DeepWater Buoyancy is sponsoring the 2017 MTS Houston BBQ. The event will take place on Thursday, October 26th at Seanic Ocean Systems in Katy, Texas.
The Event
The event is a great opportunity to network with MTS professionals in a relaxed atmosphere. DeepWater Buoyancy’s Sales Manager, Dan Cote, will be available at an exhibit table to introduce guests to our product line or to discuss an application. Dan will be joined by members of our Gulf Coast representative group Waters and David.
In addition to refreshments, a wonderful barbecue dinner, exhibits and social networking, there will also be door prizes and a silent auction. This is a great event and several hundred participants are expected. Bring along your colleagues and invite your clients ….spouses are also welcome.
The Marine Technology Society was incorporated in June 1963 to give members of academia, government and industry a common forum for the exchange of information and ideas. The guiding purpose is:
“To promote awareness, understanding, advancement and application of marine technology.”
Today, MTS is a growing organization, boasting a membership of businesses, institutions, individual professionals and students who are ocean engineers, technologists, policy makers and educators.
MTS Mission
Facilitate a broader understanding of the relevance of marine technology to wider global issues by enhancing the dissemination of marine technology information
Promote and improve marine technology and related educational programs
Advance the development of the tools and procedures required to explore, study and further the responsible and sustainable use of the oceans.
MTS’s long-range vision is to be:
“The leading authority and advocate for marine technology and resources while promoting member success and public understanding.”
DeepWater Buoyancy will be exhibiting at the 2017 Teledyne Marine Technology Workshop.
When: October 15-18, 2017
Where: Catamaran Resort, San Diego, CA USA
Summary
Teledyne Marine and DeepWater Buoyancy invite you to join us for the newly expanded Teledyne Marine Technology Workshop in which speakers, influencers, and attendees from around the globe will converge to explore, learn, and share their experiences on a broad range of technologies. DeepWater Buoyancy team members will be on hand to discuss ways in which our product line works intimately with the Teledyne Marine products.
DeepWater Buoyancy, Inc. has added a new product to their successful line of Mooring Line Cable Fairings. The new fairing is designed to accommodate 1/4″ jacketed wire rope. It is the latest item in the company’s portfolio of products for subsea mooring systems.
Vortex-induced Vibration
Under certain flow conditions, taut mooring lines can vibrate or “strum”. The strumming is caused by vortices that result from the water passing over the line diameter. Strumming not only creates cable fatigue, it can have a detrimental effect on instruments in the mooring string.
Mooring Line Cable Fairing
DeepWater Buoyancy’s mooring line cable fairings reduce strumming by eliminating this vortex action. Less strumming means less fatigue on the line. Additionally, the fairing design reduces drag on the mooring line resulting in less mooring layover. As an example, the drag coefficient for a 3/8” jacketed wire cable is 1.20, whereas the mooring line fairing is 0.17. This is an improvement of over 85%.
Fairings are made of durable ABS plastic. They are easily loaded onto the mooring line during deployment simply by separating the ends of the fins and installing over the line.
Unlike other solutions, this product can be installed over select portions of the line, requires no maintenance, does not suffer from tangling problems, and resists biofouling.
The standard units are designed for 1/4″ and 3/8″ jacketed wire rope and are 12” in length. Other diameters and lengths can be produced upon request. End clamps are also available to limit the vertical movement of the fairing on the line.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
For further sales information: Dan Cote, Sales Manager | sales@deepwb.com | +1 207 502 1400
For further company information: David A. Capotosto | davidcap@deepwb.com | +1 207 468 8545
DeepWater Buoyancy has again been selected for the prestigious Marine Technology Reporter “MTR100”. Marine Technology Reporter (MTR) magazine is the world’s largest audited circulation publication serving the global Marine Technology Market. This month, MTR released its 12th Annual Listing of 100 Leading Subsea Companies.
In his opening editorial, Gregory Trouthwein, MTRs Associate Producer and Editor, said, “This year we saw another record number of applicants from around the globe for inclusion in our annual innovation showcase. This year’s MTR100 features technologies from 13 countries and four continents…” DeepWater Buoyancy is proud to be amongst a distinguished collection of companies that include: Teledyne Marine, General Dynamics, and Sonardyne International, to name just a few.
In addition to being selected, a short article about DeepWater Buoyancy was included in the publication.
MTR100 Article
DeepWater Buoyancy Inc. reports that it is the world’s largest producer of subsea buoyancy products for the oceanographic industry and has a vast product line of buoyancy solutions for offshore oil and gas, energy and technology companies. This product portfolio has been built over the course of 35 years serving these industries. Though products for shallow water applications are offered, the company specializes in deepwater, providing solutions to depths of 6,000 meters and beyond.
DeepWater Buoyancy’s headquarters and manufacturing operations are located in New England, the birthplace of syntactic foam. New England is also where David Cook formed Flotation Technologies (Flotec). Incorporated in 1979, Flotec grew into a recognized world leader in the manufacture of deepwater buoyancy products that included ADCP Buoys, distributed buoyancy modules and drilling riser buoyancy. Flotec was purchased in 2008 by a subsea equipment manufacturer.
In 2013, DeepWater Buoyancy acquired the rights and designs for the legacy Flotec material technology and products when its parent company was in the process of closing the New England facility. Since then, DeepWater Buoyancy has been producing, improving and growing the Flotec product line, which has been the industry standard for decades. DeepWater Buoyancy also stocks parts for these legacy products and provides design and application assistance.
At the heart of the DeepWater Buoyancy product line are the subsurface ADCP buoys. These buoys were originally developed for Teledyne RD Instruments’ ADCPs. Consisting primarily of both spherical and elliptical buoys, the product line also includes the unique StableMoor® Mooring Buoys. These torpedo-shaped buoys are engineered to house ADCPs and other sensors for high current data collection applications. By design, the StableMoor® reduces drag and increases mooring stability in extreme flow regimes, thereby producing superior data sets.
