AXYS Buoys Assist Safe Passage Through the Port of Melbourne

Metocean Services International (MSI) has signed a contract with Port of Melbourne Corporation for two TRIAXYS directional wave buoys and an AXYS WatchKeeper current, wave and met buoy. The buoys will be a key component in providing real time current, wave and meteorological data to the port management system covering 100,000 hectares of port waters.The three buoys will be built by AXYS Technologies in British Columbia, Canada, before being freighted directly to the Port of Melbourne.

The Port of Melbourne is Australasia’s largest maritime hub for containerised, automotive and general cargo. It is a key economic asset for businesses and people across Victoria and south-eastern Australia. With 2.6 million containers and 350,000 new motor vehicles handled each year, safe passage is paramount for the 3,000 ships that visit annually.

The TRIAXYS Directional Wave Buoy is a solar-powered precision instrument incorporating advanced technologies that make it an easy-to-use, reliable and rugged buoy for accurate measurement of directional waves. The sensor unit is comprised of three accelerometers, three rate gyros, a fluxgate compass, and the proprietary TRIAXYS Processor.

The AXYS WatchKeeper buoy is a 1.7m diameter polyethylene buoy specifically designed for deployments in coastal areas, lakes, reservoirs and rivers. The WatchKeeper hull is internationally proven as an aid to navigation (AToN) and can be deployed in water depths from 20m to 500m. Custom configurable with a wide range of sensors for monitoring meteorological and oceanographic parameters, it derives its wave data from the same sensor unit that is in the TRIAXYS.

The systems being delivered to the Port of Melbourne Corporation will be fitted with radio and cellular telemetry systems as well as ISatPro for WatchCircle monitoring and terrestrial telemetry if required.