International Submarine Engineering Ltd. announces that the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) has placed an order for an Explorer autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The vehicle will be used for marine search and recovery as well as survey operations.
The JCG Explorer will also be supplied with a light-weight self-articulating ramp based launch and recovery system which will be installed on one of their ships. This will enable the Coast Guard to launch and recover their AUV in an elevated Sea State. The launch and recovery ramp system is built by Hawboldt Industries of Chester, Nova Scotia.
ISE has partnered with Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co. Ltd. of Osaka for the provision of local operations and maintenance support for the JCG Explorer AUV. ISE and Fukada Salvage have a long relationship; earlier in 2011 Fukada purchased an Explorer AUV for their own survey operations.
ISE was formed in 1974 to design and build underwater vehicles. Based just outside Vancouver, Canada, ISE has delivered more than 230 vehicle systems and 400 robotic manipulators to more than 20 countries around the world.
The Explorer family of AUVs was introduced in 2003 and follows previous ISE AUVs including ARCS and Theseus. Explorer is a modular vehicle that can be configured for commercial, scientific or military customers. It can carry a wide range of sensors and has endurance options ranging from 12 to 85 hours. It has developed a reputation as a reliable, stable and flexible sensor platform and in total, ISE AUVs have completed more than 120,000 kilometres of surveys.
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Subsea World News Staff , December 04 , 2011; Image: ISE