However, DeepWater Buoyancy’s product line goes well beyond ADCP buoys. In the oceanographic market there are bottom mounts, instrument collars, and cable floats. For offshore oil and gas, there are installation blocks, modular buoys, deepwater marker floats and ROV buoyancy. In addition to DeepTec® syntactic foam products and custom-engineered components, there are also polyurethane and fabricated metal products for use subsea.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
For further sales information: Dan Cote, Sales Manager | sales@deepwb.com | +1 207 502 1400
For further company information: David A. Capotosto | davidcap@deepwb.com | +1 207 468 8545
DeepWater Buoyancy is exhibiting at the Oceans 17 conference in Anchorage Alaska. The conference begins on September 18th.
Visit Us
Please come visit us at Booth 716 and meet Dan Cote, Sales Manager. Dan will be joined by Matthew Henry, DeepWater Buoyancy’s Plant Manager.
About the Conference
Every autumn, the Marine Technology Society and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society sponsor OCEANS, a prestigious conference/exhibition that draws an international audience of more than 2,000 attendees:
Over 500 professionally reviewed technical papers, including sessions focused on local themes.
Plenary sessions with leaders from industry, academia, the military and government.
100+ exhibitors showcasing the latest innovations in products and services.
A student poster session featuring outstanding projects from around the world and other student activities.
Tutorials, workshops, demonstrations, government listening sessions, social/networking opportunities, professional field trips …and much, much more.
DeepWater Buoyancy has the finest international representative network for oceanographic subsea buoyancy. What follows is the next in a series of articles on our representative groups. This time we are highlighting our representative in the UK – Saderet. Founded and still led by Andy Smith, Saderet is another of our representatives who have many years of experience integrating our buoyancy solutions into subsea moorings and structures. Saderet services our customers in this region from the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton to the Scottish Association for Marine Science in Scotland, in applications ranging from ADCP deployment to monitoring of aquaculture to support of offshore oil and gas operations.
Introduction
Since 1998 Saderet has successfully served the land and marine survey industry with leading products and solutions. Founded by Andrew Smith the company now employs 7 and is based in the Isle of Man. Geographically the company offers equipment worldwide with a particular emphasis on the UK, Europe including Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Russia.
The company specialises in representing manufacturers of complimentary equipment so that complete equipment packages can be provided from one source. An example of this is Deepwater Buoyancy whose sub-sea platforms are offered in tandem with oceanographic instruments also represented and supplied by Saderet.
Representation
In addition to Deepwater Buoyancy the company also represents the following offshore equipment manufacturers including:
Teledyne RDI Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers and associated oceanographic instruments including CTD’s.
Teledyne Odom single and multi-beam sounders for seabed mapping together with the associated speed of sound measurement systems.
Teledyne TSS gyro compasses, motion sensors and pipe/cable trackers.
Hemisphere GNSS. Saderet is the official HGNSS Distributor for Europe and the Middle East and has established a 45 strong dealer network to promote and support the navigation and heading systems product line. The company also offers OEM board level receivers and Saderet assists customers in the integration of these products into their own systems.
QPS software packages for hydrographic survey, dredging, rig moving and many other offshore engineering applications.
Edgetech acoustic release systems for subsea equipment recovery. Edgetech also offers side scan sonar and sub-bottom profiling systems for vessel towed or AUV/ROV mount.
Satel UHF and VHF radio modems for data telemetry, DGPS, RTK and vessel tracking applications such as rig moving operations.
Chesapeake Technology sub-bottom data acquisition and processing software for geotechnical studies including offshore site surveys.
Services
Saderet also supports clients with installation, technical support and training services as required. This is backed by factory trained engineers with many years of offshore industry experience. The company also offers first line repairs to keep customers operational, and some product lines are offered from stock to help with fast mobilisations.
Markets
Principle markets for the company include land and marine survey companies, harbours, container ports, universities, Government marine institutes, fish farms, OEM system integrators, dredging contractors, superyachts, racing yachts, marine archaeology, ROV and autonomous underwater/surface vehicles, pilotage, TV outside broadcast, precision agriculture, and fellow marine equipment suppliers and rental organisations.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
For the next installment in our series of technical articles, Dean Steinke of Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd., discusses the role of finite element-based simulation and visualization software in mooring design.
He demonstrates this capability with a video of the simulation showing an analysis of our three different ADCP buoy geometries – spherical, elliptical and the unique StableMoor® design.
Mooring System Numerical Modeling
“Don’t let the ocean knock you down.”
Using dynamic analysis software to assess mooring deployment, recovery, and performance in current and waves. By Dean Steinke, PEng – April 5, 2017
Introduction
For many years moorings have been designed using basic mass-drag-buoyancy calculations, spreadsheets, rules-of-thumb, black magic scripts, and a dose of ‘salty-sea-dog’ experience. With these methods, we can frequently estimate a line size to use or an approximate anchor weight. But sometimes despite our experience we still have questions. This article looks at increasing the precision of mooring analyses using numerical modeling software designed for ocean engineers.
Software for single point moorings has come a long way in recent years. Finite element-based cable analysis programs have been tested and developed by oceanographic institutions and ocean engineers for various purposes (towed bodies, ROVs, moorings, etc.). However, their use has been typically limited to a few advanced numerical modelling specialists who had both the expertise and patience to wade through the complex analysis process. In recent years, increasingly-refined software has been developed. This software has benefited from increased computational power and advances in 3D graphics. We can now get a much clearer picture as to what is happening with our moorings subsurface through simulation and visualization.
The video below demonstrates an analysis carried out by my firm, Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd, using our ProteusDS software. Based in Canada, we have cut our teeth over the last decade simulating many different types of ocean technologies, including single point moorings.
