as gathering video and sonar data of critical subsea infrastructure.

Such vehicles manoeuvre and navigate largely independently withoutthe provision of communications and power via an umbilical to drivethe automation process.

Sonardyne provides a high integrity acoustic link for AUVsseamlessly integrated with a Ranger 2 USBL tracking system. Thisprovides two key benefits; it allows the AUV position to be monitored veryprecisely so that operators can intervene if for any reason the AUV doesnot follow its predetermined flight plan. Secondly, it provides a wirelesscommunications link that can transmit position and sensor datagenerated by the AUV to the surface operator and can also be usedas a command and control downlink to alter or abort the AUV’s missionplan if necessary.

The Ranger 2 AUV tracking and control system was recentlyinstalled on a Bluefin Robotics AUV used by Phoenix InternationalHoldings, who in turn were contracted by The International Group forHistoric Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) to search for the remains of theaircraft flown by Amelia Earhart during her failed circumnavigationattempt in 1937. The system provided key tracking data from the AUVto ensure it maintained its search patterns effectively and that vital sonardata was not overlooked.

Riser integrity monitoringSubsea project and integrity management company Flexlife is aspecialist in monitoring the integrity of flexible risers. One specifictechnique involves regularly probing into the riser with ultrasonic signals

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Feature

and observing the characteristics of these signals as they reflect off thevarious internal structures within the riser. With this technique, it ispossible to determine if the riser is flooded with seawater and also tomonitor the current extent and predict the future rate of any subsequentcorrosion to metallic parts including the steel annulus wires.

In partnership, Flexlife and Sonardyne have developed FlexGuard,a long endurance ultrasonic integrity monitoring system that enablesremote riser integrity monitoring from any location in the world andwithout direct operator intervention.

The system comprises a series of riser friendly ultrasonic clamp toolscomplete with acoustic modems that are deployed by ROV onto eachriser in the field. These are routinely and remotely interrogated usingan acoustic modem dunker and topside software control system tomeasure the integrity status of each riser. The data gathered is used byFlexlife to advise asset managers of the most appropriate course ofaction; this could include conducting more detailed investigations ordirect intervention to prolong the life of the affected riser or to replaceit as necessary.

Riser shape profilingMonitoring the inclination of risers deployed from drilling or productionvessels is an important step in ensuring integrity is maintained despitecontinual movement caused by tides, currents and harsh weather.However, it is costly and impractical to use cable connected sensorsalong the length of the riser to perform this critical task.

Sonardyne’s Riser Profiling System provides operators with awireless real-time vertical profile of current speed, direction, temperatureand inclination at regular intervals down the riser so that movement canbe monitored.

Sensor data is measured by acoustic transponders fitted withexternal single point current metres. These are either clamped ontothe riser during deployment, or installed via ROV. The information istransmitted at regular intervals using acoustic telemetry up to atransceiver fitted on the vessel, thereby eliminating the need forexpensive umbilicals to be fitted up each riser.

High speed opticsUnderwater optical communications is an emerging technology thatcomplements the long range capabilities of acoustic communications.The high bandwidth signals support extremely high data rates of upto 20 megabits per second which can be used to transmit very largeamounts of data between assets separated by up to a few hundredmetres.

A further benefit is that in contrast to acoustic and radio frequencywaves, the amount of energy required to transfer each binary ‘bit’ ofdata optically is extremely low. This is an important factor if wirelesssystems are required to operate from internal battery supplies for manyyears without intervention.

Free space optical communications technology has beendeveloped over several years by scientists and engineers from the

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Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Falmouth,Massachusetts, USA and with whom Sonardyne recently formed a jointventure company called Lumasys.

The first Lumasys product offering, BlueComm, provides a highspeed optical data uplink coupled with a low data rate acousticdownlink used for command and control. This system allows for theextraction of large amounts of data from wireless sensors in an energyefficient manner and also supports the transmission of camera imageryand high definition video in real time.

Low latency (<1s) optical communications are particularly suited foruse with underwater vehicles. Operations close to subsea infrastructuresare almost exclusively performed using tethered ROVs due to the needto carefully control the vehicle movements and to observe real timevideo imagery for the purpose of hazard avoidance.

The unique combination of bi-directional optical and acousticcommunications offered by BlueComm will in the future enable ROVpilots to wirelessly control vehicles in close proximity to subsea structureswithout the need for a physical tether. This feature will enable a greaterfreedom of movement and reduction in risk of tether entanglement whilststill maintaining real time video feeds from, and direct control of,subsea vehicles.

Pipeline corrosion monitoringMonitoring the level of corrosion and erosion in subsea pipelines is thefocus of Norwegian company ClampOn. Its non-invasive Corrosion-

Erosion Monitor (CEM) uses ultrasonic sensors to periodically measureaverage pipeline wall thickness to detect and track any long termdegradation to pipeline integrity.

Operating without hardwired communications and power, theCEM is connected to a Sonardyne Compatt 6 modem that storesindividual measurement data over many months until a surface vessel istasked to visit the site and acoustically extract the logged data using anover the side modem.

