Gardline upgrades vessels with Sonardyne USBL technology

Equipment & Technology - June 20, 2012

Gardline Geosurvey has selected Sonardyne International’s Ranger 2 USBL tracking system as part of a multi-vessel upgrade programme.

By equipping its survey vessels with Sonardyne’s latest generation acoustic technology platform, Gardline will now benefit from Ranger 2’s ability to track multiple subsea targets over long ranges and with the highest level of positioning accuracy.

Specialising in geophysical, hydrographic, environmental, oceanographic and geotechnical surveys, Gardline’s decision to switch to 6G is further recognition of the performance gains and operational savings that the new technology offers.

As a result, the company decided to upgrade and replace equipment on five of its vessels to the latest Ranger 2 USBL specification. Four of the vessels were equipped with Sonardyne’s first generation USBL system, whilst a fifth had a non-Sonardyne USBL system installed.

A survey grade USBL acoustic positioning system, Ranger 2 is designed for deep water, long range tracking of underwater targets and position referencing for dynamically positioned (DP) vessels.

It builds on the simplicity and performance of Sonardyne’s original Ranger system by adding support for 6G technologies that are proven to increase the efficiency of survey operations, reduce vessel delay and improve the total cost of ownership.

“With the exception of the competing USBL system that we have had some issues with, the majority of our equipment was legacy Sonardyne technology,” said Steve Hodds, Navigation and Positioning Manager at Gardline.

“Since installing the latest Ranger 2 systems we’ve experienced a big jump in performance and capability, meaning that we can continue to provide our clients with quality data that has been delivered in a safe, efficient manner with minimal impact on the environment.”

Commenting on the sale, Simon Goldsworthy, Sales Manager at Sonardyne said, “This latest purchase reflects the growing customer demand for Ranger 2 in survey applications.

"Gardline has been an extensive user of our USBL products and we’re delighted to be able to continue that relationship by supplying the latest in acoustic positioning technology.”