Analyzing Buoy Pitch and Knockdown in Current
The video shows four buoys of various styles (spherical, ellipsoid, and streamlined) being loaded by current. As the current ramps up to 3.6 knots, the knockdown and pitch of the buoys increase. There are two key forces at play – buoyancy and drag. The buoyancy provides a vertical restoring force that keeps the buoy from pitching. Conversely, hydrodynamic drag pitches the buoys about their mooring connection point.
A pitch of greater than 20 degrees is not recommended for ADCPs, as the inclinometers which allow for compensation of buoy pitch typically only have a range of 20 degrees. Mooring designers would try to limit ADCP buoy pitch to only a few degrees if possible. In addition to uplift and drag, buoy pitch also depends on the length of the mooring and weight of mooring equipment (chain, shackles, line, etc.).
The example shows that increased buoyancy is effective in preventing knockdown and limiting pitch, as the AF49-750 buoy has the lowest pitch and knockdown of the elliptical and spherical buoys. However, this buoy still pitches significantly at the higher currents, whereas the streamlined StableMoor® buoy, with its reduced drag and configurable connection point, is effective at maintaining low pitch and knockdown.
The ProteusDS model uses 6 degrees of freedom for the buoys (heave, sway, surge, roll, pitch, and yaw). Although this case is essentially 2D, the solver solves for the position in 3D. The effect of the attachment point and location of drag loading affect the pitch calculated by the software.
Figure 1 The ProteusDS software pre-processor is shown. This software allows users to add mooring elements such as shackles and swivels from a central library. Line types such as Amsteel Blue or wire rope can likewise be selected.
Transient Loading and Acoustic Release Damage During Mooring Deployment
One aspect not often considered by mooring designers is what happens during deployment. As shown in the video, the simulation allows for prediction of launch transients, which ensures that shackles and lines are properly selected to handle the deployment loads.
We’ve observed that acoustic releases get damaged during deployment when they are placed too close to the anchor. ProteusDS can be used to check that the acoustic release’s downward momentum will not cause it to crash into the seabed or anchor.
A few questions I’m asked from time to time are: How long will it take for the mooring to come to the surface? and, How far might the mooring drift as it comes to the surface? The mooring recovery section of the video shows how you can assess this.
In the case considered, the AF36-750 mooring rises at about 2.7 meters per second. If this mooring was deployed at 750 meters, it would take between 4 and 5 minutes to surface!
Although no current was applied in the example, current can be applied in the simulation to determine how far it might drift in the time it takes to get to the surface.
Figure 3 ProteusDS post-processing software showing rendered view of the mooring systems being tested.
Interaction of Waves with Subsurface Moorings
Much like current, waves can cause an ADCP mooring to pitch and move. The example in the video shows the impact of the subsurface orbital wave motion on the mooring line and buoy. A JONSWAP wave spectrum is simulated to check how much the buoy will pitch. Clearly, in this case, a bottom mounted ADCP frame would be preferred – but we don’t always have the equipment we need on hand. It’s good to have tools to check the impact of waves on our moorings.
Conclusions
DSA has carried out a series of simulations in consultation with DeepWater Buoyancy using our ProteusDS software. The software is designed to help mooring designers and builders to answer practical questions about mooring performance. Most would agree that the software’s 3D visualization capabilities shown in the video are really cool, but I believe that the real value of the software is that we don’t have to speculate what is happening subsea. We can now get a clear picture.
About Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd.
Dynamic Systems Analysis Ltd. is an ocean engineering consultancy and software company based in Canada. DSA provides progressive and accessible dynamic analysis expertise and software to enable those working with vessels, structures, lines and technologies in harsh marine environments to reduce risk. DSA provides software and services to the aquaculture & fisheries, defence, marine renewable energy, naval architecture, ocean technology, and offshore sectors.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
DeepWater Buoyancy, Inc. has announced today that it has entered into a distribution agreement with ASL Environmental Sciences, an oceanographic products and service company located in British Columbia, Canada. ASL will act as sales representative and distributor of the DeepWater Buoyancy oceanographic product line in British Columbia and Alberta, Canada, as well as in Alaska, USA.
ASL Environmental Sciences is a world class company with more than 35 years of experience in oceanographic, acoustic, remote sensing, and ice research products and scientific consulting services. Their products include the well-known, industry standard Ice Profiler, deployed in hundreds of locations world-wide. They also provide clients with consulting services including: Flow Measurement, Numerical Modeling, Wave Measurement & Analysis, Sediment Transport and Ice Studies.
ASL is also a sales representative for Teledyne RD Instruments’ line of ADCP products in the same region. TRDI/ASL PR DeepWater Buoyancy’s reliable ADCP deployment products (former Flotation Technologies designs) have supported Teledyne ADCPs for survey and research clients around the world for decades.
DeepWater Buoyancy is exhibiting at the U. S. Hydro 2017 conference in Galveston, Texas. The conference begins on March 20th.
Visit Us
Please come visit us at Booth 41 and meet David Capotosto, Director of Business Development. David will be joined by Chris Kelly. Chris is from Waters and David, DeepWater Buoyancy’s Gulf Coast representative group.
DeepWater Buoyancy is exhibiting at Ocean Business 2017 in Southampton, UK. The conference is from April 4th to April 6th. Please come visit us at Booth W28 and meet Dan Cote, Sales Manager and David Capotosto, Director of Business Development.
Ocean Business is a hands-on ocean technology exhibition and training forum. Learn more here… oceanbusiness.com
Send us an email to schedule a visit with us at the show… sales@deepwb.com
For the next installment in our series of technical articles, Rob Morris, Product Line Sales Engineer for EdgeTech, examines how to choose the proper acoustic release for an application.
Introduction
In my role as Product Line Sales Engineer for acoustic releases and actuated products, I am frequently asked, “What acoustic release should I use for my application?”
The choice of release depends on many factors, such as water depth, length of the deployment, release load and lift load, and expected ambient noise. Biofouling or silting can also be a problem in some areas and should be taken into consideration as well. Following are some examples of applications and the related solutions.
