AQUACULTURE WORKBOATS NET BIG GAINS WITH MARINE AUTONOMY

In this “Aquaculture Workboats Net Big Gains with Marine Autonomy” article, learn how Sea Machines products enable commercial fish farming vessels to do more with less, at reduced risk and cost. Read it to learn about the use cases for our SM200 and SM300 systems in aquaculture applications, the benefits of incorporating modern BlueTech aboard fleets, and more.

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Sea Machines offers proven commercial-grade, wireless, remote vessel-control systems and autonomous navigation technology. In his role, Relou will work closely with workboat operators and boat-builders serving task-oriented sectors, such as aquaculture, hydrographic and UXO surveying, dredging and oil-spill response. He also will support the company’s advanced situational awareness technology trials currently being piloted on an A.P. Moller-Maersk container ship that calls regularly in Rotterdam. 

Relou is based in The Netherlands with responsibility over Europe, Middle East and African regions. 

“We welcome Frank to the team just as customer demand for our products in Europe is experiencing new growth,” said Sea Machines’ Don Black, vice president, sales and marketing. “As former colleagues, I have seen first-hand the ability Frank has in connecting with customers and solving their challenges. We look forward to the impact he will make as Sea Machines strengthens its foothold in European markets.”

“This position fuels my passions for the commercial marine and technology industries,” said Relou. “Within this space, I am genuinely interested in providing transformative solutions to customers and I look forwarding to introducing my established network to Sea Machines’ innovative technologies.”

Strengths developed during Relou’s nearly three-decades-long career include persistence and perseverance, as well as the ability to build lasting relationships with clients. His diverse career has spanned the ship-building sector to retail and distribution. He began in 1991 as shipbuilder at Shipyard Grave BV, of The Netherlands. From there, he held roles of increasing responsibility at George Kniest Boat Equipment; Simrad (of Kongsberg); Navionics (in Italy); New Madera RIBs B.V.; and Survitec Group, where he held his most recent position as a key account manager. Relou also volunteers his time as a board member for the Foundation Royal Yacht Piet Hein, which aims to maintain a historical vessel. He is fluent in Dutch, German and English.

Sea Machines’ SM series of products, which include the SM300 and SM200, open a new era of vessel capability for marine operators. The SM series empowers boats to work better and stay on task without interruption from beginning to end of the job. The products can be installed aboard existing or new-build commercial vessels with return on investment typically seen within a year. 

About Sea Machines
Headquartered in the global tech hub of Boston with a branch office in Hamburg, Sea Machines is the leader in pioneering autonomous control and advanced perception systems for the maritime industry. Founded in 2015, the company builds autonomous vessel software and systems, which increases the safety, efficiency and performance of ships, workboats and commercial vessels. Learn more about Sea Machines at www.sea-machines.com.  

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Sea Machines has plans to attend the H20 Conference 2019, from June 5 through 7, in Nova Scotia. As a leader in the Blue Tech space, we look forward to meeting with conference attendees representing marine defense, offshore energy, fisheries and aquaculture, marine transportation and other sectors. The event gives Sea Machines the opportunity to hear the needs of these industry leaders and commercial vessel operators, as well as share the latest updates about our autonomous marine technology.

To schedule a one-on-one, B2B meeting with Sea Machines, click here. 

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Experts say that 2019 will be a year of growth for the global offshore energy industry, a prediction already being proven by the uptick in demand for offshore exploration activities over last year. As the market rebounds, operators will prioritize consolidation and innovation to stay ahead. Those who add innovation to their fleets by way of new, advanced technology have the most to gain. Offshore vessel owner/operators who add marine autonomy to their small-to-medium sized offshore workboats can benefit from increased productivity and predictability, while reducing their overall risk and operational costs as they support many types of offshore projects.

Deep Challenges

No matter the mission, those in the offshore marine space face unique challenges when it comes to ensuring projects are completed on time, within budget and safely. Whether providing support for offshore construction, offshore oil and gas, offshore wind farm installations, hydrographic and seismic survey operations, offshore spill response, aquaculture, sub-sea cable inspections, or any other number of offshore projects, the risks of being at sea hundreds of miles from land are the same.

The most common challenges for those in the offshore marine industry include:

• Productivity fluctuations, due to unpredictable factors such as weather;

• High operational costs; and

• Risk of human error related to execution of “dangerous, dull and dirty” work.

Operators facing these challenges today now have the option of mitigating risk by installing Sea Machines autonomous marine technology aboard small-to-medium sized offshore workboats. (In the near future, similar technology will be available for larger workboats and Offshore Support Vessels [OSVs]). Read on to learn more.

