Page 30: of Marine Technology Magazine (September 2005)

30 MTR September 2005 ocean science, and energy from the ocean.

Homeland security is a new market bringing new busi- ness, albeit slowly, to many in the region in the form of orders for a variety of above water and underwater intrud- er surveillance, survey and alarm systems.

Large-scale ocean science is back in force now that there are more satellites flying and better power sources for long term ocean instrument deployments. One of the largest federal initiatives, The Ocean Observatories Initiative of the National Science Foundation, has the potential to pump millions into the New England economy. The objective of the program is to "wire" the ocean for weath- er, research, energy, food and protection.

Finally, the concept of extracting energy from the ocean in the form of offshore wind farms, tidal energy, and ocean thermal energy conversion are being revisited as part of renewable energy sources worth supporting with federal and state tax incentives. All totaled these new mar- kets are worth hundreds of millions to manufacturers of high technology service and equipment for the ocean.

New England firms are well positioned to take advantage of these emerging markets.

State Support for Industry is Key

The Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic

Development (EED) was created in 2003 by Governor

Mitt Romney to foster economic growth in the

Commonwealth. EED Secretary Ranch Kimball stated

Company Profile

Mooring Systems

Mooring Systems, Inc. is located in Cataumet,

Massachusetts along route 28A where many marine tech- nology firms have established themselves to provide prod- ucts and services to the Woods Hole Oceanographic

Institution, Marine Biological Lab, U.S. Geological

Survey and National Marine Fisheries Service.

Mooring Systems was founded in the 1980s to provide oceanographic scientists and engineers with design servic- es, fabrication, and a supply of ocean moorings, instru- mentation platforms and surface buoys. Mooring Systems employs a staff of six who have many years of experience working with the Woods Hole Oceanographic

Institution's mooring design group. They have extensive background in the analysis of moored systems along with computer modeling tools to design custom systems.

Mooring System's 5,000 square foot manufacturing space houses a complete welding and machining center, a rig- ging shop, and other capabilities to provide turn key moorings for clients all over the globe. Mooring Systems supplies instrument frames and surface buoys to a large number of instrumentation manufacturers on an OEM basis. Recently, Mooring Systems purchased the rights to a complete coring product line from Benthos, Inc. which will fit nicely into their work with scientists who are con- ducting all sorts of sediment and bottom sampling research. www.mooringsystems.com

For more information visit www.maritimeequipment.com/mt & Click No. 11

Surface Buoys aboard the Oceanus

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