Bluefin-21 AUV for Phoenix
Phoenix International Holdings, USA, recently purchased a Bluefin-21 (AUV). This highly capable underwater vehicle comes with a survey payload suite including side scan sonar, sub-bottom profiler, multibeam echo sounder and digital camera. An on-board Inertial Navigation System and an Ultrashort Baseline system capability provides for accurate navigation and positioning of the vehicle.
The system’s small size permits mobilisation on vessels of opportunity while its modular design and field-swappable batteries allow for rapid turn-around times, which results in more efficient operations. The vehicle, batteries and support equipment are designed to be easily broken down and packaged for rapid shipment, an ideal feature essential to Phoenix’s need to support worldwide operations at short notice and in remote regions.
In its current configuration, the Phoenix Bluefin-21 can operate in water depths of up to 1,500 metres. This depth range will be extended to 4,500 metres in late 2012, giving Phoenix the ability to perform search and survey operations in 75% of the world’s oceans.
Phoenix is offering its global AUV services to customers in the military, government agencies, the ocean research community, oil and gas industry, as well as to those with interests in archaeological and cultural resource investigations. Mike Kutzleb, President of Phoenix, says “The Bluefin AUV is an excellent addition to our current inventory of underwater systems, and gives us the ability to provide more comprehensive services to our customers worldwide.”
Phoenix provides manned and unmanned underwater operations, design engineering, and project management services to clients in the offshore oil & gas, defence, and other ocean-interest industries worldwide.