Extract Higher Productivity

Smaller offshore support boats, such as daughter craft, tugboats, patrol craft and crew boats are ideal candidates for boosting productivity via autonomous marine technology. Autonomous vessels can work longer hours, even in periods of low-light or poor visibility, with greater precision and predictability. Unmanned support vessels can operate in very poor and harsh weather conditions that might otherwise compromise tasks and put mariners at risk.

Broad coverage areas or long transits to an offshore site from a mainland aboard offshore commercial boats can be executed autonomously, using dynamic waypoint following capabilities. Computers housed on autonomous workboats execute pre-programmed routes and can adjust direction in fractions of a second without human intervention to maximize efficiency. If an unexpected object, such as another vessel or a buoy, appears in the autonomous boat’s path, an on-board computer (powered by cameras and other sensors) will detect it far sooner than the human eye can, and re-route safely around it before resuming an efficient mission.

High-bollard pull tugboats towing out loaded barges also benefit from dynamic waypoint following, and can be programmed to operate in collaborative following modes. Such capabilities allow tugboats in complex formations to maintain an exact course and speed from the point of departure to the offshore project site, eliminating fatigue and increasing operational predictability.

For marine operators conducting offshore survey missions or offshore seismic support operations, autonomous-command and remote-control capabilities aboard fleets allow more data to be gathered with fewer resources and less time. Manned mother ships paired with smaller unmanned daughter craft can collect data at all hours of the day and night, as un-crewed workboats don’t require stops for low-light conditions, breaks or shift changes. Many unmanned vessels programmed to operate collaboratively can create force-multiplication that maximizes coverage and reduces the time required to collect data.

These capabilities also hold true for offshore spill response and recovery operations, which also utilize predictable patterns that can be optimized by data-driven paths and dynamic waypoint following. Force multiplication, increased operational time, and reduced costs and risks only add to the advantages.

Drill Down Costs

Because autonomous systems integrate seamlessly with common on-board marine electronics – such as AIS, GPS, radar, cameras and sensors – a single remote operator can monitor the live data feeds of unmanned boats in real-time. This is particularly important in reducing the costs of offshore patrol and security boats monitoring high-value sites, such as energy platforms or wind farms.

In instances where payloads are required, a single operator can deploy or activate on-board equipment from another vessel or an on-shore site. Remotely operated payloads for offshore applications can include ROV and UUV deployment, launch stations, cranes, winches, security equipment, cameras, sensors, communications relays, aerial drones and more.

Pairing manned mother vessels with unmanned daughter craft – ideal for offshore surveillance and monitoring, surveying, seismic operations and spill responses – reduces crew expenses significantly and can increase operational periods due to the reduction in stop-work periods related to shift changes, darkness and weather.

Increase Safety

When it comes to offshore marine operations, nothing is more important than safety. Installing autonomous marine technology aboard vessels bolsters mariners with computer vision. Computer vision can process and detect objects sooner than the human eye, even in perfect conditions, and provides a redundant set of eyes for those in the bridge – helping to mitigate fatigue, distraction and poor visibility due to low light or weather.

Dynamic waypoint following further reduces the risks of mariner fatigue and distraction, acting as a modern autopilot that controls variable course and propulsion; as workboats autonomously execute planned paths, with obstacle avoidance enabled as a safety measure. This allows the mariner to focus on higher level tasks and be freed from tedious job of navigation, which is especially demanding in poor sea conditions.

When unmanned surface vessels are deployed, weather is less likely to compromise missions or negatively impact human health. Put simply, sea sickness, injury and dire risks to crews are eliminated.

For offshore jobs in extreme locations, such as in the Arctic, or toxic conditions, such as those that exist during spill incidents, unmanned vessels eliminate the need to expose crews, thus improving overall health and safety. When used in this way, an operator-in-the-loop can program a vessel to collect data or spilled product, deploy payloads and monitor surroundings in real time, all from a safe location.

Accomplish More Offshore, While Reducing Risk and Cost

For operators of small- and medium-sized vessels, such as offshore tugs, patrol boats, spill-response vessels and crew boats, Sea Machines SM series of autonomous-command and remote-control products are available now. Those who take advantage of Sea Machines products will, in most cases, see return on investment realized within a year, thanks to increases in productivity, predictability and efficiency.

There’s no need to build new vessels. The Sea Machines SM300 or SM200 can be added to workboats as a retrofit or as part of new-build specifications, typically requiring only 10 components to install. Most vessels can be outfitted with a Sea Machines system in two days or less. Even for small fleets, the system is surprisingly accessible, thanks to an affordable price point or flexible leasing options.

If you’re ready to increase your fleet’s capability, predictability and productivity, while simultaneously reducing your at-sea risk and operational costs, contact Sea Machines to discuss the options for upgrading your vessels today, using the form below.

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International Aquafeed magazine featured Sea Machines twice in its most recent February 2019 issue.

