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UUV's in Maritime Spill Response Exercise Cathach
Proceedings of the IFAC Workshop on Navigation, Guidance Proceedings the IFAC Workshop Guidance Available online at www.sciencedirect.com and Control ofofUnderwater Vehicles on Navigation, Proceedings theGirona, IFAC Workshop and ofofUnderwater Vehicles on Navigation, Guidance AprilControl 28-30, 2015. Spain and Control of Underwater Vehicles April 28-30, 2015. Girona, Spain April 28-30, 2015. Girona, Spain
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UUV’s in Maritime Spill Response Exercise Cathach UUV’s in Maritime Spill Response Exercise Cathach UUV’s in Maritime Spill Response Exercise Cathach
Gerard Dooly*, Edin Omerdic*, Joseph Coleman*, José Braga**, Filipe Ferreira** James Hayes*, Hugh Conlon***, Gerard Dooly*, Edin Omerdic*, Joseph Coleman*, José Braga**, James Hayes*, Hugh Conlon***, João Sousa**, Daniel Filipe Toal* Ferreira** Gerard Dooly*, Edin Omerdic*, Joseph Coleman*, José Braga**, João Sousa**, Daniel Filipe Toal* Ferreira** James Hayes*, Hugh Conlon***, João Sousa**, Daniel Toal* *Mobile & Marine Robotics Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, *Mobile &Ireland Marine(Tel: Robotics Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, +353-61-213386; e-mail: [email protected]). *Mobile &Ireland Marine(Tel: Robotics Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, +353-61-213386; e-mail: [email protected]). ** Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Ireland (Tel: +353-61-213386; e-mail: [email protected]). ** Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (Tel: +351-22-5081539; e-mail: [email protected]). ** Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (Tel: +351-22-5081539; e-mail: [email protected]). *** Shannon Foynes Port Company, Harbour Office, Foynes Co. Limerick, Portugal (Tel: +351-22-5081539; e-mail: [email protected]). *** Shannon Foynes Port Company, Harbour Office, Foynes Co. Limerick, Ireland (Tel: +353-69-73100; e-mail: [email protected]). *** Shannon Foynes Port+353-69-73100; Company, Harbour Office, Foynes Co. Limerick, Ireland (Tel: e-mail: [email protected]). Ireland (Tel: +353-69-73100; e-mail: [email protected]). Abstract: Exercise Cathach was a large training exercise which utilised and evaluated the use of Abstract: Exercise Cathach was (UUV’s) a large training exercise utilised and evaluated the oil useand of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles and sensors in a which maritime spill Incident involving Abstract: Exercise Cathach was (UUV’s) a large training exercise which utilised and evaluated the oil useand of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles and sensors in a maritime spill Incident involving harmful andUnderwater noxious substances (HNS). Theand exercise wasina afirst in termsspill of the level of robotic systems Unmanned Vehicles (UUV’s) sensors maritime Incident involving oil and harmful and (HNS). The exercise was aroles, first assessing in terms ofthethescene levelin of real-time robotic systems deployed to noxious assist in substances survey, surveillance and inspection before harmful and noxious substances (HNS). The exercise was aroles, first assessing in terms ofthethescene levelin of real-time robotic systems deployed to assist in survey, surveillance and inspection before committing first responders for respond and recover operations. The evaluation showed the effectiveness deployed to first assist in survey,forsurveillance and inspection roles, The assessing the scene in the real-time before committing responders respond and recover operations. evaluation showed effectiveness of these technologies to operate in harshand conditions and the efficiency and usability of the real-time data committing first responders for respond recover operations. The evaluation showed the effectiveness of these technologies tofield. operate in harsh conditions and the efficiency and usability of the real-time data from operations in the of these technologies operate in harsh conditions and the efficiency and usability of the real-time data from operations in thetofield. from operations in the field. © 2015, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles; Navigation Systems; Motor Control; Communication Systems; Sonar Keywords:Incident Autonomous Vehicles; Navigation Systems; Motor Control; Communication Systems; Sonar Imaging; Response; Harmful Noxious Substances. Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles; Navigation Systems; Motor Control; Communication Systems; Sonar Imaging; Incident Response; Harmful Noxious Substances. Imaging; Incident Response; Harmful Noxious Substances. 1. INTRODUCTION Planning and execution of a coordinated emergency 1. INTRODUCTION -response Planning anda execution a coordinated exercise to simulated of pollution spill ofemergency hazardous 1. INTRODUCTION anda execution of a coordinated The Shannon Estuary forms the largest estuarine complex in -response Planning exercise to simulated pollution spill ofemergency hazardous and noxious substances. 2 The Shannon Estuary forms the largest estuarine complex in response exercise to a simulated pollution spill of hazardous navigablecomplex water and Ireland covering an area of 500km and noxious substances. 