Geoconsult Takes Delivery of HUGIN 3000-GC

HUGIN 3000-GC is the second commercial AUV delivered by Kongsberg Simrad. Geoconsult, a company based in Norway that performs seabed mapping, ROV services, and subsea construction support services has taken delivery of this unique autonomous underwater vehicle. Geoconsult will now be the only surveyor in the market offering multi functionality to its customers by combining an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle with a Remotely Operated Vehicle or EM300 / EM1002 hull-mounted multibeam echo sounder. The company believes that this will increase their ability to do highly qualified surveying, not only in the North Sea but also in other deepwater areas (1000-3000m) such as: West-Africa, Brazil, Mexico and the Far East. Geoconsult's own Survey Manager Arvid Pettersen acknowledges that day-rates may seem high but inflicts on that the total price for the whole operation will be very cost effective due to threefold time savings. In addition the end-client obtains extremely high quality data. Pettersen claims that $1 spent on seabed mapping is $7 saved for their main customers; the oil & gas, and the cable industry. The more detailed data obtained, the more cost effective a project can be designed. He emphasizes that the cost effectiveness increases with the depth of the water.