VideoRay Releases Details of Sunken Lady Luck
VideoRay has assisted the US Coast Guard in investigating the cause of the mysterious loss of the Lady Luck, a Newburyport (MA, USA) based fishing vessel which sunk early on the morning of 1rst February 2007, 20 nautical miles southeast of Portland (ME, USA), claiming two lives. The US Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, responsible for investigating the disaster, had detailed information from multiple sources on where the wreck was located, in approximately 500 feet depth.
VideoRay is the standard observation class ROV for the USCG, with a unit based nearby at the Maritime Safety and Security Team in Boston. However, their VideoRay model was not designed to work at the wreck's depth.
Normally, the location of sunken vessels in open waters is accomplished by "side scan sonar" units, which are towed behind survey vessels and provides an image of the bottom and objects located there. However, within the tight timeframe established by weather and vessel availability, the VideoRay Deep Blue model submersible, equipped with an onboard Sea Sprite scanning sonar, was the only tool available to both locate and investigate the wreck.
After several hours of surveying thousands of square meters of seafloor, the SeaSprite sonar on the ROV located the Lady Luck, and minutes later the images from the VideoRay provided positive video confirmation.
