Underwater Search News

Rescuers were in a race against time to find a missing submersible on Tuesday, two days after it lost communication while taking wealthy tourists to see the wreckage of the Titanic in deep waters off Canada's coast.One pilot and four passengers were on board the submersible that disappeared on Sunday. The operating company said it had the capacity to stay underwater for up to 96 hours - giving those aboard until early on Thursday before air ran out.U.S. Coast Guard Rear Admiral…

A life raft has been recovered from the fishing vessel Nicola Faith, which went missing with three aboard off the coast of Colwyn Bay, Wales on January 27.The raft was found off the coast of Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland by HM Coastguard and has been positively identified by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) as being from the Nicola Faith. The next of kin have been informed of this development.The raft will be transported to the MAIB in Southampton for further investigation…

A rescue diver from China who made a series of underwater dives to rescue three people from a sunken cargo ship will receive the 2018 IMO Award for Exceptional Bravery At Sea.A Panel of Judges decided that the rescue merited the highest award. The decision was endorsed by the IMO Council at its 120th session in London (2-5 July).Following a collision with another ship, in Guangzhou Port, China, in the early morning of November 27, 2017, the bulk carrier M.V.Jin Ze Lun sank. Of the 14 crew on board, two were immediately rescued by local maritime authorities but 12 remained missing.

A shipwreck thought to date to the nineteenth century has been discovered in the Indian Ocean by the team searching for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The search for the plane, over an area of 46,000 square miles, is being directed by Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Center (JACC). CNN reported on Jan 13 that in December a search boat glimpsed a shipwreck that may be 200 years old. “An anomalous sonar contact was identified in the course of the underwater search, with analysis suggesting the object was likely to be man-made, probably a shipwreck,” the Joint Agency Coordination Centre, an Australian agency directing the search for MH370.

Fleet Ocean Tug USNS Apache (T-ATF 172) departed Norfolk, Virginia, today to begin searching for wreckage from the missing U.S. flagged merchant vessel El Faro. The ship is deploying to a search area northeast of Crooked Island in the Bahamas island chain, which is the last known location of the vessel. The initial search area is 100 square miles, and water depth is estimated to be 15,000 feet across the expected search area. Transit to this search area is expected to take four-to-five days due to weather.

Kraken Sonar Inc. announced it has recruited two industry veterans to further develop its sensors-to-systems strategy. Joining the company is Dr. Tom Tureaud, who brings 30 years of industry experience with expertise that resulted in 12 patents, and Gina Miller, adding 10 years of unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) system engineering and leadership to Kraken’s design team. “We view these appointments as a sign of our commitment to being a leading company in our industry,” said Karl Kenny, President and Chief Executive Officer of Kraken. “Our new innovations and increasing customer demand led us to look for additions to our team who will further our sensors-to-systems strategy. We are very fortunate that we were able to find such high caliber people. Dr.

The search for the missing Dornier aircraft of Indian Coast Guard and its three crew members is being augmented with underwater search by naval submarine, reports All India Radio. After six days of efforts to trace the missing Coast Guard Dornier aircraft, all eyes are now on the Navy submarine that started the undersea search operation for the plane. There were reports that wreckage of the Dornier aircraft was found but Coast Guard Eastern region Inspector General Commander S P Sharma later denied the reports. “We are awaiting communication from the submarine. At this point, we can’t come to any conclusion,” said Sharma in a statement.

Jack W Fisher, president of JW Fishers Mfg. passed away at home after a brief illness on February 20, 2015. He was 73 years old. The JW Fishers business was started because Fisher, an avid diver, needed an underwater metal detector to use on a salvage project in the mid 1960s. He discovered there was no such device available. Over the next several years he designed and constructed his own underwater metal detector. JW Fishers Mfg. was formed and Jack began building and selling his detectors to other divers.

An additional Fugro vessel has been commissioned to carry out underwater search activities for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, the company announced. Multipurpose offshore survey vessel Fugro Supporter is on its way to the Southern Indian Ocean search area, having conducted trials in Bali. The vessel is equipped with a Kongsberg HUGIN 4500 autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) which will be used to scan those portions of the search area that cannot be searched effectively by the equipment on other vessels.

Royal Australian Navy Minehunter, HMAS Yarra, has been undertaking an underwater search off Papua New Guinea for HMAS AE1, the Navy’s first submarine. AE1 was lost without a trace on September 14, 1914, with her full crew of three officers and 32 sailors. The Chief of Navy, Vice Admiral Tim Barrett AO, CSC RAN, said the search had been ongoing for many years, and Yarra’s crew was up to the task: “The full expertise and training of the crew will be brought to bear in aid of the search. Commanding Officer of HMAS Yarra, Lieutenant Commander Brendan O’Hara, said a number of scenarios had been considered in determining the search area. These included ‘last sighted’ reports by HMAS Parramatta (I) as well as local historical accounts.

Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) says that a bathymetric survey of the 60,000km2 search area is well underway, with two vessels, the Australian-contracted Fugro Equator and the Chinese survey ship Zhu Kezhen, mapping the ocean floor, while the Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) is coordinating this work. JACC explains that the bathymetric survey will provide crucial knowledge of the seafloor terrain to begin the actual underwater search. The ATSB is currently assessing tender documentation to engage a primary contractor to manage this complex operation. The underwater search is likely to commence in early September and take up to 12 months to complete.

