For Immediate Release
Contact:
Grant Fletcher
Director, Sales & Marketing
206-370-2544
grant.fletcher@blueviewtech.com
South East United States August, 2005 -- Emergency Status was lifted when BlueView Technologies (www.blueviewtech.com) multi-beam imaging sonar was used to secure a fallen spud at a Naval Facility.
Vessel operations were recently halted at a large Navy docking facility when a 40 ft long 13 in wide steel pipe also known as a Spud broke off and fell into the water. Normally used to maintain barge position and stability, the spud became a dangerous navigation hazard when multiple dive teams could not locate the spud to remove it from the path of vessel operations.
When divers could not locate the object due to poor visibility, the search team called Steve Van Meter a consultant specializing in sonar systems and micro-ROVs.
Within 30 minutes of commencing search operations, the target was detected and localized using BlueView's sonar unit mounted to the side of Steve's 19ft workboat. BlueView's integrated sonar software provided clear, real time images that matched the missing spud's dimensions and also permitted navigation to the target to drop a float marker for the diver¿s recovery operations.
However, the visibility was so poor in the port that the divers were unable to secure a visual on the Spud's exact position. Steve then mounted the BlueView Sonar onto a VideoRay (www.videoray.com) micro ROV. Using the real time images from the sonar he was able to fly the VideoRay ROV to the target and lead the divers to the exact spot where the spud had fallen. Steve remarked "Using the sonar in this dual capacity made the entire job really easy. Topside I was able to quickly interpret the data and locate the target. Then, using the ROV, I pin pointed its location. The dual capability of using the sonar mounted on the boat or mounted to the ROV, and ease of integration between the two platforms was a tremendous time saver and money maker for a guy like me."
Once found, divers determined the Spud had cut into a layer of mud sediment with the consistency of Jell-O measuring 12 feet deep. While briefing the base commander, Steve showed a sonar image 'movie' file made with the BlueView software that showed the imagery used in the field to identify the target. He also explained that the Spud had sunk deep into the sediment leaving a hole of it's exact size. In registering the hole, BlueView's sonar helped the team determine the Spud was well below the surface of the mud bottom and not likely to move or pose a threat to navigation. With this information, the base commander was able to confidently lift the emergency alert and returned the port to normal operations.