Fiomarine (WEB REFERENCE 1) was initiallycreated in 1997 to eliminate ­potentially dangerous surface obstacles and increase safety in the sea. Customisation and collaboration are its speciality, with each product made to order. Located at the technical hub of Hobart, Tasmania (the southern most tip of Australia), the company has endured the long process of battling the defence industry to now be an Australian Recognised Defence Supplier and can boast the US Defence as the chief user of its technology.

A Unique Product
The Fiobuoy is the world’s first submersible marine marker buoy and retrieval system. It is unique in that it combines an acoustic release, a line of retrieval and a marker buoy in one complete system. It allows equipment or assets to be secured and ‘hidden’ underwater and then safely retrieved. In defence, it allows sensitive equipment to be covertly secured underwater and at deeper depths than previously possible. As a safer alternative to surface marker buoys, the Fiobuoy could revolutionise the entire marine industry.
“Our goal is to see the Fiobuoy used in all areas of the marine industry. As a security and retrieval tool that improves safety in the sea, hopefully one day the Fiobuoy will be a household name,” John Fiotakis, Fiomarine CEO and Fiobuoy inventor.

How the Fiobuoy Works
Tethered to underwater equipment, the Fiobuoy remains ‘hidden’ underwater and invisible from the surface. Before deployment, a release time and date are programmed into the Fiobuoy via an infrared signal. An acoustic command model is also available, offering on-demand release and greater flexibility in retrieval. Once the command is received, the Fiobuoy releases itself, unwinding to the surface to complete its marking function.

How it all Began
Although Fiomarine supplies mostly to the defence industry, the idea for the Fiobuoy originated from a boating incident. John was on a fishing trip with some friends off the southern coast of Tasmania. They were sailing at night when their motors got entangled in five crayfish pot lines and surface marker buoys. Thankfully, they were able to avert a potentially fatal accident and free a motor before the boat crashed onto a cliff face. The incident made John think about how it may have been avoided, and how the buoy could be kept underwater. Once a prototype was developed, it was tested in the Derwent River and was spotted by some Royal Australian Navy (RAN) divers in the area who instantly recognised its potential in defence. Fiomarine then collaborated with the Defence Science and Technology Organisation (DSTO) to design the Fiobuoy to suit military specifications.

The Defence Industry
The Fiobuoy was designed specifically to assist the RAN and now supports defence forces in Australia, the USA, Singapore and Japan. The Australian Hydrographic Service as well as mine warfare units have been utilising Fiomarine’s technology for almost 10 years. Fiobuoys have kept valuable Navy hydrographic equipment secure underwater for over eight years, and boast a nil loss rate of equipment and data. In mine warfare, Fiobuoys provide both an economical and safer alternative to using a diving team. The turnaround of an exercise has been drastically reduced from longer than 14 days to merely two or three, and divers are now free to participate in other exercises and training.

Collaborating with Defence
Fiomarine has collaborated with the Australian Defence Department on a number of projects since the company’s inception in 1997. The company’s technology was integral to the first mine laying from a Collins class submarine in Australia in 1999. As an underwater specialist, Fiomarine was also invited to accompany DSTO and help develop a gas management system ­incorporated into the Cormorant Lift Bag manufactured by fellow Tasmanian company Liferaft Systems Australia. Having the rare capability of switching air on and off underwater, and thus able to raise and lower equipment underwater, the potential for this technology has yet to be fully explored.

Fiomarine’s Customers
Having recently received its second major order of Fiobuoys, the US Navy is now Fiomarine’s largest customer. “The US [Navy] took five years to sign the first deal, so this is a big deal for us. Having the US [Navy] as a repeat customer not only increases our standing on a global scale but also further proves our technology,” John Fiotakis said. Outside of defence, Fiomarine’s technology is used by universities, including James Cook University and the National University of Singapore. Government department Natural Resources Canada are also utilising the technology, as is oceanography company MetOcean Engineers.

Looking Towards the Future
The possible applications for Fio­marine’s technology are wide and varied. The Fiobuoy can be applied in all areas of the marine industry where assets and equipment need to be secured underwater and retrieved, in the moorings of small and large vessels, the offshore oil and gas industry and more. Recently, the company’s focus has turned to the fishing and aquaculture industries, where the idea all began. It is working on projects to minimise poaching and ‘ghost fishing’ in the lobster fishing industry and supporting submerged offshore aquaculture farms. Currently, surface marker buoys alert thieves to valuable fishing stocks underwater and lost ropes and nets are killing and maiming hundreds of thousands of marine animals every year. Fiomarine can help reduce these instances by minimising the number of surface buoys in the water and keeping everything subsurface. In many countries, public protests are making it increasingly difficult for farmers to gain approval for aqua­culture leases. They are being forced to consider submerged farms offshore and out of the public’s eye, and Fiomarine’s technology can allow for simple and economical access to these farms.

Conclusion
When someone is introduced to the Fiobuoy, they recognise a vast array of applications and potential for the technology. So the challenge for Fiomarine now is to remain focused and not get bogged down in the list of possibilities, which if you startthinking about it, are never-ending.