Factors affecting the selection of an acoustic release.
Deploy an in-line mooring with multiple instruments in deepwater (5000 to 6000 meters) for 1 to 2 years
In this case, I would recommend a deepwater acoustic release with full transponding capability that can handle a large anchor (1000kg or more). Because of the cost of the mooring instruments and the value of the data, it is critical the mooring be recovered. Therefore, a tandem release set-up for redundancy would also be desirable.
The transponding capability (tilt, release status and ranging) is very useful for deepwater operations to locate the mooring before releasing, to receive release status, and to track the mooring as it rises to the surface. Please also consider that depending on depth and how much buoyancy and drag the mooring has, it could take up to an hour for the equipment to reach the surface. (See Jon Wood’s article on buoy ascent here. LINK) And if there are subsea currents in the area the mooring could be a couple of miles away when it finally reaches the surface.
Shallow water and a heavy load
Sometimes scientists and ocean researchers find themselves in need of deploying a heavy package in shallow to mid-water settings and there is a desire to use an existing acoustic release that was acquired previously based on water depth requirements, but not release loads. To address the situation a strongback can be added to the acoustic release as a cost-effective way to increase the release and lift load rating of a mid-water acoustic release.
Deploy an in-line mooring in shallow water in harsh environments, such as the High Arctic, for 1 year
Because of the remote location and the harsh coastal environment, the PORT MFE (Push Off Release Transponder) is ideal for deployments of this kind. The mechanical drive off system is the best choice for deployments where normal release mechanisms can experience growth or sediment build up. Unlike traditional releases that use a metallic lever mechanism for their release function, the PORT uses a non-corrosive link that is physically pushed off of the unit when commanded. This eliminates the often troublesome issues of biofouling and corrosion that causes failures in other units.
Here is a real life example of this. 20 moorings were deployed to log fish tracking information in a remote area in the High Arctic. The user planned to recover the moorings in 12 months, but due to weather conditions and the inability to schedule ship time, the moorings were left in place for 4 years. When the user finally made it back to the deployment site, they were very happy to recover all 20 of the releases. The Push Off Release mechanism easily overcame the heavy marine growth that had built up over 4 years.
The releases were covered with so much marine growth they can barely be seen in the photo below.
Marine growth covering buoys deployed in shallow water.
Deploy and recover an instrument package including the anchor leaving nothing behind on the seafloor
Sometimes there are regulations that require all equipment to be removed from the seafloor when the job is completed. Sometimes the solution for this application would be to use a Pop-up system. A Pop-up system combines the acoustic release, flotation and line in one package. When acoustically commanded by a deck unit, the acoustic release and the top portion of the pop-up package will float to the surface. The release and surface flotation remains connected to the bottom section by a high strength synthetic line for easy retrieval leaving nothing behind on the seafloor.
Deploy and recover an instrument package in an area where fishing trawlers work
Often science and commerce work in the same space. So in the case where instruments need to sit on a seafloor where trawling is done, the solution is a TRBM (Trawl-Resistant Bottom Mount) with integrated flotation and an acoustic release.
DeepWater Buoyancy Trawl-Resistant Bottom Mount
In this design, all the instruments and an acoustic release are integrated into a low-profile, trawl-resistant, deployment package. When commanded, the release activates and the flotation module will rise to the surface with all the instruments. The float has a line attached to it that is also attached to the ballast on the seafloor so that everything can be recovered. In some instances a dual release arrangement is also used within the TRBM.
Dual Acoustic Release setup in a DeepWater Buoyancy Trawl-Resistant Bottom Mount (TRBM).
No matter what application you have, choosing the correct release is an important decision. If you are not sure what release to use for your application I am always available to help.
Choose wisely.
Rob Morris
About EdgeTech
EdgeTech Marine develops and produces a variety of standard and specialized marine products and systems including acoustic releases and USBL systems, side scan sonars, sub-bottom profilers, bathymetry systems.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
DeepWater Buoyancy has the finest international representative network for oceanographic subsea buoyancy. What follows is the first of a series of articles on our representative groups. First in line is our representative in Australia and New Zealand – UVS. Originally led by its founder Russell Priest, UVS has been representing this product line for over 20 years. Now under the leadership of Darren Burrowes and Neil Hodges, and part of the BlueZone Group, UVS services our customers in this region from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) in Townsville, Queensland to CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Division in Hobart, Tasmania and the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA) in New Zealand.
Introduction
UVS was founded in 1973, supplying equipment and services to Australia’s first Offshore Oil & Gas field, and now enjoys a unique and preeminent position in the underwater electronics market in Australia with over 50 representations and a strong repeat business from satisfied customers who have dealt with UVS for many years. UVS has a track record of innovation: in the 1970s selling, supporting and operating the first Remotely Operated Vehicles in Australia; introducing Teledyne ADCP technology in the 1980s and developing the first ADCP service centre outside of the Teledyne organisation; and supporting Liquid Robotics “Wave Glider” vehicles for the Royal Australian Navy since 2011.
BlueZone Group
In 2015 UVS and its sister companies ATSA Defence Services and UVS Trenchless were joined under a common umbrella, the BlueZone Group. These three companies share resources, offices and ownership, and growth strategies for the group are centred around exploring and developing synergies between diverse markets in Australia. The common theme of all business operations is sales, support and service to customers operating in the challenging conditions of Australia’s deep oceans, coastal seas, rivers and water infrastructure.
Locations & Staff
UVS maintains an Australia-wide footprint with 38 staff operating from offices and fully-equipped workshops in Newcastle, Melbourne and Perth. This model enables UVS to offer local service, backup and sales to customers across Australia. The UVS sales team undertakes continuous training to maintain current knowledge of a wide product range. The sales team is supported by service and engineering staff who work nation-wide to complete projects to high quality and customer satisfaction. Together the combined capability provides a complete service to customers supporting complex electronic systems in harsh environments.
