SEAMOR Marine showcased CHINOOK ROV
Canadian company SEAMOR Marine Ltd. is showcasing its CHINOOK Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) at MAST Asia 2017. “We have not yet entered the security and defence market,” Chris Parker, Lead Engineer at SEAMOR Marine tells MONS, “but we are looking into it, especially with regard to the Mine Counter Measure (MCM) domain.”
The CHINOOK is a tethered ROV that can explore depths of 300 meters, with the standard vehicle, or 600 meters, with the deep-water version [and yes, MONS knows that Boeing’s heavy lift helictoper is called CHINOOK as well -The Ed.]. The tether is available in twisted pair, which is usually the preferred option for fishing boats, or fibre optics, which allows for larger transfer of information through the high-bandwidth. The whole ROV is lightweight and portable, which makes it easy to carry by one or two people, and can be operated from the shore, a dock or a relatively small boat.
The CHINOOK comes with a number of integrated features, such as a high-resolution colour and zoom camera and an integrated controller with LCD monitor and Digital Video Recorder (DVR). “According to the customer’s needs there are a number of other accessories that can be added to it,” continues Mr Parker, “including a sonar, a dual function gripper and/or cutter, and last but not least the hydraulic arm.”
Currently SEAMOR Marine is working to be able to put the hydraulic arm onto third party systems; “Likewise, the CHINOOK is a very modular platform with open architecture and can accommodate third party accessories as well,” concludes Mr Parker.
Dr. Alix Valenti