Page 52: of Marine Technology Magazine (November 2006)

(X2) configuration. Operator selec- table TVG curves (10 Log, 20 Log, 30 Log, 40 Log, and Off) serve to optimize the MKIII for both shallow and deepwater bottom detection tasks and for sonar imaging. The

Echotrac CV features unsurpassed interfacing flexibility, offering 4 serial ports plus a high speed Ethernet LAN for maximum data collection efficien- cy. Serial interfaces for motion com- pensators and DGPS receivers are standard in the CV as are a number of output formats compatible with most common Echo Sounder strings.

Fugro Wins Metocean

Contract in India

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has awarded a metocean contract for "Real-time current monitoring serv- ices and metocean data measure- ments" to Fugro Survey (India)

Private Limited (FSIPL) in Mumbai, in collaboration with Fugro GEOS.

This contract covers meteorological and current profile measurements from rigs operating on the east and west coasts of India. The data will be used in real-time for operational pur- poses and analyzed for design criteria.

RIL is the largest private operator in

India having drilling block acreage in water depths from 600 to 3,000 m.

The initial two-year contract involves providing real-time meteoro- logical and current profile measure- ments from one rig in water depths of 3,000 m and the two others each operating at around the 600 m mark.

The contract began in October 2006 with the 3,000 m depth measure- ments off the Deepwater Frontier drill ship. The contract provides some interesting challenges, in particular the number of measurements required from one deepwater rig.

During the first phase of measure- ments at 3,000 m depths, the rig will be fitted with a meteorological station for measurement of atmospheric parameters in real-time and a custom- made gantry, for ADCP (Acoustic

Doppler Current Profiler) deploy- ment and support. A downward- looking 38kHz ADCP will profile the first 1,000 m, while an upward facing seabed-mounted ADCP will profile the lower 500 m.

A horizontal ADCP will provide far field near-surface water currents and directional waves unaffected by the rig while an ROV mounted ADCP will provide current profiles in real- time over the full ocean depth down to 3,000 m. Data from all instru- ments will be displayed and stored on computers on the drill ship running

Fugro GEOS software. The second phase of measurements at 600 m depths will include downward-look- ing ADCPs with horizontal ADCPs measuring currents and waves, with meteorological stations aboard the rigs. The initial contract will involve carrying out observations for two years on three rigs; with the possibili- ty of a contract extension of up to three more years on four additional rigs.

Furuno Wins $5.5m

USCG Contract

Furuno USA, Inc. won a multi-year

U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) contract valued at just over $5.5 million to supply the Furuno Standard

Navigation Acquisition Package (SNAP). The equipment is slated for the replacement of the aging radar systems on Coast Guard patrol and rescue boats. 52 MTR November 2006 people & companies

Company Profile: Hydracon

Hydracon is an engineering and manufacturing organization with more than 40 years of ocean and aerospace experiences, specializing in subsea products. Hydracon was incorporated 1977 in Houston, Texas, and again in 1990 in Anaheim, Calif.

Prior to Hydracon, founder Alex Pullos had a long history of innovative engineering achievements in the subsea, aerospace, and offshore oil indus- tries. His early experiences were with aerospace hydraulics firms Parker

Hannifin Aerospace, Bertea Corp., and Futurecraft Corp. During the mid- 60's, with North American Rockwell (now Boeing), he had designed and built several underwater research vehicles, and obtained several patents.

During the early-1970's he designed and built Hydril's first subsea drilling control pod and shear-seal solenoid valve and other related products. With

HydroTech International, he was responsible for controls for the "Deep

Water Pipeline Repair" program. Hydracon (Texas) was the sales representa- tive for Giannini, Brantner, Benthos, General Oceanics, and others. In 1990

Hydracon (California) began engineering and manufacturing its own designs of submersible electric switches, solenoid valves, solenoid actuators, and a few other subsea products. By the end of 2002 Hydracon's products had grown to more than 50 models, including NAVSEA qualified models.

For more information e-mail [email protected]

MTR#9 (49-64).qxd 11/13/2006 4:17 PM Page 52