Capabilities
The UVS capability is based on the following features:
Wide Product Portfolio: With a wide product portfolio UVS can provide a “one-stop-shop” for many customers.
Supply to Multiple Markets including Defence; Offshore Oil & Gas, Oceanographic; Hydrographic and Water Resources. Where there are synergies between market areas we look to leverage these for the benefit of our customers, reducing costs, providing faster delivery or developing innovative solutions resulting from bringing new vision and ideas from one market to another.
Sales and service synergy: The strong sales capability of UVS is matched by a highly capable service and engineering capacity in underwater technology and systems engineering. UVS has completed multiple engineering projects for customers to meet tight deadlines and demanding operational conditions.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
DeepWater Buoyancy was featured in the December issue of Ocean News and Technology (LINK). The full page article gives a bit of our history, as well as an overview of our products and capabilities.
DeepWater Buoyancy Inc. is the world’s largest producer of subsea buoyancy products for the oceanographic industry and has a vast product line of buoyancy solutions for offshore oil & gas, energy and technology companies. This product portfolio has been built over the course of 35 years serving these industries. Though they offer products for shallow water applications, the company specializes in deepwater, providing solutions to depths of 6000 meters and beyond.
DeepWater Buoyancy’s headquarters and manufacturing operations are located in New England, the birthplace of syntactic foam. New England is also where David Cook formed Flotation Technologies (Flotec). Incorporated in 1979, Flotec grew into a recognized world leader in the manufacture of deepwater buoyancy products that included ADCP Buoys, distributed buoyancy modules and drilling riser buoyancy. Flotec was purchased in 2008 by a subsea equipment manufacturer.
In 2013, DeepWater Buoyancy acquired the rights and designs for the legacy Flotec material technology and products when its parent company was in the process of closing the New England facility. Since then, DeepWater Buoyancy has been producing, improving and growing the Flotec product line, which has been the industry standard for decades. DeepWater Buoyancy also stocks parts for these legacy products and provides design and application assistance.
The founder of DeepWater Buoyancy is former Flotec President, David Capotosto. Shortly after opening the doors of DeepWater Buoyancy, Mr. Capotosto was joined by three other former members of Flotec’s senior management team. This team of four now owns and manages DeepWater Buoyancy. The vision in creating DeepWater Buoyancy was to continue the Flotec commitment to designing and manufacturing the very best buoyancy solutions, and to provide the highest level of support for customers using the products. To that end, one of the first initiatives taken was to re-establish the international network of representatives and distributors operating in the oceanographic market. This network provides in-country sales, service, support, and application assistance in over 35 countries.
DeepWater Buoyancy’s 62 inch spherical ADCP buoy with integral frame, clamps and instrument pockets.
At the heart of the DeepWater Buoyancy product line are the subsurface ADCP buoys. These buoys, originally developed for Teledyne RD Instruments’ ADCPs, are considered the gold standard within the industry. Consisting primarily of both spherical and elliptical buoys, the product line also includes the unique StableMoor® Mooring Buoys. These torpedo-shaped buoys are engineered to house ADCPs and other sensors for high current data collection applications. By design, the StableMoor® reduces drag and increases mooring stability in extreme flow regimes, thereby producing superior data sets.
However, DeepWater Buoyancy’s product line goes well beyond ADCP buoys. In the oceanographic market there are bottom mounts, instrument collars, and cable floats. For offshore oil & gas, there are installation blocks, modular buoys, deepwater marker floats and ROV buoyancy. In addition to DeepTec® syntactic foam products and custom-engineered components, there are also polyurethane and fabricated metal products for use subsea.
If a client can’t find their ideal solution in the product line, DeepWater Buoyancy will design and produce a custom product. The company’s design philosophy is, “A customer should have a product that meets the application, and not be forced to adjust their application to an off-the-shelf product.” Whether that is modifying an existing design or starting with a blank sheet of paper, the goal is to produce the finest, most cost-effective solution for any given application.
With a deep understanding of customers’ subsea operations, a long history of providing solutions to complex buoyancy applications, and a state of the art manufacturing facility, DeepWater Buoyancy is well-positioned to meet the challenges of this rapidly-evolving technology.
DeepWater Buoyancy is now a member of the Marine & Oceanographic Technology Network (MOTN).
The Marine & Oceanographic Technology Network is a non-profit corporation with the express purpose of promoting, supporting, and expanding the marine technology manufacturing and service businesses. MOTN fosters cooperation between, and opportunities for, its member companies. Member companies include industry suppliers, consultants, representatives, research institutes and manufacturers, working together to increase business opportunities both within and outside of the organization.
DeepWater Buoyancy, Inc. announced the delivery of a significant follow-on order of diver-serviceable bottom mounts for one of the world’s largest fish farming companies. The bottom mounts are set on the seafloor at a depth of 50 to 100 meters and allow for the proper deployment of ADCPs to monitor the environment around the fish farm cages.
ADCP’s are used in aquaculture applications in order to monitor currents and waves for the following main purposes:
Investigate new fish farming areas
Monitor currents when feeding in order to minimize feed loss
Monitor fish waste for pollution plumes
The order was secured by DeepWater Buoyancy’s UK representative, Saderet Ltd. Saderet is the exclusive distributor of DeepWater Buoyancy products in the UK. Saderet also represents Teledyne RD Instruments, makers of the Sentinel V50 ADCP, which was chosen for this application.
DeepWater Buoyancy, Inc.’s recently retooled BTM-AL50 diver-serviceable bottom mount line is equipped with a two-axis gimbal to mount an ADCP, clamps for a remote battery housing, and zinc anodes for corrosion resistance. The three articulating footpads are provided with standard urethane-coated ballast, with additional ballasting provided for this application.
The client was pleased with the performance, delivery, and quality of the equipment supplied in the first order, as well as the ongoing technical support provided by Saderet, DeepWater Buoyancy and Teledyne RDI.