However, instead of sending a manned surface vessel to performthis task, the CEM sensor can also have its data extracted by a LiquidRobotics Wave Glider Autonomous Surface Vehicle (ASV) equippedwith a Sonardyne 6G acoustic modem. The ASV transits to the CEM’slocation, uploads the data acoustically and forwards it by Iridiumsatellite communications and across the internet to land based pipelinecorrosion analysts. Using ASVs in this way provides a significantoperational cost saving and eliminates the increased risk associatedwith sending vessels and crews to sea unnecessarily.

Wirelessly connecting youThe increasing number of real world projects demonstrate that wirelesscommunications technology has opened up a whole variety of sensingand control tasks that are otherwise prohibited by cost, complexity andlikelihood of failure of traditional cabled systems. With Sonardyne’shighly capable acoustic and now optical communications technologies,our wireless subsea solutions let you do it all. BL

the riser is deployed.(This page, clockwisefrom right) ASVs likeWave Glider can betasked with wirelesslyharvesting data fromSonardyne subseasensors;Graphsdepicting the pressureand temperature datameasurements fromSonardyne sensors andrecovered via acoustictelemetry as part of arecent Tsunamimonitoring study.

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(Opposite pageclockwise from left)BlueComm is a shortrange, through-waterwireless opticalcommunicationsystem that is capableof broadband speeddata transmission.BlueComm uses anarray of high powerlight emitting diodes(LEDs) that are rapidlymodulated to transmitdata.This enablesclass leading data rate

of up to 10-20 Mb persecond at 100 metresand 1 Mb per secondat 200 metres indeepwater whereturbidity is typicallylow;Norwegiancompany ClampOnuse 6G transpondersto log and transmitpipeline thicknessdata gathered byultrasonic sensors;Acoustic profilingsensors can be in-stalled by ROV whilst

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Technology

Automatic leak detection


TRACKINGDOWLeaks are unfortunately nothing new in the offshore oil and gas industry but sensitivityto their environmental consequences, and the ever more challenging deep waterenvironments in which the industry must operate to extract remaining hydrocarbonreserves, has placed a spotlight on existing safety technology and procedures.Reporting for Baseline, Dr Graham Brown writes about how Sonardyne has appliedits sonar imaging techniques to develop a system capable of automatically monitoringmore than one billion cubic feet of water for the smallest of leaks. Say hello to ALDS. >>

ALDS has been designedto continuously andautomatically detect andlocalise oil and gas leaksbelow 1 barrel per day,at ranges in excess of 500metres whilst eliminatingtransient acoustic targetsthat could trigger falsealarms.

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WN THE LEAKS


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Technology

Automatic leak detection

In light of recent well publicised hydrocarbon leaks in theGulf of Mexico, North Sea, Brazil, China and West Africa,sensitivities to drilling and production leaks have increasedthroughout the world, bringing the entire industry under scrutiny.As such, there are compelling drivers for installing efficient andautomatic wide area leak detection systems, which include the

protection of the marine environment, compliance to emerging legislationand the protection of a corporation’s reputation and bottom line.Providing operators with a tool to quickly detect and locate subsea leakscan facilitate rapid and structured intervention to solve the problem.

Recent eventsIn recent years there have been many spills reported worldwide, somegaining only regional media attention, others having a sustained globalmedia impact. In the North Sea in 2011, a spill of around 1,300barrels in just 95 metres water was first suggested by the appearance ofan oil slick. Difficulty in localising the original source resulted in a delayedresponse time and generated significant attention from national newsoutlets and political parties. Earlier this year, a small sheen of oil in theGulf of Mexico (GoM), estimated to be around six barrels over 10square miles with little direct environmental impact and no direct linkto the operation, was enough to send company shares down nearly1% through unfavourable media reports. Looking ahead to the predictedArctic oil rush, Lloyd’s has singled out an oil spill as ‘the greatest risk interms of environmental damage, potential cost and insurance.’

Whilst subsea hydrocarbon leaks caused by drilling activity arewidely publicised, few people realise the impact of natural seeps. In anatural seep, oil or gas leaks from a reservoir close to the surface. Onland, these seeps were the basis used by early oil explorers to choose

their drilling locations. The National Research Council (NRC) of the U.S.National Academy of Sciences stated that as a best estimate natural oilseeps contribute the highest amount of oil to the marine environment,accounting for 46% of the annual load to the world’s oceans. Researchhas shown that many natural seeps do not leak oil and gas continuously.As such, there could be significant benefit to an operator surveying theseafloor to quantify any natural seeps prior to drilling.

Current techniquesExisting leak detection spans a range of technologies dependent onthe development phase of the field, the regulatory environment and theoperator. During equipment commissioning, optical systems are oftenused to monitor dye injections for checking flange integrity duringhydro-static pressure tests whilst during production, pipeline pressuremeasurements are one of the primary means by which operatorsmonitor pipeline integrity by alerting on low pressures, termed PressureSafety Lows (PSL). From a regulatory standpoint, pipeline leak detectionhas focused on the use of PSL though it has been observed that manysmall leaks are not detected by them. In a limited number of fields,passive hydrophone systems have been situated on critical subseaequipment to provide localised leak detection. During intervention to findsuspected leaks, high frequency active sonar has also been used, but thishas been limited to short operation close to the leak.

