NEPTUNE Canada

Installation ships to set sail

Jul 03, 2009

A crane on Alcatel-Lucent's cable-laying ship, the C/S Lodbrog lifts our trawl-resistant frame slated for installation in Middle Valley. (Click to enlarge.)

Esquimalt Graving Dock was bustling with activity as a crowd of celebrants gathered to watch equipment loaded onto two of our installation ships, the C/S Lodbrog and the R/V Atlantis. The celebration marked the official start of this summer's installation cruises, which will run through September 20. During this time, we hope to install:

1. six trawl-resistant frames (one in Middle Valley)
2. five science nodes
3. many kilometres of electro-optical cable
4. ten or more junction boxes
5. nine instrument frames
6. our vertical profiler system
7. Wally the benthic crawler
8. numerous scientific instruments, ranging from seismometers to sonars, hydrophones, cameras and differential pressure recorders

The guest list included Mike Lake, parliamentary secretary for Industry, local MPs Denise Savoie and Keith Martin, several MLAs and representatives of CFI, NSERC, Western Economic Diversification, Canada, BC Innovation Council, BC Net, a handful of federal and provincial ministries, departments and labs, Alcatel-Lucent, L3 Communications, ODI, OceanWorks, and many of our other industrial partners. In addition, a bevy of news gatherers documented the event with cameras, mics and notepads.

Peter Phibbs holds forth for a media scrum next to one of our Trawl-resistant Frames. (Click to enlarge.)

Aboard the C/S Lodbrog, crew members prepared to set sail. First order of business will be installation of a trawl-resistant frame in Middle Valley, an as-yet unfunded study location. The frame will be connected to our backbone there, where it will be ready to house a science node should future funding become available. This first deployment will also be a chance for installation crews work out any bugs in our procedures for the other five full science node installations to follow. The C/S Lodbrog will depart this weekend or early next week.

Crew members Cosmila, Manuyac and Luzadas comprise the Lodbrog's splicing team. Here they demonstrate technologies and techniques for splicing the thin optical fibres that will carry communications across the NEPTUNE Canada backbone.(Click to enlarge.)

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