Sonardyne acoustic release transponders are worth their weight

Sonardyne International Ltd, UK, specialists in subsea navigation and positioning technology, report that their heavy duty, deep ocean and coastal acoustic release transponders, continue to set the performance and reliability standard within ocean science, hydrographic survey and offshore construction arenas.

Products such as their ORT, DORT and LRT have established themselves as an important component in the inventory of commercial, scientific and naval organisations worldwide that rely upon them to deploy and recover valuable seafloor sensors and equipment. With features that include depth ratings over 9,000 feet, three year battery life and highly secure acoustic communications, Sonardyne’s acoustic releases are as dependable as they are capable.

The latest model to be added to the company’s product line up is the WRT 6 (Wideband Release Transponder 6) – arguably their most capable acoustic release to date. Tough and reliable, WRT 6 is fully compatible with Sonardyne’s sixth generation (6G) acoustic positioning systems, which are widely installed on offshore and research vessels to support a wide range of survey operations.

Fitting the WRT 6 into one of Sonardyne’s Heavy Duty Release Frames, provides a safe and efficient way to remotely control the deployment of large equipment such as landers, instrument strings and oil field hardware onto the seabed. Upon receipt of a securely encoded acoustic signal sent from the operator at the surface, the release mechanism of the transponder activates, allowing the installation crane wire to be automatically disconnected without ROV or diver intervention.

For shallow water and coastal applications, Sonardyne’s Lightweight Release Transponders (LRTs) are heavyweights when it comes to performance. With a depth rating of over 1,600 feet, a high safe working load, long battery life and a highly reliable screw-off release mechanism, the Sonardyne LRT possesses all the essential features that users demand.

Recently, Finnish-based environmental monitoring company, Luode Consulting, chose Sonardyne LRTs to support its water and ice quality research in Scandinavia. Using them to deploy and recover specialist recording instruments, the company has now completed over 350 studies across the region, including under-ice thickness profiling and water cooling monitoring close to nuclear power stations, without a single failure or instrument loss.

Whether the water depth is shallow or deep, the load; kilograms or tonnes and deployment; days or years, Sonardyne will provide the ideal acoustic release transponder.

Image Caption: Sonardyne acoustic releases being used to the installation a spoolpiece. Image courtesy of Subsea 7