Whilst the issue of leaks is nothing new in the industry, there aresignificant gaps in leak detection and localisation technology; there isno existing real-time wide area coverage technology and no seamlessreal-time means by which detected leaks can be localised to specificregions for rapid intervention. This is the design intent of Sonardyne’sAutomatic Leak Detection Sonar – ALDS.

ALDS is connected to the monitoring platform via single mode fibre-optic cable ensuring data transmission over long distances is rapid and reliable.

Manufactured from Grade 5 Titanium housing, the ALDS is designed for permanent installation in deep water field developments.

Efficient electronics and transducer arrays result in a total power budget of less than 70W for the sonar head.

The active sonar array can monitor more than one billion cubic feet of seawater, with 360° of coverage from a single sensor location.

ALDS sonar head –at a glance


From Sentinel to ALDSALDS is a new product from our active sonar programme which firstyielded Sentinel, a diver detection sonar capable of tracking andclassifying underwater targets at long ranges and from any direction.With systems deployed worldwide, Sentinel is recognised as the bestperforming intruder sonar and proved the ideal technology base fromwhich to develop a leak detection sonar.

In an offshore field development, ALDS sonar heads can bedeployed in strategic locations near pipelines and seabed infrastructure.Data from each sonar is combined into a single monitoring displayinstalled at an offshore or onshore facility. Should a leak be detected,an alarm is raised and the precise location of the leak is displayed.

It’s not possible for a person to look at a raw sonar display and spota leak. The core of any successful monitoring system is automation, andthe team responsible for the development of the automated diver trackingwithin Sentinel have developed a completely new sonar processingstrategy for leak detection. Such a system must be capable of ignoringnormal operational activities such as ROV operations and productionnoise, and alert to and localise leaks with a low false alarm rate andgood accuracy. To be operationally useful it must cover a wide area.

ALDS in actionTheoretical analysis and performance modelling gave us the confidenceto prototype a system for shallow water evaluation at our Plymouth testfacility in order to test the theory. Although very different to deepwater,success here was critical for the development of a fully fledged ALDS.

Using a compressed air supply and high accuracy flowmeters tosimulate gas leaks and an acoustic mimic of a small oil plume, detailedanalysis of the sonar raw data showed that the prototype system reliably

detected low volumes of simulated gas and oil leaks. Consequently, tocontinue with ALDS’ development, deepwater performance testing in areal world offshore environment was required. For reasons of commercialsensitivity, we can’t give precise details of the experimental location butit occurred in early 2012 in the GoM. The aims of the experimentwere to demonstrate detection of simulated mono-phase (no gas) oilleaks of less than 100 barrels per day at ranges out to 500 metres in areal oil field environment, accurately localise the leak and automaticallyeliminate transient acoustic targets to ensure low false alarm rates anddetect within a few seconds of initiation. The intention was to conducta controlled experiment with a conservative, but realistic, sonar targetreplicating an oil plume.

Detection performanceDuring the trials, the simulated oil leaks were deployed in clear ‘line ofsight’ of the sonar as well as close in front of and behind subsea structures.Data analysis showed rapid detection and localisation of the leaks.

In most real cases leaks are never just pure oil, they are a mix of oiland gas. As gas is easier to detect, its presence in an oil leak makes itpossible to detect at ranges of 500 metres.

Final testing of the ALDS will occur in early 2013, when the systemwill return to the deepwater oil field for real-time gas leak testing.

Sonardyne firmly believes that there will be strong immediatedemands for ALDS throughout the life of an oilfield, from pre-drillingsurveys of the site for natural fissures and leaks, through drilling andproduction phases, to decommissioning and monitoring of abandonedwells. Furthermore, as the world moves towards a carbon neutraleconomy, applications for ALDS may also exist for the continuousmonitoring of future marine carbon sequestration sites. BL

(Left) Deployment ofan ALDS mounted to aseabed frame.Air andlong bundles ofneoprene strands wereused to simulatehydrocarbon leaksduring shallow watertrials at Sonardyne’sresearch centre inPlymouth.(Right)Predicted ALDSdetection range as afunction of mono-phase gas leaks andoil leaks.(Far right)ALDS software is fullyautomated offeringreliable detection,rapid notification andlocalisation of leaks.ALDS does not requirea trained sonar expertto adjust the sonarparameters;it has beendesigned to providerobust operation withlow false alarm ratesin all environments.

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“We have certainly seen thebenefits to using GyroCompattsand Sonardyne Wideband inthis metrology project.”Vincent Latron, Project Surveyor, Technip

Fast, accurate subsea metrology


CaseStudy

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In June 2010,Technip, a leading

company in project management,

engineering and construction for the

energy industry, was awarded a

lump sum engineering, procure-

ment, installation and construction

(EPIC) contract for the West Delta Deep

Marine (WDDM) concession offshore Egypt.

