Pioneering Australian deep-sea exploration company connects crew and clients  across Inmarsat satellite network

Sydney, Australia – Two-storey swells, gale-force winds and a shifting, toothpaste-like ocean floor are just some of the more common hazards facing the subsea geotechnical survey crews of Benthic Geotech, a pioneering Australian company specialising in sampling the sea floor for its oil, engineering and scientific clients around the world.

Using large seagoing vessels, Benthic Geotech’s teams operate a six-metre tall sea floor drilling system called PROD (Portable Remotely Operated Drill) at depths in excess of two kilometres below sea level. PROD collects soil and floorbed samples using a combination of drills and coring tools while delivering data to the surface via an ‘umbilical’ cable containing fibre optic strands.

Since August 2008 the company has relied on the high-speed global coverage of Inmarsat’s satellite network, using equipment supplied by Inmarsat Gold Partner TC Communications, to maintain contact with – and ensure the safety of – its offshore teams.

“We’re one of only two companies in the world that can provide these geotechnical services required by large oil companies, and other offshore industries, to collect the level of accurate sample data from the ocean floor at depths safely in excess of one kilometre,” says Kazim Reza, Chief Financial Officer, Benthic Geotech. “We recently successfully completed our first West African project, and another in Norway – where we were chosen ahead of several other global geotechnical survey companies – and will soon be deploying our second PROD unit to expand our operations around the world.”

Kazim says while most seagoing vessels have their own satellite communication systems, the nature of the work the company conducts means clients often require their own systems for security purposes, separate to which Benthic Geotech needs an always-on system for communicating with colleagues back at its operations centres.

“We previously used a satellite modem that was too much hassle to learn, and consequently went unused much of the time,” he says. “Because of the project-based nature of our work, we needed a system that was easy to use, and gave us the flexibility to lease it on a case-by-case basis as required. TC Communications demonstrated its knowledge of our business by providing us with a solution that not only matched our technical and financial requirements, but also provided additional functionality like broadband data, which gives us an extra value-add service to offer our clients.”

Benthic Geotech’s teams are today equipped with Inmarsat’s FB250 FleetBroadband service, the first maritime communications service to provide cost-effective broadband data and voice, simultaneously, through a compact antenna, on a global basis.

“For the first time since I can remember, I haven’t heard any of our staff complaining about the satellite terminal,” quips Reza. “Seriously, it was easy to install, and has proven reliable and easy to use ever since.

“Even more impressive is the level of service we’ve experienced from TC Communications. For example, a few months ago the terminal was left on accidentally – costing us money for every minute it was polling the satellite network – and we got a call from TC to alert us to switch it off.

“Our business is not a nine-to-five operation, and support calls can come in at any time of day or night,” he adds. “TC Communications has demonstrated its worth by setting up training for our crew at their base of mobilisation, so we wouldn’t have to delay a project to get potentially life-saving training on the system. It’s this commitment to the relationship that sets otherwise good technology apart from a great solution.”

Todd McDonell, CEO of TC Communications, says that in an industry fraught with danger, amid the very important and sensitive engineering and scientific work, a bulletproof communications system is one of the most important pieces of equipment for any offshore crew.

“It’s a primary link for our customers in cases where things threaten to go wrong,” says McDonell. “Sometimes it’s the little things, like giving crew direct contact with their families, which can make all the difference on a long-term project, and other times the radio comes into its own as a conduit for mission-critical operational support.”

“FleetBroadband is a significant advance on previous satellite services, enabling our customers around the world to expand their operations and extract maximum value from their communications investment,” says Piers Cunningham, Inmarsat’s Head of Maritime Business. “TC Communications has yet again been able to adapt the technology to the needs of its clients, and in doing so has delivered real business benefits for Benthic Geotech where, with its previous technology, there were none to speak of.”

Benthic Geotech is looking to expand its service by offering real-time data communications from the PROD teams back to its clients using Inmarsat’s FleetBroadband data capabilities. The service, says Reza, will be of particular interest to larger companies looking to make firm but fast decisions on deep ocean construction work, who then need accurate, to-the-metre reports of site conditions prior to starting their operations.

“Our clients typically want as much information as they can get about a site before they send out the ‘heavy equipment’ to start building oil platforms or laying undersea pipes or cables,” he says. “This information is not always easy to come by, and given the ocean floor has the consistency of toothpaste, the faster information can be relayed back to clients, the sooner they can make informed decisions.”

For the first time, home spectators of the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race were able to follow exactly where each competitor was positioned as the race progressed via the official web site (www.rolexsydneytohobart.com). Using the Inmarsat D+ satellite tracking solution, images of the competitors’ real-time positions and speed were transmitted back to land and relayed onto the web site at regular intervals.

The Inmarsat D+ is a two-way data communications service that operates from pocket-sized units. In the 2002 Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race, these units were installed on all competing vessels by satellite and wireless data solutions supplier, TC Communications. The global positioning system (GPS) capability on Inmarsat D+ facilitates tracking, tracing, short data messaging and supervisory control and data acquisitions (SCADA).

During the race, the tracking terminals provided GPS information drawn from six satellites, which then broadcast coordinates via the Inmarsat satellite network back to earth every 10 minutes. The information was then sent to web site developers, Massive Interactive in Australia where they plotted the updated positions of each craft and uploaded onto the site’s major feature, Yacht Tracker. The information included sailing speed, direction and position.

