Survey Suite for New German Survey Vessel
Kongsberg Maritime, Norway, has been awarded the contract to supply a survey suite to a vessel currently under construction and for use by a consortium of German universities. The universities are the first to specify the 0.5º x 1º configuration of the EM122 multibeam echo sounder system.
The contract, an open tender won amongst tough competition, covers all hydro-acoustic aspects of the new-build survey vessel ‘Tiefsee Forschungs Schiff’ (TFS), which has been commissioned to replace the old RV Sonne, the current vessel being shared by the same group of German universities.
The EM122 is a field-proven and reputable deepwater echo sounder that offers increased performance in the 0.5º x 1º configuration, providing a larger swath width and higher resolution.
In addition to the EM122 0.5º x 1º multibeam system, the Kongsberg Maritime systems on board TFS include an EM710 0.5º x 1º system, Seapath position reference system, EA600 hydrographic single beam echo sounder and EK60 Scientific echo sounder. All systems will be completely integrated in a sophisticated hydro-acoustic lab, featuring a state-of-the-art video wall.
Owned by the German Ministry of Research, TFS is being built by Meyer Werft in Papenburg and will be operated by RF Forschungsschiffahrt GmbH in Bremerhaven. The vessel will be used for multi-discipline research by the universities, which include the University of Bremen/Hamburg, IOW Rostock, BGR Hannover, IFM Geomar Kiel and several others.
System delivery starts in Autumn of 2013 and the final SAT (Sea Acceptance Test) is planned for the end of 2014.
