Page 51: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2007)

www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 51

Aker Yards, Aker

BioMarine to Build Krill

Harvesting Vessel

Aker BioMarine and Aker Yards have agreed on an option for building a vessel for harvesting of krill. The vessel is planned to be delivered in

November 2009. The value of the vessel, including all processing and extraction equipment, is approxi- mately $170 million. The final con- tract is planned to be signed before

February 2007.

OceanFlite Acquires

Rovex Marine

Following recent changes in its management structure, OceanFlite

Limited acquired the entire share cap- ital of Rovex Marine Limited. Similar to OceanFlite, Rovex Marine special- izes in advanced subsea camera and sonar tow systems. Together they developed tow vehicles for video and sonar data acquisition. The uniquely shaped and extremely robust product range is honed to perfection for their environment unlike other underwater vehicles. These towed vehicles are designed for hydrodynamic efficien- cy, speed, maneuverability and ease in deployment. The Towed Undulating

Vehicles (TUV) have the unique abil- ity to fly underwater by utilizing neg- ative lift similar to the way an aircraft wing creates positive lift.

Roy Dymond, Director of

OceanFlite Limited comments, "We are delighted that both OceanFlite and Rovex Marine can now work under one roof. The combination of both companies has been proven suc- cessful already in the past without competing with each other. Now we are able to develop and manufacture all our products even faster with an improved customer service." Stephen Maffay, Sales

Director of Rovex Marine added, "Having worked together for such a long time on the most advanced tow systems world-wide, it was the obvi- ous and logical route to combine forces not only technologically, but also commercially. Together we can offer the most sophisticated and tech- nology advanced TUVs for every environment."

For more information email [email protected]

International Industries

Sells ODOM Echotrac

USACE Norfolk procured from

International Industries, a CV3 (dual

Frequency) Echotrack echosounder for use on their Survey Fleet in

Atlantic City, N.J. The Echotrac CV is a new hydrographic echo sounder design incorporating the cutting-edge technology, features and reliability of the Echotrac MKIII, plus the ease and flexibility of operation of a net- worked Windows interface. The transceiver unit is supplied in a com- pact rack mount package that is ide- ally suited to many shipboard instal- lations. The Echotrac CV offers "Charts" in two formats, a full size color LCD "electronic chart" or a high-resolution thermal paper recorder. Both are supplied in flexible modular enclosures complete with swivel mounting hardware. The third option,of operating the unit and col- lecting data on a networked PC, is also possible. The color LCD module offers internal data storage (in .XTF format) and playback of the analog return signal digitized to full 16-bit resolution. In addition, the CV 3 people & companies

Fugro Invests in Easytrak

Fugro Mexico placed an order with Subsea Technologies Inc. of Houston, for three Easytrak acoustic tracking systems, built by Applied Acoustic

Engineering Ltd. in the U.K. Fugro intends to use the systems for diver tracking during their offshore support operations in the Gulf of Mexico. A long time user of AAE's range of transponders, this is Fugro's first order for

Easytrak systems, and comes after recent trials and demonstrations in

Houston. Easytrak is an Ultra Short Baseline (USBL) tracking system, and can be used from vessels small or large, or in quayside applications. It requires minimal on-site calibration so that even relatively inexperienced users can commence tracking operations within minutes of deployment.

A built in pitch, roll and heading sensor is included for automatic position compensation, and there is the facility to connect external sensors, such as a gyro or vertical reference unit, should a higher level of accuracy be required.

A further serial port allows the reception of GPS data for on-screen co-ordi- nates. Easytrak tracking systems are distributed exclusively in the United

States and Mexico by Subsea Technologies Inc., Houston.

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