Australia, Malaysia and China have decided to extend the search area in the southern Indian Ocean, which represents the highest priority for future search efforts for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370, informs Australia’s JACC. An expert satellite working group has reviewed all existing information in order to define a search zone of up to 60,000 square kilometers along the arc in the southern Indian Ocean. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Warren Truss said the latest search area refinement had involved the efforts and expertise of specialists from around the world. “Specialists have…

The latest information and analysis confirms that MH370 will be found in close proximity to the arc set out in the map [shown here] and labelled as the 7th arc. according to Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC). At the time MH370 reached this arc, the aircraft is considered to have exhausted its fuel and to have been descending. As a result, the aircraft is unlikely to be more than 20 NM (38 km) to the west or 30 NM (55 km) to the east of the arc. Based on all the independent analysis of satellite communications and aircraft performance, the total extent of the 7th arc reaches from latitude 20 degrees S to 39 degrees S. Refinement of the analysis in the coming weeks will reduce the underwater Search Area along this arc to a prioritised 17,500 sq. NM (60,000 sq. km).

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has awarded Fugro a contract that will see the deployment of its specialist vessel, equipment and expertise in the underwater search for the missing Malaysia Airlines flight 370 (MH370). Using its advanced survey vessel, the Fugro Equator, fitted with state-of-the art multibeam echosounder equipment, Fugro will conduct a bathymetric survey of the search area. The seabed data obtained will assist in the production of maps of the seabed offshore Western Australia.

Australia’s Joint Agency Coordination Centre informs that no signs of aircraft debris have been found by the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle 'Bluefin-21' since it joined the search effort. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) has advised that the search in the vicinity of the acoustic detections can now be considered complete and in its professional judgement, the area can now be discounted as the final resting place of MH370. acquiring the specialist services required for a comprehensive search of the sea floor in that area. The expert satellite working group continues to review and refine complex analyses of radar and satellite data and aircraft performance data to determine where the aircraft most likely entered the water.

Australia's Joint Agency Coordination Centre (JACC) advises that up to 10 military aircraft and 10 ships will assist in today's search for missing Malaysia Airlines flight MH370. The Australian Maritime Safety Authority has planned a visual search area totaling approximately 49,491 square kilometres. The centre of the search area lies approximately 1584 kilometres north west of Perth (see map pictured). Bluefin-21 AUV is currently completing mission nine in the underwater search area. Bluefin-21 has searched approximately two thirds of the focused underwater search area to date. No contacts of interest have been found to date. The focused underwater search area is defined as a circle of 10km radius around the second Towed Pinger Locator detection which occurred on 8 April.

Submarine HMS Tireless has been tasked to assist in the search for flight MH370 as UK support to the international effort continues informs the government's Ministry of Defence. The Trafalgar-Class submarine has arrived in the southern Indian Ocean to help with the search for the Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777 that went missing on 8 March, and with her advanced underwater search capability, HMS Tireless is expected to be able to contribute to the attempts to locate the missing plane.

Many government agencies and public safety dive teams are adding underwater search equipment to help make their operations easier, safer, and faster. Maricopa Sheriffs Department in Arizona, Downe Township Fire Rescue in New Jersey, the Fairhaven Massachusetts Harbor Master and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division are a few of the diverse group of agencies using metal detectors, video cameras and sonars in their underwater search operations. Deputy Jeff Hanson, leader of the Maricopa County Sheriffs Department dive team…

JW Fishers, manufacturers of underwater search equipment, advise that transponders make locating underwater objects easy. Attempting to relocate underwater objects in a low visibility environment can be a difficult and time consuming task. Acoustic transponders solve this problem. Not long ago transponders were expensive pieces of equipment used primarily by the military, oil and gas industries, and oceanographic institutions. Today these underwater locating beacons are being employed by a wide range of users including commercial diving companies…

Over the past year a number of Asian companies and government agencies have acquired underwater search equipment to aid in the location of lost objects and assist in performing survey operations. In China, Guangzhou Advanced Maritime Academy has added a remote operated underwater vehicle (ROV) to their program. Reforms and opening to the outside world have paved the way for development of the country’s shipping industry. The throughput of cargo and containers at China’s ports has been the largest in the world for the past five years with an annual growth rate of 35%.

Many universities are adding or expanding their underwater archaeology programs in an effort to give students a broader educational experience and a better understanding of our maritime history. The field of underwater archaeology is expanding rapidly as the equipment required for marine exploration becomes more affordable, and more scientists and researchers learn to scuba dive. Indiana University (IU) Bloomington has one of the oldest academic diving programs in the country.

More public safety dive teams are adding sonar to assist in their underwater search and recovery operations. Side scan is the ideal tool for these operations because it produces detailed images of the underwater environment regardless of water clarity. In addition, the sonar is able to search large areas quickly, scanning several hundred feet of ocean, lake, or river bottom with each pass of the boat. The sonar does this by transmitting an acoustic beam from a towfish which sweeps the bottom and reflects off any objects lying there.

Many public safety dive teams, police and sheriffs departments, and government agencies are acquiring side scan sonar systems to assist in their underwater search and survey operations. Side scan is the ideal tool for these operations because it produces detailed images of the underwater environment regardless of water clarity. In addition, the sonar is able to search large areas quickly, scanning several hundred feet of ocean, lake, or river bottom with each pass of the boat. Side scan can easily locate a variety of targets including sunken boats, submerged vehicles, and drowning victims.