NAUTRONIX has conducted a successful trial of its acoustic positioning and communication system, NASNet, for Cairn Energy, offshore Greenland, proving its viability and the associated Nautronix ADS signalling technology capabilities in the Arctic.
The NASNet package was deployed using the support vessel Siem Aquamarine in about 300m of water. During the trial, various acoustic communication and positioning tasks were undertaken to demonstrate the capabilities of the system.
Cairn wanted to trial alternative acoustic systems at similar depths and environmental conditions to assess communications.
According to Aberdeen company Nautronix, no system acoustic communication issues were experienced during the trial throughout the entire water column.
Moreover, according to the firm’s MD, Mark Patterson, the success of the trials “ably demonstrated” the advanced Nautronix ADS² signalling capabilities to provide a reliable and robust communication capability in the harshest of environments.
To run the trial, an array of five NASNet seabed stations was deployed location to provide seamless multi-user positioning capability for both the vessel and ROV.
The positioning capability and stability of the NASNet system was fully demonstrated for both too.
Patterson said this is particularly important for operational locations at high latitudes where periods of instability of GNSS (global navigation satellite systems) is not unknown whereas NASNet can offer a viable DP (dynamic positioning) reference position solution.