Tritech Gemini Assists Reef Subsea Dredging and Excavation

Tritech’s latest product in the Gemini Multibeam range, the Gemini Narrow Beam Imager (NBI), provides invaluable data when working in limited visibility conditions.

The Gemini (NBI) provides operators with real-time high-speed acoustic images from a narrow vertical beam covering a 130° swath. Operating at 620kHz the NBI provides imagery at a 10mm range resolution and with a 0.5° horizontal angular resolution delivers sharp sonar imagery.

The Gemini NBI was used by Reef Subsea to monitor the trenched installation of six-inch and two-inch cables, while using controlled flow excavation techniques. The seabed conditions around the site varied considerably however even where there was high turbidity Reef was able to clearly monitor the cables using the Gemini NBI.

With the increasing level of cables being laid in shallow water, where turbidity can be at its worst, the Gemini NBI has proven to be effective at visualizing targets that are typically hidden from view to conventional multibeam sonars, the manufacturer said.

Robbie Fraser, from Reef Subsea Dredging & Excavation, commented, “We have been actively looking for the latest high performance sonar to help us track cables and found the Gemini NBI more than capable. Using the Gemini NBI we were able to safely monitor the excavation process and offer our client the assurance required that we were meeting the stated trenching depth. This latest generation multibeam from Tritech has all the traits of Tritech products, proving it to be robust and capable of providing crisp imagery in a very harsh environment allowing my team to view the operation in the murky, dense waters without any downtime.”

tritech.co.uk