SURVEY BOATS

Navy Fleet Survey Team Receives New Boats

By Shannon Breland, Naval Oceanographic Office Public Affairs Fleet Survey Team (FST) took delivery of two 9-m SAFE Boat Defender-class survey boats on March 4. This delivery triples FST's organic boat inventory of C 130-deployable platforms. "These boats usher in a new and exciting era of FST surveying that will undoubtedly provide critical hydrographic information to the fleet for many years to come," said FST Commanding Officer Cmdr. Brian Connon. Prior to the delivery of the two Defender-class boats, FST primarily relied on its current lone FST 7-m rigid hull inflatable boat (RHIB) or boats of opportunity for conducting hydrographic surveys using single-beam sonar from Africa to . The Defender-class boats offer many advantages over previous survey boats and vessels of opportunity used in overseas surveys. Unlike the RHIB, the Defenders have climate-controlled cabins to allow surveying in a broader range of sea state and weather conditions, keeping equipment and surveyors cool in hot conditions and dry in wet conditions. They also offer increased versatility and survey capability, readily supporting multibeam and single-beam echosounder operations, as well as side-scan sonar deployment via an onboard electric winch and A-frame system. With the boat's capability to conduct multibeam surveys, comes increased ability in the field. FST already has operational schedules for the boats beginning this month in .

GENSHIP Wins Repair Bid

The General Ship Corporation (GENSHIP), Baltimore, Md., has been awarded the bid to drydock and repair the United States Army Corp of Engineers (USACE) Survey Boat Shuman. The vessel, which will be delivered from its home port of Philadelphia, will undergo major overhauls or renewals of the propulsion shafting, rudders, port and starboard propellers, as well as other maintenance and repairs.

30-ft. Oil Skimmer Joins Kvichak Lease Fleet

KMI Leasing Co., LLC recently added a new 30-ft. Rapid Response Skimmer – Wide version outfitted with a Kvichak/Marco Filterbelt oil recovery module to their lease fleet.  The Kvichak 30’ rapid-response skimmer is a shallow-water capable, near shore skimming vessel suited for use on oil spills in waterways, bays, and harbors.  The all-aluminum skimmer is 31’ – 3” long, with a beam of 9' - 8"

SeaArk Delivers Survey Boats to Corps of Engineers

SeaArk Marine, Inc. recently delivered two 2610 survey boats to the Corps of Engineers, Rock Island District.  The vessels are assigned to Pleasant Valley, Iowa and Lock and Dam 18 in Gladstone, Ill.   The vessels are powered by twin Mercury Optimax, 225 hp outboard engines with side mounted dual controls and hydraulic trim tabs. These vessels can easily attain a top speed in excess of 34kts fully manned.  

Sea Floor Surveys Support Texas Maritime Trade

This winter, NOAA will begin a year-long survey of the sea floor in the Port of Houston and Galveston Bay navigational areas, to aid efforts to bring more trade, more cargo, more jobs, and more economic benefits to the Houston area. The navigation survey team arrived in Galveston this week, to begin pre-survey preparations with mariners and federal partners. "With bigger ships, crowded sea lanes, and more uses of ocean areas

Bachrach & Wood Celebrates 50 Years

Bachrach & Wood was formed 1953 to provide marine surveying and consultant services to the shipping industry in New Orleans. This year marks its 50th year of service. Over the years, Bachrach & Wood has changed its focus from bluewater shipping to the offshore oilfield, now providing builder’s risk surveys for heavy lifts and pipeline construction, warranty surveys for trips-in-to, vessel safety and security audits, and on/off charter surveys for barges and boats

Marine Industry Employs Boat Towed Detectors

Many marine service companies are acquiring boat-towed metal detectors and magnetometers to assist in salvage operations and geophysical surveys. These devices can locate a variety of targets including sunken vessels, ship anchors and propellers, pipelines, cables and metal debris which must be removed from an area before dredging. The two primary pieces of equipment used in these operations are a magnetometer and the pulse induction (PI) metal detector

Biggest Boat Wrap

"I believe it is the largest boat wrap ever," said Image Monster owner Jed McDonough as he surveyed the QuadZeus, a 60-ft power sportsfish boat in Charleston, S.C. Image Monster, a Wilmington, N.C., large-format print and graphic design studio, wrapped the boat in a custom design by graphic designer Zach Shaeffer, who utilized original drawings by renowned Wilmington marine artist Steve Goione. The QuadZeus wrapped from bow to stern participated in the boat show turning heads

Uncharted Dubai Wrecks Pinpointed

Royal Naval survey ship 'HMS Enterprise' discovers two previously uncharted wrecks in Port Rashid Harbour. Making use of its new hi-tech, smaller motor launch, the Plymouth-based ship discovered two sunken dhows in one of the world's busiest ports at the beginning of a nine-month deployment. Spitfire, the new survey motor boat, can be sent off independently to gather data at the same time as the mother ship - effectively doubling the ship's capacity to chart the seas.

Almar by North River Boats Recent Completions

Almar by North River Boats Inc. of Roseburg, Ore. announced the recent completion of the following three boats:   1.)  This is the fourth boat in a series of five 33-ft X 10-ft Sounder Pilot House built for Hydrographic Survey use.  This boat is powered by twin Yanmar 315 hp diesel engines and Hamilton 241 water jets with a top speed of over 31 knots and a fuel capacity of 200 gallons.    The pilot house is equipped with two Coleman Seamach air conditioning units