The project consisted of the expansion of

the existing facilities, located approximately

90 kilometres from the Nile Delta shoreline.

Operating in depths ranging from 250 to

1000 metres, this natural gas project

development was the first deepwater

venture of its kind in the Eastern

Mediterranean.

Under the terms of the EPIC agreement,

Technip was required to:

● Design, supply and install three

production manifolds and three subsea

distribution assemblies

● Engineer, weld and install approximately

67 kilometres (km) of rigid production

flowlines

● Engineer, fabricate and install

approximately 88km of umbilicals, 12km of

flexible flowlines and three flexible jumpers

● Connect the flowlines and umbilicals to

the wellheads and subsea manifolds

● Pre-commission the entire system and

support of the start-up activities

In order to fulfil the work scope, 21 jumper

metrology operations were required so

Technip turned to Sonardyne to supply the

latest Wideband Long BaseLine (LBL)

acoustic positioning hardware.

Subsea metrology requires accurate,

precise and robust acoustic measurements

in order that a spool or jumper can be

successfully fabricated and installed. For a

low-risk, multi-functional and cost-effective

solution to Technip’s metrology project,

Sonardyne recommended using its

Lodestar GyroCompatts.These instruments

integrated the features of Sonardyne’s most

advance LBL transponder, Compatt, with a

Lodestar Attitude and Heading Reference

System (AHRS) in a single ROV-deployable

subsea housing.This provides high update

rate wireless attitude, heading, heave, surge,

sway, pressure, sound velocity (SV) and

acoustic positioning of any subsea object.

Edd Moller, Sonardyne’s Survey

Support Group Manager explained,“One

of the main challenges of acoustic metrology

is to ensure that the measured wideband

acoustic range can be translated accurately

down from the transponder to the hub level.

This is traditionally done using inclinometer

Compatts which is then QC’d by rotating the

Compatts in the hubs to determine

misclosure in both the stab to hub mating

and also inclinometer and alignment errors.

Thus the main purpose of this project was to

simultaneously use a GyroCompatt in each

hub with precision stabs and receptacles.

Acoustic ranges could then be made whilst

rotating the GyroCompatts and then using

the attitude data recorded by the

GyroCompatt, the projections of the hub

position could be deduced.This meant we

could compare the calculated Hub-to-Hub

distances during the different rotations in

order to justify removing the requirement

for this alignment QC procedure altogether.”

Vincent Latron, Project Surveyor at

Technip said,“The results showed that the

difference between the rotational

alignments from the first four metrologies

gave a maximum horizontal Hub-to-Hub

distance error of 15 millimetres (mm).The

overall average error was only 6 mm which

was well within the Sonardyne position

measurement quoted accuracy of 50 mm.”

and the required accuracy of 75mm.”

By optimising its technique,Technip was

able to complete each metrology operation

in an average of 13 hours; one such

operation was also conducted in under

9 hours.This resulted in the setup,

measurements, drawings, jumper

fabrication and installation for the entire

spool being completed in less than 8 days.

“We have certainly seen the benefits

to using GyroCompatts and Sonardyne

Wideband in this metrology project,” added

Vincent.“We’ve had good accuracy with

our baseline measurements and the

integration of all the sensors has reduced

offset errors, all with reduced ROV

manipulation.The Wideband technology

has also minimised the risks of multipath

and was a significant factor in the reduction

of the amount of baseline calibration

required.”

Technip saves time in theWest Delta Deep Marine

A GyroCompatt is manoeuvred into position onthe hub by an ROV.


Pipeline bundle tow monitoring

Project Report

Subsea7completesrecordNorthSonardyne6Gtechnology

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Over the last 16 months, Sonardyne’s acoustic positioning technology has been usedby Subsea 7 for the transportation and installation of over 40 km of pipeline bundle towsfor multiple contracts. Baseline looks at how the development of novel acoustic telemetryprotocols and system software has aided the delivery of pipeline bundle projects.

Subsea 7, a seabed-to-surface engineering, constructionand services contractor to the offshore energy industryworldwide, is regularly awarded EPIC (Engineering,Procurement, Installation and Commissioning) contractsfor the fabrication and installation of bundle pipelines.Its most recent projects resulted in the delivery of eight

such bundles, including its longest one to date – a 28 kilometre (km)delivered as four 7 km bundles. Pipeline bundle solutions are designedto neatly integrate all the necessary structures, valve work, pipelineand control systems required to operate a field within one single steelcarrier pipe. Incorporating all of this technology within one structure

offers substantial cost savings as expensive offshore operationsare minimised.

Each pipeline bundle was assembled at Subsea 7’s onshorefabrication facility at Wick in Scotland, geographically suited toservice West of Shetland fields, the Norwegian and North Seas.Once complete, the fully tested pipeline bundle system is transportedto its destination using the company’s pioneering Controlled DepthTow Method (CDTM). Here, bundle configurations are suspendedbetween two tow vessels at a controlled depth below the surface,a technique that requires real-time acoustic positioning and wirelessstatus monitoring of the pipeline down its entire length.

