Login
iscover
Newcastle-based BlueZone Group has announced a partnership with SUEX and Blueprint Subsea for the supply and through-life sustainment of Diver Propulsion Vehicles (DPV) for for propulsion and underwater navigation for dive team customers in Australia and New Zealand.
To continue reading the rest of this article, please log in.
Create free account to get unlimited news articles and more!
SUEX and Blueprint Subsea are experienced design and production partners having developed high quality products ranging from the SUEX NERO Blueprint ELITE DPV to diver handheld navigation/sonar and SUEX advanced thrusters, both companies also offer a wide range of sensors and accessories. SUEX and Blueprint Subsea have successfully supplied DPV equipment to projects in the UK.
BlueZone is an experienced and capable supplier to Defence and will lead proposals in Australia including fully developed concepts for support and sustainment of delivered equipment through established east and west coast underwater technology workshops and maintenance facilities.
BlueZone CEO, Elizabeth Karpiel, said that it was important for customers in Australia and New Zealand that an experienced support partner such as BlueZone would provide excellence in after-market service: "BlueZone is already familiar with many of the technologies in diver propulsion from over twenty years’ experience in remotely operated vehicle support."
SUEX offers the single-hull Artemis SX and dual-hull Artemis ELITE diver propulsion vehicles integrated with navigation solutions from Blueprint Subsea. For long underwater transits, a DPV with navigation capability will enhance the probability of mission success and reduce the impact of fatigue on a military diver.
The Blueprint Artemis range consists of four diver navigation systems:
- ArtemisPRO: Performance for combat divers. Designed to assist in covert dead reckoning navigation tasks and the identification of seabed targets. ArtemisPRO incorporates a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL), multibeam imaging sonar, acoustic communication and positioning beacon, camera, dive-light and detachable floating GNSS receiver buoy.
- ArtemisHHS: Reliability, flexibility and safety for police, fire, and search and rescue divers. The ArtemisHHS offers real-time multibeam sonar imaging and GNSS navigation. Depending upon the requirements of the user, the ArtemisHHS can be equipped with either the M1200d or M750d multibeam imaging sonar. The system is additionally supplied with a camera and dive-light for image collection and a communication and diver tracking beacon for improved diver safety. All sensor data is logged throughout the dive and available to view through NavPointPRO on the topside rugged tablet on returning to the surface.
- ArtemisNAV: Navigational excellence without complication. The ArtemisNAV is a DVL equipped diver navigation system with the option to use a detachable floating GNSS receiver buoy. The ergonomic float chassis houses a 10-button console with navigation and dive information being displayed on a backlit seven-inch LCD screen.
- ArtemisLITE: Pure underwater navigator. Designed to assist recreational, commercial, Search and Rescue and research divers in navigating between pre-determined underwater waypoints. Diver positioning is acquired using a floating GNSS receiver buoy and displayed on a backlit seven-inch LCD screen.
"We look forward to providing the same excellence in support for the military diver community," Karpiel added.
BlueZone Group maintains a coast-to-coast footprint with approximately 30 staff operating from offices and fully-equipped workshops in Newcastle and Perth.
This model enables BlueZone to offer local service, backup and sales to customers across Australia in markets including defence; offshore oil and gas; oceanographic science; hydrographic survey and water resources. Where there are synergies between market areas, BlueZone looks to leverage these for the benefit of customers, reducing costs, providing faster delivery or developing innovative solutions resulting from bringing new vision and ideas from one market to another.
The focus of BlueZone Group companies is the application of world-leading technology to enable operations, science, maintenance and repair to be conducted in underwater or water-based environments.
BlueZone Group actively invests in research and development projects to provide solutions for customer challenges across market areas.
