StarFish 990F Side Scan Sonar Enhances Port Survey Operations

12 June 2012

Marine and engineering company Tyne and Wear Marine (TWM) Ltd.used Tritech’s StarFish 990F for a survey of the dock wall on the Tyne River, Newcastle during a port survey and inspection project.

StarFish Seabed Imaging Systems use the latest in advanced CHIRP (Compressed High Intensity Radar Pulse) acoustic technology and digital-signal-processing (DSP) techniques to offer greater image clarity and range resolution compared to conventional fixed-frequency side scan sonars. This technology enabled the operators at TWM to image the dock wall and capture the targets as clearly and as representatively as possible. In post processing, the operators were then able to overlay the data onto a photographic image of the dock walls.

Mike Broadbent, Business Development Manager, comments:

"For both survey and security markets the StarFish 990F is a very useful tool. StarFish Seabed Imaging Systems are known asthe side scan for shallow-water survey and this application on the Tyne River, Newcastle proves the capabilities of the unit as a universal survey tool.”

John Cramman, Tyne and Wear Marine, comments:

"We are extremely pleased with the results that we have achieved with the StarFish 990F. Its compact size facilitates easy mounting to our vessels, allowing us to carry out vertical scanning of quay walls and other port and marine structures. As a survey tool, it enables us to collect a vast amount of information in a relatively short time frame. It has proven invaluablefor pre-dive and ROV exercises, literally giving both the client and our team a picture of underwater structures and assets.”