About Saderet Ltd.
Saderet Ltd. specialize in the supply of survey and positioning equipment and services to a wide variety of markets including marine and land survey, GIS, oceanography, precision agriculture, and OEM. Presenting some of the best manufacturers of survey related equipment in the world, we deliver products worldwide.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
DeepWater Buoyancy, Inc. announced today that it has added a new buoyancy product for subsea installation applications. The MiniMod™ small modular buoy is a buoyancy system that allows the end user to quickly and easily vary the amount of buoyancy for different projects.
Our current modular buoys are the most versatile approach to buoyancy for offshore applications. They are offered in a variety of standard sizes with buoyancy as great as 2 metric tons and depth ratings to 6000 meters. For installation of pipeline sleds, jumpers, or suspended moorings, this multi-purpose product offers a straightforward way to meet buoyancy requirements.
Our MiniMod™ small modular buoys are designed for lighter applications. Still rated to depths as great as 6000 meters, the standard 7-module buoy can provide up to 325 kg of buoyancy. Made from high-strength DeepTec™ solid syntactic foam that is finished with an abrasion-resistant, polyurethane elastomer coating, these buoys can stand up to rough handling on-deck and in the water.
The syntactic foam modules are held together and handled by use of synthetic straps, as opposed to metal hardware. These straps have numerous benefits including corrosion resistance, ease of handling, and no loss of buoyancy. Modules interlock for added strength and can easily be added or removed for your application.
With rugged construction and the world’s most reliable, field-proven syntactic foams, these truly modular buoys provide offshore users with years of trouble-free service.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
For further sales information: Dan Cote, Sales Manager | sales@deepwb.com | +1 207 502 1400
For further company information: David A. Capotosto | davidcap@deepwb.com | +1 207 468 8545
For the next installment in our series of technical articles, ocean engineer Jon Wood addresses an interesting question related to deployment and recovery of subsea mooring systems. Jon has decades of experience working with DeepWater Buoyancy’s oceanographic buoys.
How Fast Does a Buoy Ascend?
I’ve been asked that question frequently, since the ascent (or descent) rate of a buoy can be a consideration when planning for offshore operations. Especially for projects in very deep water, it can take a long time for a mooring to reach the seabed, and an equally long, if not longer, time for it to float back to the surface. In this article we will look at the forces involved, methodology for tracking the rate during deployment or recovery, and an example that might help you estimate.
So, “How long will it take?” The true answer is, of course, “It depends!” It depends on the buoyancy of the buoys in the mooring and the weight of the line, instruments and anchor, as well as the drag forces imposed by all of the components.
We have measured these rates during several past mooring deployment and recovery operations. By setting a hydrophone over the rail and ranging repeatedly on the mooring’s acoustic releases (4 or 10 second repetition rate, typically), we have been able to quantify both descent (deployment) and ascent (recovery) speeds for different mooring configurations. Not all scenarios are the same but these data provide some ballpark estimates that may be helpful in planning future operations.
The two main factors that affect the descent rate of a mooring are the weight of the anchor (magnitude of the downward force) and the restraining effect of buoys and other mooring components (buoyancy and drag). Within these restraining effects, the largest components are typically buoys as they have the most immediate influence.
The mooring reaches terminal velocity when the downward gravitational force equals the upward restraining force. This seems to happen quickly once all components are submerged. Upon release, the ascent rates are also governed by the magnitude of the upward forces (i.e. buoyancy), as well as the drag-imposed restraints of all mooring components.
As an example, we had a mooring consisting of a 49” spherical buoy (reserve buoyancy about 900 lbs). The buoy was connected to the anchor via approximately 1000m of wire rope. The mooring also included two smaller (35” spherical) intermediate buoys plus assorted current meters. The anchor was a 4800-pound pile of old scrap chain cobbled together from a local salvage yard. After streaming out the mooring line from the vessel and free-falling the anchor (i.e. the anchor-last technique), the acoustic releases descended to the seabed at an average rate of about 3.0 meters/second. In 1500m water depth, that translates to 500 seconds, or just over 8 minutes, for the mooring to settle. On recovery, after the mooring was released from its anchor to float freely to the surface, we found the ascent rate was quite similar, about 2.8 meters/second. Since the top buoy was positioned roughly 500m deep, it took about 3 minutes for the buoy to appear at the surface.
Here’s wishing that your next mooring deployment sees a soft landing!
Jon Wood
Ocean Data Technologies, Inc.
About Ocean Data Technologies, Inc.
Ocean Data Technologies, Inc. is a Massachusetts (United States) corporation providing oceanographic data acquisition services and support to the global offshore marine industry. Ocean Data designs and installs simple, reliable systems that collect information critical to our customer’s needs in deep-water, continental shelf, as well as nearshore and estuary regions.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty-five years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
Ocean Data Technologies recovering a spherical ADCP buoy 8 miles outside of Port Everglades, Florida, in the Florida Current (Gulf Stream), aboard the M/V Richard L. Becker. The ADCP mooring was for Dr. Alexander Soloviev of Nova Southeastern University. It was deployed for nearly 4 years, with regular 6-month turnaround operations (like this one), recording an impressive data set of Gulf Stream variability.
DeepWater Buoyancy has recently retooled the popular Diver-Serviceable Bottom Mount. In addition to improvements to the standard, welded bottom mount (BTM-AL50-A), a fold-able version was designed to reduce shipping costs, minimize space on deck and simplify handling for deployment (BTM-AL50-B).
Both of these rugged tripods come ready to accept your ADCP and remote battery canister, and can easily be modified to fit CTD, wave/tide gauge, velocimeter or other instrumentation. The frames can also be fitted with acoustically-released popup buoys.
BTM-AL50’s are manufactured using 5000 series aluminum and galvanically-isolated fasteners, and are fitted with zinc anodes for superior corrosion resistance. The standard double-axis gimbal keeps your ADCP oriented to vertical after deployment and is manufactured using ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene to deter marine growth. Fixed mounts can also be provided.
