First Sentinel Diver Detection for Superyacht

01/10/2008

A Sentinel diver detection sonar has been sold to the unnamed owner of a prominent superyacht. The buyer is a head of state whose personal security will benefit from the Sentinel's ability to detect divers and swimmers approaching the vessel from any direction.

A Sonardyne Sentinel is deployed by lowering the compact sonar head into the water from a boom or through a dedicated hull opening. It can also be mounted on a seabed frame to create a permanent installation for monitoring a port entrance, for example. When coverage of larger areas is necessary, up to 10 Sentinel heads can be integrated and they will alert security personnel if any divers come within a 500 metre radius of a sensor. The system can be further expanded to allow ‘friendly divers' to wear small wrist transponders so that they can be easily tracked whilst underwater. This provides a further level of personal protection for owners and their security detail.

The system features intelligent automatic target detection, classification and tracking software that removes the need for continuous manual operation. Threat warnings received by the system can be automatically forwarded by text message, internet or pre-recorded voice message to key personnel anywhere in the world.