Fastwave Becomes Australian Distributor of Kongsberg Seaglider System

Marine systems integration specialist Fastwave has recently been appointed Australian distributor by Kongsberg Maritime for the supply, installation, training, service and support of the SEAGLIDER system.

The Seaglider is an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) developed for continuous, long term data acquisition for oceanographic, environmental, defense, research and other marine applications. The Seaglider’s highly efficient propulsion method and unique design allows it to execute autonomous data gathering missions lasting many months, with a range of over 4,500 kms and depth of up to 1000m. The vehicle supports a wide range of sensor types, transmitting data between dives via Iridium Satellite.

The Seaglider’s low capital cost, simple operational requirements, long endurance and versatile payload capability combine to provide a very cost-effective and safe method of acquiring subsea data at a fraction of the cost of conventional methods. The vehicle can be piloted and data accessed from anywhere in the world, further enhancing its flexibility for long range, remote ocean missions.

The reliability of the Seaglider technology has been demonstrated in the harshest marine environments, ranging from the polar regions to tropical cyclonic conditions. Detecting marine mammals, monitoring oil spills, measuring dredging turbidity and detecting hydrocarbon seeps are some of the many applications for the Seaglider.

Fastwave Director Nick Daws commented: ” Seagliders provide complementary capabilities to our well established in-situ subsea and ocean surface data acquisition systems. The ability of the Seaglider to dynamically gather large amounts of data in the water column adds another dimension to our ability to provide clients with a complete suite of near real-time ocean data acquisition technologies. Fastwave’s expertise with integrating sensor payloads and telemetry systems with mobile data platforms such as the Seaglider enable us to offer specific mission configuration options for our clients, who have requirements such as marine mammal detection, maritime surveillance and dredge plume monitoring.”

Rich Patterson, GM Underwater Glider Systems for Kongsberg Underwater Technology, Inc. added: “Kongsberg is very excited to have Fastwave represent Seaglider in Australia. We have a mature and effective system that is poised to become an excellent tool for the maritime community, and we feel that Fastwave is the right partner to help us make that happen. Their years of experience in satellite telemetry, ocean data collection and environmental monitoring make them a perfect fit for our product and will allow them to provide excellent support to our Australian customer base.”

Press Release, August 20, 2014; Image: Fastwave