(Main image) The 28km bundlebeing towed to site using CDTM(Above, from left to right) Eachbundle was assembled at Subsea7’s fabrication facility;Compatt 6transponders installed at regularintervals along the bundle;Towout of the bundle begins fromWick in Scotland.


hSeapipebundlecontractsusing

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Compatt 6, AHRS and custom softwareTo achieve this, Sonardyne Compatt 6 transponders were installedalong each bundle at intervals of 700-1000 metres whilst thecompany’s Lodestar Attitude Heading and Reference Systems (AHRS)were used to monitor the bundle tails. This suite of sensors was used towirelessly transmit data relating to depth, heading, internal carrierpressure and tow wire angles to the escorting ROV Support Vessel(RSV). A full set of sensor reading updates were sent every 20-40seconds. Custom designed software allowed the survey teamsonboard to analyse the data throughout each tow to ensure that eachpipeline did not sag or snake excessively due to the effects of tow

speed, tide and sea state, and that it was ‘flying’ at the required depthto avoid submerged objects. During a tow-out, the towmaster is ableto alter the depth profile of a pipeline bundle by various methodsincluding varying the tow speed.

Nick Street, Project Manager at Sonardyne said, “We’redelighted that the ongoing reliability and accuracy of our equipmenthas resulted in the successful delivery of Subsea 7’s pipeline bundlecontracts. Our latest Wideband 2 signal architecture, present in allour 6G products, was designed specifically for use in the mostchallenging acoustic environments such as this case, and it hasperformed remarkably well.” BL

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Product Focus

Ranger 2 USBL



Sonardyne introduced its firstUltra-Short BaseLine (USBL)two decades ago and its latestsystem,Ranger 2,continues toset the performance bench-mark for underwater trackingand DP reference applications.It’s the USBL that does it all.

● From shallow to ultra deep,Ranger

2 can track multiple subsea targets

upto and beyond 6,000 metres.

● Software is easy to learn and

intuitive to use,whether your task is

simple tracking or complex survey.

● Ping stacking technology gives

you the fastest position updates of

any USBL system – one per second

independent of water depth.

● Support for 6G and Wideband 2

technologies gives you robust

performance,ease of use,faster

operations and products that work

together.

● Compatibility with previous

generation hardware ensures you

can upgrade to Ranger 2 smoothly

and cost-effectively.

● Ranger 2 is tightly coupled with

Sonardyne’s inertial technologies –

integration that delivers even greater

precision and faster operations.

● Ranger 2 supports all industry

standard telegrams so you can be

sure it will seamlessly integrate with

your vessel’s DP system and survey

suite.

● Invest in Ranger 2 and you’ll

gain access to Sonardyne’s global

support,backed up by experts in

your region.

Ranger 2:Performancecomes as standard

Shallow water ROV positioning


CaseStudy

Explosiveaccuracy forARAwith Scout USBLARA Incorporated,a specialist in high hazard

explosives and environmental remediation,

was recently tasked with supporting a

subsurface survey of Terminal 91 in the Port

of Seattle,Washington. Used by the Navy

during World War II and as a berthing place

of the USS Missouri,Terminal 91 was a port

of embarkation for troops and supplies, and

continued to be used by the military up until

1970. Following its acquisition by the Port of

Seattle in 1976,Terminal 91 is now home to

both short-and long-term moorings for

many different vessels.

2009 saw further development of

Terminal 91 with a new cruise ship facility,

Smith Cove, opening on Pier 91 and

homeport to a multitude of luxurious liners

including Carnival, Princess Cruises and

Royal Caribbean International. Prior to the

beginning of the cruise season, a routine

diver sweep of the seafloor surrounding the

piers unearthed World War II-era military

ammunitions, including a 5” training round

and, subsequently, 20-90 mm rounds, a

3” armour-piercing round and a mechanical

timer fuse.With the Terminal’s history as a

naval pier, it was not considered uncommon

for ammunition to be lost in the bay.These

initial sweeps of the ocean floor using multi-

beam, side scan sonar and stationary

scanning resulted in a Time Critical

operation status, cutting planning time to

less than six months instead of the usual two

to three years.This operation took place

throughout the first quarter of 2011 during

which further munitions were also detected.

Kitting out the survey

To undertake further subsea surveys of the

Terminal 91 circa 1970.The Port had regained ownership of the piers after the US Navy had taken them over during WWII in 1942. Image: Port of Seattle Archives

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terminal used by cruise ships to berth,ARA

was supported by Sonardyne’s Houston

office from which it purchased a Scout USBL

acoustic tracking system and ViewPoint

navigation software.A complete vessel

based acoustic positioning system, Scout

USBL is designed for tracking divers, ROVs

and towfish in waters up to 1,000 metres.

