Significant Dredge Monitoring Network for OSIL

Environmental monitoring systems manufacturer Ocean Scientific International Ltd (OSIL) said it has been awarded a contract for the international supply of a network of dredge monitoring buoys.

The Tern buoy hull design incorporates a stainless steel sub frame with a moon pool for instrument protection, and its modular manufacture makes the buoy easy to ship and assemble on-site following delivery. The 12 buoys are set up to communicate via Iridium Short Burst Data (SBD) with an onboard Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) option to further reduce operational costs when the buoys are moved closer inshore as the project progresses.

OSIL said data from the buoys can be fed directly into the client servers via Iridium SBD, and the client's existing sensors can be used to help minimize costs.

These buoys will join a large number of existing OSIL dredge monitoring networks, with well in excess of 500 data buoy systems now installed worldwide. OSIL said its buoys are robust, small and maneuverable, enabling dredging operators to follow the dredge plume as the works progress.