ARCHIVED - Department of Fisheries and Oceans / Brooke Ocean Technology Limited

FPTT Technology Transfer Award

Department of Fisheries and Oceans /
Brooke Ocean Technology Limited

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Development and transfer of the Moving Vessel Profiler that allows oceans to be sampled from a ship while it s underway at full speed

Brian Beanlands
Bedford Institute of Oceanography, DFO

Edward Phillips
Bedford Institute of Oceanography, DFO

Scott Young
Bedford Institute of Oceanography, DFO

Jean-Guy Dessureault
Brooke Ocean Technology Limited

A creative procedure developed by DFO and licensed to an ocean engineering company in Dartmouth Nova Scotia has shaved valuable time off marine research and saved clients at home and abroad hundreds of thousands of dollars. Before scientists at DFO's famed Bedford Institute of Oceanography teamed up with Brooke Ocean Technology Ltd., research vessels conducting tests at sea had to stop on station, lower sensors overboard and then retrieve them before continuing on course. The expensive and time-consuming procedure often took two weeks or more. Sophisticated technology perfected by Bedford Institute researchers between 1992 and 1995 now permits ships to collect the same quality of samples while underway at full speed, reducing a typical cruise to three or four days at a significantly lower cost. The novel technology of the Moving Vessel Profiler allows scientists to drop a multi-sensor free fall fish, attached by cable to a hydraulically controlled winch system, into the water without affecting the speed or course of the ship. The system is completely autonomous and can be controlled by computer without need of a crew on deck, thus extending the operational envelope. The procedure is capable of collecting data profiles to a depth of 200 metres at 12 knots; 330 metres at five knots and as deep as 600 metres while on station. Understandably, the $250,000 self-contained system, which saves as much as $30,000 a day in operational costs, has attracted considerable international interest, including a recent sale to Japan. A Norwegian hydrographic service uses the system to produce navigational charts while another international customer conducts ocean bottom mapping in the Baltic Sea in preparation for a pipeline between Russia and Sweden.

The successful transfer of technology has added to the Bedford Institute of Oceanography's impressive list of innovative accomplishments and created new jobs for a flourishing business. Since its involvement in the construction and testing of the project in 1996, Brooke Ocean Technology Ltd., once a small firm of eight employees, has expanded to 18 with the hiring of mechanical engineers, technologists, an electrical engineer and a programmer. In the early stages, the Bedford Institute designed and developed the control system and supervised the sea trials and final modifications while training Brooke's staff on the system's installation and operation. As a result of the technology transfer process, however, the Dartmouth engineering firm has acquired the mechanical, electronic and programming expertise required to not only produce commercial versions of the system but also to continue development of versions capable of profiling even greater depths.

Sponsored by:
Montage IT Services Inc.