Calculating the position of a subsea target

by measuring its range and bearing from a

vessel mounted transceiver to a small

acoustic transponder fitted to the target, the

system offers high accuracy performance

with efficient subsea tracking operations.

Ralph Gall,Technical Sales Manager at

Sonardyne remarked,“Although commonly

used by the offshore survey and ocean

scientific industries, Scout is equally at

home tracking a diver or target in just a few

metres of water so we were confident that it

was the right solution for ARA to use on this

unusual project.”

John Coughlin, Director of Engineering

and Sciences at ARA commented:“With the

development of the cruise ship terminal

and the high-powered manoeuvring bow

thrusters of modern day cruise ships

disturbing the ocean sediment with their

powerful wake, it was decided that the site

under Pier 91 required further investigation.

As a result, our role in this operation was to

identify and clear magnetic anomalies in

support of the subsea survey using

magnetometers.”

Navigating the waters

The Munitions Response Area of which ARA

supported the Remedial Investigation was

an area equivalent to 86 acres of open water.

ARA’s Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)

ROUMRS (Remotely Operated Underwater

Munitions Recovery System) was fitted with

a Sonardyne WSM6 transponder and a

Scout transceiver was deployed from the

side of the dock on a simple pole

arrangement, feeding ViewPoint with

position output data to graphically display

the ROV’s position on an electronic chart of

the port.ViewPoint allowed ARA to explore,

visualise and share positioning data from

the USBL system, transforming the co-

ordinates of surface vessels, subsea

vehicles and structures into geographical

information that is overlaid on easy-to-use

guidance displays.

John continued:“The results of our

subsea survey were fantastic and we were

particularly impressed with the sub-metre

accuracy we achieved in this challenging

environment. It wouldn’t have been possible

without the help of the team at Sonardyne;

not only did they provide the best equipment

for the job but their invaluable expertise,

integrated software and on-site training

meant that our objectives were fulfilled in a

timely and cost-effective manner.”

(Clockwise from top left)The creation of the Port of Seattlein 1911 transformed a mix ofprivately-owned and competingwaterfront companies into apublicly-owned and organisedcentre of trade for Seattle. Image:courtesy Washington State Archives,Puget Sound Branch, Port of SeattlePhotograph Collection; Engineersfit the ROUMRS ROV with aSonardyne WSM6 transponder,ready for deployment in the port;The first object recovered was a5”training round dated March1945. Images: Port of Seattle

Terminal 91:A fascinating story

● Berthing place of the USS

Missouri during World War II and

used by the military until 1970, the

terminal was bought by the Port of

Seattle in 1976.Terminal 91 and its

cruise facility at Pier 91 are now

home to many cruise liners.

● With 17 berths, multiple storage

options and cruise ship facilities,

Terminal 91 is one of the most

diverse marine terminals on the

West Coast of America.

● More than 300 munitions were

found during the survey including

projectiles, warheads, armour

piercing rounds and regular rounds

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Technology

Systems and Products

GyroUSBLLodestar GyroUSBL combines a high performance HPT USBL transceiver and a LodestarAttitude and Heading Reference System (AHRS) in an easy-to-use mechanical assembly.

Factory-calibrated and with the AHRS in

fixed mechanical alignment to the USBL’s

acoustic array, the Lodestar GyroUSBL

can be quickly deployed without the need

for a lengthy calibration to determine the

alignment of the ship’s motion sensors

to the acoustic transceiver. For certain

applications, this can enable significant

savings in vessel time and operational costs.

The HPT transceiver component of the

instrument utilises the latest Sonardyne

Wideband® 2 signal processing and is fully

compatible with other products in the

Sonardyne 6G equipment range.

Lodestar is tightly integrated into the USBL

system, providing power and communi-

cations to the HPT transceiver and

embedded highly accurate time-stamping

of all motion and acoustic data.This enables

unparalleled precision and accuracy of

position estimation by removing many of

the sources of error associated with all

USBLs such as lever arm offsets, pole

bending and ship flexing.

In addition, because many of the system

parameters are now fixed, only an initial

straight-out-of-the-box calibration is

required during installation.Thereafter, it

can be installed on different vessels without

the need for re-calibration.

Manufactured in Aluminium-Bronze, the

Lodestar GyroUSBL is ideally suited for

short term, temporary installations on

vessels of opportunity using through-hull or

over-the-side deployment poles. It is also

ideal for permanent installation on flexible

stem tubes.

Calibration can be a time-consuming exercise but withLodestar GyroUSBL, only aninitial calibration isrequired.Ideal for operationson vessels of opportunity, thetechnology reduces vesseldelays and generates costsavings for owners.

GyroUSBL Facts & Figures

● Integrated Wideband 2 USBL

transceiver and Lodestar AHRS/INS

for high performance

● Available in two versions:standard

and deepwater optimised

● Calibration-free for rapid set up

● Class leading system precision

and accuracy

● Compatible with Sonardyne

Marksman LUSBL,DP-INS and

Ranger 2 USBL systems

● Water-blocked transducer array to

protect electronics

● Compatible with through-hull,

over-the-side and stem tube

deployment systems


Technology

Systems and Products

The new iWand is a handheld, batterypowered, highly portable design for backdeck testing of sensors, acoustic levels,release mechanisms and battery packcapacity.It offers multi-band operation inLMF, MF and HMF with simple to usesoftware that automatically synchronisesto a variety of PC connection options.