The first instance was for the magazine’s monthly guest editorial column, contributed by Sea Machines’ Peter Holm, European director. In it he focused on the significant benefits that marine autonomy brings to the rapidly growing aquaculture industry.  Click here to read Holm’s column.

Second, the magazine published a Fish Farming Technology article titled, “Aquaculture Workboats Net Big Gains with Autonomous Technology,” which described the innovative applications for autonomous-command and remote-control technology aboard fish-farming vessel fleets. Click here to read the article.

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Already providing nearly 50 percent of the world’s fish for human consumption, the fisheries and aquaculture industry will grow exponentially between now and 2050 to meet the nutritional demands of an expanding global population, which is expected to jump from 7 to 9 billion people during that same period. Establishing new fish farms particularly those found nearshore and very far offshore, is one way to support future demands, but today’s industry leaders also must look at ways of increasing productivity and efficiency, as well as reducing operating costs, of existing operations to meet future needs.

Most fish farms are reliant upon a critical network of workboats, which may include any combination of live fish carriers, tugboats, patrol boats, fish feed barges, crew transfer vessels, pontoon boats, platform supply vessels (PSVs), dredgers and other types of utility craft. While each is specialized in some way, the total fleet is generally targeted towards three primary activities: fish handling; infrastructure installation and deactivation; and maintenance, support and transfer activities. In most cases, these marine assets provide the only access to offshore fish farms and others located in remote areas.

Workboats account for 20 percent of the total cost of aquaculture – a reality that can hinder companies’ ability to expand operations and increase yields. The good news is that innovative, new technology, specifically Sea Machines autonomous-command and remote-control products, can be installed aboard existing or new-build aquaculture boats to dramatically increase productivity, predictability, efficiency and safety. Read on to learn how.

Hauling in the Benefits of Autonomy

1. Fish Handling
   The workboats that transport and distribute live fish and feed, perform delousing treatments and perform all other fish handling tasks are ideal candidates for marine autonomy. With a Sea Machines system on board, vessel routes can be programmed to optimize transport or station-keeping (especially to deep-sea fish farming sites), ensure obstacle avoidance and reduce crewing requirements. These benefits save time and money, while increasing safety, and ultimately helping operators to be more productive and efficient.

2. Infrastructure Installation and Deactivation
   Operators looking to establish new farms will require towing and mooring support, marine anchoring and drilling, infrastructure construction and dredging. Each task will be performed by workboats, which can be optimized by autonomy. Pontoons and PSVs hauling out cage materials, construction supplies and fish-farming equipment benefit from programmed routes and plans. Multiple workboats can be programmed to work collaboratively while maintaining a set speed and distance. This multiplier effect is especially beneficial for routine work, such as the installation of mooring and anchor systems. Using autonomous systems, operators aboard a mothership can also control a second unmanned workboat, such as a tugboat or daughter-craft via remote control to reduce crewing costs.

   During deactivation phases, all the above capabilities apply, making decommissioning work more productive, efficient and safer.

3. Maintenance, Support and Transfer
   The majority of workboat costs are associated with the maintenance of farms. Once established, automated aquaculture workboats can optimize most routine tasks. Workboats using programmable routes and patterns to haul feed, monitor operation sites, clean nets and dredge the sea beds beneath farms can be tasked to operate in an unmanned autonomous configuration or via remote control. Sea Machines-enabled boats don’t require stop-work periods for crew shift changes or reduced nighttime operations. When operators’ boats are equipped with complimentary technology, such as thermal cameras, autonomous and unmanned workboats can operate 24/7, in nearly all sea states and conditions (ideal for offshore farms). Obstacle avoidance features also prevent costly on-site incidents that can damage cage systems and marine assets.

   The workboats that transfer personnel, such as feed barge operators and divers, similarly benefit from obstacle avoidance, collaborative and remote operations and more. Further, the programmed routes and station-keeping capabilities reduce operator fatigue, a major casualty factor in marine incidents during nighttime operations, long-distance transfers and challenging sea states.

Sea Machines Hooks into On-Board Equipment

Sea Machines designed its products to work collaboratively with other remote-operated systems and on-board equipment that supports cage fish farming. These may include payload controls for marine equipment, such as winches and cranes, surface, underwater and thermal cameras; specialized sensors; and aquaculture monitoring systems. Such connectivity optimizes performance and data collection.

Closing the Net

Leaders in the fisheries and aquaculture industry are already starting to optimize their operations with autonomy. Those who take advantage of Sea Machines product will, in most cases, see return on investment realized within a year, thanks to increases productivity, predictability and efficiency.

The Sea Machines SM300 or SM200 can be added to workboats as a retrofit or as part of new-build specifications, typically requiring only 10 components to install. Most vessels can be outfitted with a Sea Machines system in just a couple days. Even for small fleets, the system is surprisingly accessible, thanks to an affordable price point or flexible leasing options. These systems are designed to support fishery workboats in a wide range of coastal, harbor and offshore aquaculture activities and across all climates, from Arctic to tropical.

