Woodside Energy Chooses Deep Rated AUV
Hafmynd has sold a 1000 metre rated Gavia Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) to Woodside Energy Ltd of Australia after successful completion of trials of the 1000 metre Gavia design at Hafmynd's facilities in Iceland. Upon delivery in 4th quarter 2008, Woodside Energy plan on utilising their Gavia for an array of tasks including habitat mapping, pipeline inspection, and bathymetric surveys in support of their operations off the North-west coast of Australia.
According to Arnar Steingrimsson Marketing Manager at Hafmynd, "The sale to Woodside Energy Ltd is an exciting first for Hafmynd in the offshore sector where the extended depth rating and availability of survey grade sensors like the GeoSwath make the Gavia AUV the perfect tool to carry out a wide range of tasks for a fraction of the cost and risk of traditional methods".
The Gavia is the only commercially available man-portable AUV capable of operations at extended depths and is capable of fielding an array of sensors for varied applications. The Gavia can be operated from vessels of opportunity or even from the shore with a minimal logistical footprint. The Woodside Gavia vehicle is equipped with a high precision DVL aided Kearfott T24 INS, a Marine Sonics side scan sonar, and a 500 kHz GeoSwath Swath Bathymetry system from GeoAcoustics Ltd. In addition the vehicle will likely be fitted with the autotracker capability for pipeline inspections being developed by Seebyte Ltd.