Small, rugged and splash proof, the iWand

is ideal for setting up acoustic transponders

laid out on the back deck of a ship, fitted to

ROVs or attached to subsea structures

before they are deployed.The simple to use

menu interface and sunlight readable

display makes it easy to test, gather and

download configurations.

Communication to a transponder is via an

acoustic ‘Wand’ which is held against the

transponder’s transducer.This tests the

acoustic transmission and reception

functions of the transponder, ensuring they

are operating correctly.

The iWand is used in conjunction with the

6G configuration software running on a

standard PC. It enables all 6G (except

WSM6) transponders to be easily

configured. Once an instrument has been

configured by the 6G Configurator

software, its settings will be automatically

downloaded to the iWand for delivery when

a synchronisation process is performed.

Configurations for multiple 6G instruments

can be held by the iWand at the same time.

The internal GPS receiver provides UTC

time tagging of communication to

transponders and PC and can also be used

to synchronise multiple transponders to

UTC for logging applications.

The configuration of the various

transponders can then be exported to a

document as an audit trail, or to a file that

can be imported into Sonardyne

positioning system navigation software.

The iWand has various PC connection

options: Bluetooth, USB or Serial.The USB is

used to recharge the internal battery.

iWand Facts & Figures

● Automatically discovers the

acoustic address of the instrument

● Supports all 6G acoustic frequency

bands (LMF,MF and HMF) and

Wideband address ranges

● Easy communication via the

accessible acoustic transducer

● Automatic instrument configuration

based on the unique ID of the

transponder,ensuring only the

correct configuration is downloaded

● Simple transponder configuration

● Serial test capability

● Configuration export to other

Sonardyne systems

● Test report generated for audit trail

iWandThe iWand is a back deck acoustic transponder test and configuration device with serialtest capability, developed for use with Sonardyne’s sixth generation product range.


International

News from around the World

SE Asia – SingaporeNick SmedleySenior Vice President

USA – HoustonSimon ReevesSenior Vice President

UK – AberdeenBarry CairnsVP Europe and Africa

Brazil – Rio das OstrasPaul SmithOperations Director

6G far and wide

We are experiencing our busiest

year to date with Sonardyne

systems dominating major

projects throughout the region as

customers are now reaping the

benefits of 6G and Wideband 2.

We are hearing reports of

phenomenal results with SPRINT

and Sparse LBL out in Egypt,

proving that these systems are

the most robust ever. 6G is now

the dominant technology for

positioning, navigation,

telemetry and control, with

demands for more challenging

operations being met by its

advanced features.

Workshops and training

Feedback from a recent training

course held here in Aberdeen

commented on how our systems

are designed with the user in

mind.“Clearly a great deal of

thought has gone into

understanding what our

requirements are,” remarked

one client.

Technology Workshops can

now be tailored to cater for all

operational scenarios with our

ever expanding ‘subsea toolbox’

of 6G products.We will continue

to run Workshops throughout

2012 around Europe so check in

with your local Sonardyne office

or the website to find out when

the next one is near you.

Workshops near you

The demand for training is

increasing but it isn’t always

possible for participants to

come to Singapore.As a result,

we have organised workshops

and formal training courses

throughout the region.We can

provide training for project

managers, engineers and

operators as well as USBL, LBL

and INS workshops.

Increasing maritime security

Interest in maritime security

systems continues to offer

exciting opportunities for sales

and long term support. Several

successful demos have resulted

in the first permanent installation

of a Sentinel in the region.

New Sales Manager

Taking responsibility for our

Malaysian and Indonesian

markets, Graeme Buchanan has

joined the Asia sales team.With

a broad knowledge of the region

and subsea operations, Graeme

has already contributed to

several large projects.

Offshore South East Asia

This December, you can find

us at OSEA on stand BW5-07

where we will be discussing the

advantages of 6G and INS

technology.We’ll also be show-

casing our latest technology for

deepwater leak detection.

Office update

There is an air of anticipation

as the Brasil office settles in to

open our new, purpose built

office complex in Rio das Ostras.

The new location includes our

facility for the calibration and

performance confirmation of

strain gauge, DigiQuartz and

inclinometer sensors associated

with our products.The facilities

also feature a four metre

diametre test tank, allowing

us to test the source level of

Sonardyne acoustic hardware.

DP-INS moves forward

Our first DP-INS system for

Petrobras has arrived in the

country and is due to be

commissioned in the coming

weeks for the P23.This is a

major step forward for the future

of DP positioning in Brasil and

shows the high level of

confidence operators have in

our INS positioning solution.

Presentation success

Richard Binks, Simon Partridge

and Edd Moller recently held a

technology roadshow that was

very well attended.The

presentations covered a wide

range of product lines and as a

result, there has been a lot of

interest in GyroCompatt and the

ROV-Homer emergency

location system.