The units’ three foot pads are supplied with through holes for ballast or for spiking depending on your application. Standard (10lb/4.5kg) urethane-coated ballasts are provided for each of the three legs. Additional ballast is available upon request .
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
For further sales information: Dan Cote, Sales Manager | sales@deepwb.com | +1 207 502 1400
For further company information: David A. Capotosto | davidcap@deepwb.com | +1 207 468 8545
DeepWater Buoyancy is co-sponsoring and exhibiting at the 11th MTS Buoy Workshop sponsored by the Marine Technology Society (MTS).
The Workshop will be held at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Woods Hole, Massachusetts, on Quissett Campus. The workshop will run from April 18-21, 2016.
On Friday the 22nd, participants have been invited to make the trip north to Maine for lunch and a tour of DeepWater Buoyancy’s Biddeford facility. Afterwards, participants can continue on and take a tour of the Yale Cordage facility in the neighboring town of Saco.
To sign up for the lunch and tour simply send an email to sales@deepwb.com.
DeepWater Buoyancy, Inc. has announced today that it has entered a distribution agreement with Unique Group, a leading subsea and offshore service provider headquartered in the United Arab Emirates. Unique Group will act as sales representative and distributor of DeepWater Buoyancy’s subsea buoyancy products within the GCC region.
DeepWater Buoyancy has over 30 years of experience in engineering and manufacturing subsea buoyancy products for oceanographic, offshore oil and gas, and industrial companies around the world. The product line includes ADCP deployment solutions, mooring buoys, cable and marker floats, instrument collars, trawl-resistant bottom mounts and ROV buoyancy.
On securing this partnership, Sahil Gandhi, Executive Director at Unique Group commented, “We are excited about our new partnership agreement with DeepWater Buoyancy. Its products are high quality and are appreciated by customers across the globe. We’ve been dealing with oceanographic products for ADCP and other mooring solutions and to complete our product offering, we chose to partner with Deepwater Buoyancy in order to provide turnkey solutions in offshore oceanographic monitoring. We look forward to strengthening our customer base in the region with products such as the ADCP and mooring buoys, marker and cable floats, and the ROV buoyancy modules which are of special interest for projects within the GCC.”
David Capotosto, Co-President of DeepWater Buoyancy Inc. added, “The partnership with Unique Group is in line with our goal of expanding our global network of representatives. It reinforces our philosophy of local representation the world over, thus providing customers with the very best in technical and sales support. Unique Group is particularly well-established in the Middle East and is amongst the best sales and technical organizations in the region. We are excited about the opportunity for our products to reach a wider customer base in this region. We look forward to a great association with Unique Group in the years ahead.”
About Unique Group
Founded in 1993, Unique Group is among the world’s prominent integrated subsea and offshore solution providers. Through its five operational business divisions, Unique Group is a specialist in the provision of engineering, sales and rental of equipment for the marine, diving, and subsea market sectors. The group has an established manufacturing capability for the delivery of customized engineering projects worldwide. Unique Group is headquartered in Sharjah, Middle East and has a local presence in the USA, UK, Netherlands, South Africa, India, and Singapore and employs over 500 people worldwide.
For more information, please contact: Sharad Kumar, Group Business Development Manager | kumar@uniquegroup.com | +971 6 5130490
About DeepWater Buoyancy, Inc.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters. Contact us at www.DeepWaterBuoyancy.com
For further sales information: Dan Cote, Sales Manager | dcote@deepwb.com |+1 207-468-2565
For further company information: David Capotosto, Co-President | davidcap@deepwb.com | +1 207-468-8545
DeepWater Buoyancy’s 62 inch spherical ADCP buoy with integral frame, clamps and instrument pockets.
For the first of a series of technical articles, we asked our friend and ocean engineer Jon Wood to write a short article about the value of subsea mooring of instruments. Jon has decades of experience working with DeepWater Buoyancy’s ADCP deployment product line.
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Oceanographic moorings can be categorized as surface-based, sub-surface, or bottom-mounted.
Bottom-mounted moorings are generally fixed frames containing the sensor payload, and to ease deployment and retrieval, typically restricted to relatively shallow waters; say, less than 50m depth.
Surface moorings are used in all water depths from shallow areas to the deepest parts of the world’s oceans. Surface-based systems utilize a large buoy with sufficient reserve buoyancy to remain upright in all expected conditions. Think hurricanes and other storms. Surface buoys are required for real-time data telemetry for operational purposes or data security concerns. These buoys require warning apparatus such as radar reflectors and navigation lights, and are prone to damage due to storm systems, vessel collisions, vandalism, or theft. Further, buoy response to the surface wave field during energetic events can cause excessive motion of buoy-mounted sensors, such as acoustic Doppler current profilers, and thereby degrade the quality of data obtained from them.
Subsurface buoy systems offer an attractive alternative to these other techniques for several reasons. Installing buoys below the surface, and out of sight, relieves any risk of human tampering or vessel collision while left unattended. This is especially important in remote regions where much of our work takes place. Prudent design of a subsurface mooring system can position sensors optimally to provide high-quality observations less affected by higher-frequency motions resulting from near-surface energy. Because the sensors can be placed well below the surface layer, the improved sensor stability reduces noise and results in a superior measurement.
Two examples of the benefits of subsurface moorings come to mind. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina passed closely to our deep-water subsurface mooring at the time of near-peak intensity. Despite our worst fears, the mooring survived without any damage and was recovered successfully with full data capture. The mooring was designed to place an ADCP 80m below the surface, looking upward. While the storm kicked up massive waves and currents in the near-surface layer, destroying many rigs and other infrastructure in the Gulf of Mexico, our ADCP sat well below the action, quite stable, and provided extremely high-quality, high-resolution current profiles throughout the entire event.