Not every yacht would complete a signal within each 10-minute period, although on average about 50 yachts sent data over the Inmarsat system with each transmission.

The Cruising Yacht Club of Australia (CYCA) is the Sydney to Hobart race organiser which commissioned the web site development and was particularly focused on the Yacht Tracker function. This component of the website was designed for avid spectators of the race, as well as friends and family of the crew members wanting to follow their progress.

Joe Goddard, CEO, CYCA cites the major benefit of this system as the ease and timeliness of accessibility to information for the online onlookers.

“In years gone by, we used to have 10 people in Hobart on the phones who would field a large amount of calls enquiring about the whereabouts of specific vessels,” reflects Goddard. “By utilising the Inmarsat network and linking it to the web site, we now have only two people uploading the information at regular intervals. More conveniently – for race fans and for us - the calls are now kept to a minimum because all the information is out there on the web in the public domain.”

Since its inception in 1944, the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race has become an icon of Australia’s summer sport, and is one of the world’s most celebrated yachting events.  The race traditionally begins on the waters of Sydney Harbour on Boxing Day (26 December) and travels down the eastern coast of Australian via the Tasman Sea.

Over those years, the Sydney to Hobart Race and Cruising Yacht Club of Australia have had marked influence on international ocean yacht racing. The Club has influenced the world in race communications and sea safety, maintaining the highest standards of yacht construction, rigging and stability for ocean racing yachts. 

In the months leading up to the race, the CYCA put out a tender for the development of the race’s official web site. Part of the brief was to create a function which tracked the progress of each contender and was made available to the public via the Internet. Massive Interactive’s winning proposition answered this requirement by using the Inmarsat satellite system and services to attain real-time data of each boat.

“The inclusion of Inmarsat technology in their proposal was advantageous to Massive Interactive’s cause in the tender process. Through our extensive research of GPS, the CYCA has become very familiar with Inmarsat products, and we consider its technology to be more sophisticated and reliable than that of competitor’s, ” said Goddard.

Said Michael Butler, managing director, Inmarsat Limited, “The use of Inmarsat D+ to relay real-time progress details of the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race is a perfect example of the strategic convergence of IT, communications and mobility.  Whilst continuing to serve traditional markets, Inmarsat is as focused on contributing to the ongoing development of personal and multimedia mobile satellite communications.”

Todd McDonnell, CEO of TC Communications concluded, “Both TC Communications and Inmarsat are dedicated to taking communications solutions via air, land and sea to new levels of accessibility and sophistication. In this case, yacht racing has benefited through the combination of satellite technology and the Internet. When real-time positions and speed are made readily available to spectators, the highly competitive nature of the sport is evident and the viewing experience becomes even more compelling.”

The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) contracts TC Communications for the provision of Inmarsat communications systems and support services. The key components of TC Communications support are a 24/7 help desk facility providing telephone support and a support contact point to vessel Operators and Maintainers for their Satellite communications systems.

As part of the contract TC also provide field engineering staff to conduct on site repairs to Inmarsat B Ship Earth Station equipment on board RAN vessels where required.  Spare Parts provision and management, supporting field engineering staff as well as spare parts kits allocated to RAN vessels. Provision of training for RAN personnel in Inmarsat B Operation and Maintenance where requested by the Commonwealth.

Australian water Police vessel, The Alert, fitted with TC Communications Fleet 33 Maritime communication system.

The next time modern-day pirates try to ply their trade off the NSW coast, the state's water police will be armed with a battery of satellite technology.

The NSW Water Police launch, Alert - the vessel that pursued the suspected drug-smuggling Korean freighter Pong Su along the state's coast in April - has begun testing satellite communications equipment that gives it a direct link to shore, turning the ship into a floating command post.

The pursuit and boarding of the Pong Su - which turned up a cache of drugs and a senior Korean official - provided valuable lessons for the NSW Water Police, marine area commander Terry Dalton said.

The ship was chased by the NSW Water Police, Customs and the Navy, before finally being boarded by elite SAS troops. During the pursuit of the Pong Su, the Alert remained at sea for three days.

"One of the issues raised at the end of the operation was our communication. While we were able to send back photos, we had no system dedicated to that requirement ," he said.

The new satellite system will allow police launches to send photos, email and live video to shore for analysis, providing functions similar to the system installed by the Australian Customs Services last year. Satellite phones will enable crew members to stay in touch with families while at sea for extended periods.

The system would allow a police launch to follow a suspect ship "from a discrete distance," sending back intelligence such as photographs to shore, Commander Dalton said.

It would also allow information to be forwarded to other agencies, such as Customs and the Australian Defence Force. "That was a shortcoming we identified as a result of the Pong Su job," he said. "There is no point having a vessel with long-range capability if it doesn't have the latest communications equipment."

Like the Customs system, NSW Police will use the Inmarsat satellite network, with the service sold through local reseller Xantic.

Sydney-based satellite specialist TC Communications was contracted for equipment and installation.

NSW Police expects to install the system on a second launch shortly, and the remaining seven long-range vessels will be equipment as funding becomes available. The Alert is one of five vessels worldwide selected for a maritime field evaluation trial with Inmarsat.

Inmarsat's David Warner said the shipping industry had growing data requirements.

Along with communications and general ship and cargo management, security - in the guise of the planned International Port and Shipping Security Code - was driving demand, he said.

Due to be in place mid next year, the code "really requires the ship and port facility to be able to determine each other's security status", he said.

* This article appeared in The Australian, August 19th, 2003