One-stop calibration

From coast to coast we have

seen significant interest in our

new ‘single calibration’ Gyro-

USBL transceiver, which is an

option when used in conjunction

with our Ranger 2 USBL tracking

system. In the last few months

alone we’ve sold three systems,

including one that has assisted

The International Group for

Historic Aircraft Recovery with

the search for Amelia Earhart’s

final resting place.

Predicting and positioning

Our predictions for Marksman

and DP-INS in the last Baseline

are coming true and we’re

seeing a number of drilling

vessels in the Gulf now

upgrading their DP reference

systems to the new perform-

ance standard. On pages 8 and

9 you can discover more about

one of these installations on

Oceaneering’s Ocean

Intervention.

New sales agent

Speaking of sales, we welcome

Mike Chapman to our team of

sales agents in the US. Based in

Duvall,Washington, Mike will

focus on promoting our diverse

product range across North

West America.To get in touch,

head to the Contact section of

our website.

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Ask Darren


Help & Advice

Your questions answered

Contact [email protected] with

all your non-urgent technical questions

for a fast response from Customer

Support.For emergency assistance

offshore,please contact Sonardyne’s 24hr

helpline:+44 (0)1252 877600

QHiDarren,I’d likesome

advice about the current

configuration of my Marks-

man system,what data do I

need to send to you for help?

AThe most important thing is

to send the Configuration

Export File (CEF).In

Marksman software,go to the

Help menu,select Sonardyne Support

and set the date and time to the period

you want us to look at.

You should also include the following

information:

• A brief synopsis of your operation and

the sequence of events leading up to your

current situation

• A sequence of events/description of

the problem

• Transceiver phase calibration and

transceiver admittance test results.Both

of these can be found in the Tools menu

under Advanced.

Lastly,try and include screenshots of

beacon/ transceiver settings,the

navigation screen,alarms,signal analysis

and noise plot.

Email everything to

[email protected] it is too large

to send via email,you can also use

Sonardyne’s FTP site.

QI have no connection to my

WSM on deck.What checks

should I perform?

AThere are some simple things

to check first.

• Is the unit fully charged?

• Check the WSM is set to the

‘ON’position.

• Make sure you’re not charging the WSM

whilst trying to communicate to it.

• Check that the serial port settings are

set to default in WSM Terminal – ensure

the serial port selected is the correct port

that you are using.

• Confirm you are using the correct

version of WSM Terminal.

If these don’t work,try an alternative

comms cable to establish if this is where

the problem lies.If these checks don’t

provide an answer,we’d recommend

returning the unit to Sonardyne for

further investigation.

QI’ve arrived on location and

don’t know the addresses of

the Compatt 6 units deployed

in the field’s array.Is there a

method of retrieving their

addresses?

AAll 6G instruments (excluding

the WSM6) respond to the

DISC command.Enter this

command using the manual

command window in your Ranger 2/

Marksman/ Fusion system.This then

returns the addresses of all 6G

instruments deployed that are configured

with WBv2 and WBv2+ addresses.

QI have four Coastal

Transponders (7815-000-07),

how can I test these with an

OBC/LRT deck unit?

AAs with OBCs and LRTs,the

correct address must be

selected on the portable

deck unit in order to test

communications on deck.You can use

the table below to check which address

each Coastal Transponder beacon

channel corresponds to:

ID Address Reply Channel

A 4 1

B 5 3

C 6 5

D 7 7

QI am in offshore Angola and

have a question about the

acoustic data logging

system .It is a type 8057-000-

01 – is it possible to recharge

the battery in the SEM? We’ve got multiple

subsea trees to install and I would like to

carry sufficient spares for the project.

AAll data loggers contain

Lithium cells for maximum

performance and reliability

and are therefore not

rechargeable.It is possible to order

replacement batteries.When ordering,

please state the serial numbers of the

data loggers you have as they will help

to determine the exact configuration of

battery packs required.This information

can be found on the unit’s housing if they

have not been deployed – take note of

this information next time it is topside.

Customer Services Manager, Darren Taylor and his team are the front line of Sonardyne’scustomer support network. If you have a question, they can give you the answer.

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PIXEL PERFECT.

Solstice redefines your expectations froma side-scan sonar. It is designed specificallyto provide world-leading imagery especiallyin shallow water environments which exhibithigh levels of acoustic interference andlimited platform stability.

The sensor delivers extreme multi-beamperformance combined with integratedbathymetry in a compact, easy to install andlow power imaging platform. A completesystem consumes less than 10 watts, providingsignificant power budget savings for allclasses of AUV. A fully focused backprojection technique delivers motion stabilisedpixel perfect imaging, auto calibration,multipath suppression and the ability toperform onboard auto target recognition.

Solstice is a multifunctional tool deliveringall the performance users could want from asonar in a single effective package, capableof coverage rates that are significantlygreater than previous generation side-scans.

www.sonardyne-ms.com

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