Oceaneering International says it has completed a successful field trial of its marine mammal mitigation software, Ocean Perception.
The trial was conducted in August at the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary offshore the northeast United States to demonstrate Ocean Perception’s visualizations in providing mammal location data to improve operational efficiencies for construction operations.
The trial tested the integration of data protocols and buoy systems solution, various frequencies testing and other capabilities – including machine learning and thermal cameras – for potential 24-hour operations.
The trial integrated SMRU Consulting’s battery-powered Cab Guardian Buoy System with Ocean Perception as part of a package for offshore wind construction operations.
Per Oceaneering International, the buoy system can detect mammals at a range of up to 10 km and report those detections in real time, allowing passive acoustic monitoring operators to approve the detections within Pamguard software, delivering into Ocean Perception’s map visualization.
“We are thrilled with the data we gathered at the Marine Mammal Sanctuary field trial, our third for Ocean Perception,” says Blanca Montoya, Oceaneering’s product manager. ”We proved that the system can provide novel marine mammal monitoring for wind and other renewable developers while meeting strong regulatory requirements.”
“We’re delighted to work with Oceaneering to help offshore wind developers increase operational safety and increase project efficiencies through deploying a real-time, lightweight, cost-effective, battery-powered acoustic buoy system,” adds SMRU Consulting’s Paul King.