Sea Machines ensures aquaculture fish-farming workboats perform at the most productive and efficient level, allowing operators to feed and grow fish. Upgrade your aquaculture operations by contacting Sea Machines today.

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Among the sectors that will benefit from advancements in autonomous surface vessel technology is the marine spill response and recovery industry. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, this critical segment annually responds to and cleans up 1.3 million gallons of petroleum spilled into U.S. waters alone from vessels and pipelines. Autonomous technology has the power to not only help prevent vessel accidents that can lead to spills, but can also facilitate better preparedness; aid in safer, more efficient clean-ups; and provide more meaningful, post-event learnings.

Read on to learn more about these oil-spill response benefits.

Prevention

It is widely recognized that human error is the number one causal factor in maritime incidents, including those that lead to marine oil spills. But what if these human risks – miscalculations, tiredness, inattentiveness, distraction and others – could be mitigated?

The good news is that advancements in automated vessel control systems can make a difference. Similar to the collision-avoidance and safety alert features installed in today’s automobiles, marine robotics engineers are enabling new technologies on the water. The use of advanced camera software and Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), are empowering maritime artificial intelligence (AI), and enabling new navigation tools for crew. Still reliant on human oversight, these autonomous marine systems provide vessel operators with real-time data for decision making, as well as critical alerts that can help prevent collisions, groundings and other incidents that can lead to injury, environmental harm and property damage.

Preparedness

Just as important as preventing incidents in the first place is the need to be ready with a speedy and effective response if a marine spill does occur. This is especially important in harbor and port areas, where vessels loaded with hazardous products frequently transit and shorelines can quickly be impacted by spills. To be on guard, ship-handling terminals can now deploy shore-based autonomous vessels. In an incident, these vessels can be electronically dispatched, allowing for the quickest possible response, without human intervention.

Response

In the unfortunate event of a spill, the severity of an incident is in large part determined by the quality of the response. Vessels outfitted with autonomous technology are at an advantage during spill events. Some, which can be crewless vessels powered by remote-control technology, can be sent to an incident site to survey the spill size and spread, toxicity, currents and more. These autonomous vessels, equipped with environment assessment sensors, can provide feedback on air and water quality back to responders without risking their wellbeing. In spill response, this safety measure is the single-most important feature of autonomous vessel technology because it removes crew from known carcinogenic environments.

Recovery

Once a spill survey is complete, safe recovery operations usually involve a large mothership which has storage capacity for the oil. These larger vessels are the perfect hosts for autonomous daughter craft, which can complement manned recovery efforts in numerous ways.

First, vessels can efficiently dual-tow boom around the spill area for containment and collection. With an autonomous daughter craft under remote control via a computer on the bridge of a mother ship, the vessel operator can easily control the speed and course of the daughter craft during spill-boom towing operations.

Second, the standard four-to-six-hour shift changes required for traditionally crewed daughter craft are no longer needed with an autonomous control system. Additionally, spill operations can continue ²⁴⁄₇, through the night, since no dangerous over-the-rail personnel transfers are needed on unmanned surface vessels (USVs).

These combined benefits can yield a 150-percent gain in operational efficiency, significantly reduced crew risks, and improved accuracy and tracking capabilities.

Third, when complimentary technologies, such as KOSEQ’s Rigid Sweeping Arms (a system that uses rigid arms to direct collected oil into a skimmer) or autonomous skimmers, are added to the solution, the recovery effort undergoes a positive multiplier effect with minimum crew.

All of this equates to less risky, faster and more effective pollution control.

Post-spill analysis

Just because all traces of petroleum or chemical have been collected from water doesn’t mean the spill recovery work is complete. After the event, an investigation will begin to determine the root cause of the incident and identify successes and failures. In the past, investigators have relied upon anecdotal evidence and manual data collection, methods inherently wrought with human error.

Now, with today’s automated technology installed on board response vessels, the data generated for the spill site survey, containment and collection is automatically recorded and saved for reference, analytics and archival. Lessons learned from data-based, computer-generated reporting is invaluable to future spill-prevention programs and recovery efforts.

Affordable and available now to vessel operators

Surprising to many is just how affordable and available this technology is to the maritime industry. No longer a prototype, Sea Machines’ autonomous vessel system SM300 is already on the market, and can be easily retrofitted aboard existing commercial vessels or added to construction plans for new ones at an accessible price point. The simple installation of the Sea Machines system typically requires no more than 10 components to be installed before it’s ready for use.

Other applications

Sea Machines’ automated vessel technology isn’t limited to oil and gas operations. It also can be applied to all types of commercial vessels, including ships, workboats, science and survey vessels, military and security craft, fishing and aquaculture boats, patrol boats, and fireboats.

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