In 2009, we were asked to measure high-speed turbidity currents in the deep Congo River canyon off West Africa. Turbidity currents are sediment-fueled, undersea ‘avalanches’ which destroy nearly everything in its path. Despite numerous attempts in this area there had been no success with direct measurement. Knowing turbidity currents are strongest near the seabed and decrease in intensity above, our subsurface mooring design used the same remote sampling approach as for Katrina, except in this case the ADCP was inverted. The ADCP was about 70m above the seabed and looking downward, at an elevation where currents were expected to be weaker. All supporting high-drag mooring components such as buoys and acoustic releases were also placed well above the seabed, out of the high-speed flow, attached to a large anchor with just a single length of thin-diameter wire. During this program we measured dozens of turbidity current events successfully with very high spatial and temporal resolution. The most intense event reached speeds exceeding 5 knots! In water depths exceeding 2000m!
These are but two cases where subsurface moorings can be designed optimally to record even the most energetic ocean processes.
About Ocean Data Technologies, Inc.
Ocean Data Technologies, Inc. is a Massachusetts (United States) corporation providing oceanographic data acquisition services and support to the global offshore marine industry. Ocean Data designs and installs simple, reliable systems that collect information critical to our customer’s needs in deep-water, continental shelf, as well as nearshore and estuary regions.
DeepWater Buoyancy creates subsea buoyancy products for leading companies in the oceanographic, seismic, survey, military and offshore oil & gas markets. Customers have relied on our products for over thirty years, from the ocean surface to depths exceeding six thousand meters.
At the request of one of our customers, DeepWater Buoyancy has recently completed the design, tooling and production of a new, stack-able marker float. Marker floats are used in ROV and Survey operations around the world. Due to their unique acoustic signature and high visibility coloration they are a popular choice for marking bottom location to facilitate ROV maneuvering.
The traditional marker float, which has been produced for over 30 years, is the shape of a U.S. football. The new design has a square cross section. The square shape provides an even stronger signature for location. It also allows stacking for more efficient storage and shipping. Like the traditional model, the “square” marker float is constructed with a durable, rotationally-molded shell and is filled with solid DeepTec™ syntactic foam. It is molded from a bright yellow polyethylene for visibility.
Both models provide the same amount of buoyancy and are the same price for a given depth rating. Standard models are available for 3000, 4000 and 6000 meters. Of course, like all other DeepWater Buoyancy products, if you have a special requirement for a different depth, just ask. We are glad to accommodate you.
DeepWater Buoyancy has signed a representation agreement with Sea and Land Technologies of Singapore to provide sales and support of its entire product line to the Southeast Asian Region.
DeepWater Buoyancy produces the legacy Flotation Technologies (Flotec) syntactic foam product line. This includes oceanographic equipment such as ADCP deployment products and subsurface mooring buoys, as well as, flotation products for offshore oil and gas. The DeepWater Buoyancy oil and gas product line includes; modular buoys, instrument collars, marker floats, cable floats, ROV buoyancy and custom syntactic foam solutions.
Established in 1994, Sea and Land Technologies (SALT) has been synonymous with supply and support of high technology products and services for a variety of markets, including; Oceanography, Hydrography, Geophysical/Seismic, Meteorology, Hydrology, and Coastal Monitoring and Environmental studies. With offices in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand, SALT is well-positioned to respond to the regional requirements of these markets.
SALT had been the ASEAN representative for Flotation Technologies for many years. Upon formation of DeepWater Buoyancy, SALT began the process of transitioning customers to the new company and has worked with DeepWater on many successful projects since then. “We are quite pleased to strengthen and formalize our ongoing relationship with Sea and Land Technologies”, stated David Capotosto, Co-President and Director of Business Development for DeepWater Buoyancy. “The SALT team is well acquainted with our products and their applications. We look forward to continued success together.”
Metocean Services International has selected DeepWater Buoyancy to provide buoyancy products for a large metocean project in East Africa.
The project being conducted by Metocean Services includes the collection of wave and surface currents, and meteorological data in two locations. In another twelve locations, current profile and temperature data will be collected. Systems will be deployed in water depths ranging from 53 meters to 2,600 meters. Initial deployment will take place the end of 2015 with service visits at 4 month intervals. Data collection will take place over the course of 12 months. Metocean Services will charter the vessel for all offshore operations.
For this project, DeepWater Buoyancy will be providing Trawl-Resistant Bottom Mounts (TRBMs) and Hydro-float™ Mooring Buoys (HMBs). Flotation Technologies ADCP buoys owned by Metocean Services will be used for ADCP moorings.
DeepWater Buoyancy produces syntactic foam-based, subsea buoyancy solutions for oceanographic and oil & gas markets. Metocean Services is well acquainted with the DeepWater Buoyancy product line having used the Flotation Technologies (Flotec) product for many years prior to the acquisition of legacy Flotec product lines by DeepWater Buoyancy in 2013.
For further sales information: Dan Cote, Sales Manager | sales@deepwb.com | +1 207 502 1400
For further company information: David Capotosto, Co-President | davidcap@deepwb.com | +1 207 468 8545
About Metocean
Metocean Services International is a provider of meteorological and oceanographic (metocean) services worldwide. Formed in September 2003 by Stefan Stimson, Sidney Bilski and Bruce Spolander, Metocean Services now has offices in South Africa, Australia and Mozambique. Services include oceanographic data collection, meteorological data collection, metocean data processing & analysis, marine weather forecasting and oceanographic equipment sales.
For more information or to contact Metocean Services International:metoceanservices.com
DeepWater Buoyancy is co-sponsoring ADCPs in Action in Australia (AiAiA) on May 12-14. The event is being hosted by UVS Pty Ltd. UVS is a long term partner of DeepWater Buoyancy and represents us in Australia.
ADCPs in Action events are Teledyne RDI programs that are held in San Diego, India, Australia and the Netherlands.