2 of estuarine The Shannon Estuary forms the largest in navigable water Ireland covering an area of 500km substances. stretching for over 100km from2 of Kerry/Loop Heads and to -and noxious Deploy a range of emerging technologies for remote of navigable water Ireland covering an area of 500km stretching for over 100km from Kerry/Loop Heads and to Deploy a range of emerging technologies for remote Limerick City. The estuary is Ireland’s premier deep-water sensing operations, demonstrate specific capabilities and stretching City. for The over estuary 100kmis from Kerry/Loop Heads to -sensing Deploy a range of emerging technologies for remote Limerick Ireland’s premier deep-water operations, demonstrate specific capabilities and port due to its strategic location and routinely caters for ships evaluate their merits in an operational setting. Limerick The estuary is Ireland’s premier deep-water operations, specific port due toCity. its strategic location and routinely caters for entire ships sensing evaluate their merits indemonstrate an operational setting.capabilities and up to 200,000 deadweight tonnage. Furthermore, the port to its strategic location and routinely catersthe for entire ships evaluate their merits in an operational setting. up todue 200,000 deadweight tonnage. exercise involved both aerial and subsea vehicles and Estuary is designated a Special Area Furthermore, of Conservation and is The up to 200,000 deadweight tonnage. Furthermore, the entire exercise involved aerial subsea vehicles Estuary is designated a Special Area of Conservation andthe is The technologies, paperboth herein willand report primarily on and the considered to be important on a European level under The exercise this involved both aerial and subsea vehicles Estuary is designated a Special Area of Conservation and is technologies, this paper herein will report primarily on and the considered to be important on a European level under the subsea elements of paper the exercise. Habitats Directive [1]. Special consideration for the technologies, this herein will report primarily on the considered to be important on a European level under the subsea elements of the exercise. Habitats Directive [1]. Special consideration for the the environment needs to be taken into account and as such subsea elements of the exercise. Habitats Directive Special consideration for the the 2. SCENARIO environment needs to [1]. be taken intoresponse account and as such 2. SCENARIO marine incident preparedness and capability of the environment needs to be taken into account and as such the marine incident preparedness and response capability of the The 2. SCENARIO exercise was developed as a close to real-life incident, relevant authorities is crucial to ensuring safe and sustainable marine preparedness response of the The exercise was developed as astrands close to incident, relevantincident authorities is crucial toand ensuring safecapability and sustainable incorporating all of the various of real-life typical response operations. exercise was developed as astrands close to real-life incident, relevant authorities is crucial to ensuring safe and sustainable The incorporating all of the various of typical response operations. capacities within Ireland and Europe. summarised list of incorporating all of the various strandsA of typical response operations. capacities within Ireland and Europe. A summarised listare of Over the course of two days, from 17-18 April 2013, exercise capacities the response activities incorporated into the exercise within Irelandincorporated and Europe. into A summarised listare of Over the course of two days, from 17-18 April 2013, exercise the response activities the exercise Cathach held on the Shannon estuary [2]2013, and involved below:activities incorporated into the exercise are Over the was course of two days, from 17-18 April exercise itemised the response Cathach was held on the Shannon estuary [2] and involved itemised below: over twowas hundred personnel from estuary a range [2] of national and itemised below: Cathach held on the Shannon involved • The 90,000 tonne container ship “Marée Noire”, reports over two hundred personnel from a government range of and national and international partners representing, agencies, • The 90,000 tonne “Marée Noire”, in reports over two hundred personnel from a government range of national and damage andcontainer requestsship anchorage the international partners representing, agencies, • hull The 90,000 tonne container shipsafe “Marée Noire”, in reports companies andpartners research representing, centres. Organised by the Mobile and hull damage and requests safe anchorage the international government agencies, Shannon Estuary, a recognized harbour of refuge. companies and research centres. Organised by the Mobile and hull damage and requests safe anchorage in the Marine Robotics Research Centre at the University of Shannon Estuary, a recognized harbour of refuge. companies and research centres. Organised by the Mobile and • While proceeding torecognized deep water anchorage, the ship’s Marine Robotics Research Centre at the University of Shannon Estuary, a harbour of refuge. Limerick, as work package leader within the ERDF Interreg • While proceeding to deep water anchorage, the ship’s Marine Robotics Researchleader Centre at the University of fails, and she goes aground. Limerick, asNETMAR work package within the ERDF Interreg • steering While proceeding to deep water anchorage, the ship’s IVB project [3] and in collaboration with Shannon steering fails, and she goes Limerick, asNETMAR work package leader within the ERDF Interreg • On a falling tide the ship aground. begins to list, losing HNS IVB project [3] and in collaboration with Shannon steering fails, and she goes aground. Foynes Port Company, the Irish Coast Guard, the Irish • On a cargo fallingand tide the ship begins losing IVB project NETMAR [3]the andIrish in collaboration with the Shannon deck causing heavy fuel to oil list, to leak fromHNS the Foynes Port Company, Coast Guard, Irish • On a cargo fallingand tide the ship begins to list, losing Aviation Authority, Commissioners of Irish Lights, Clare deck causing heavy fuel oil to leak fromHNS the Foynes Port Company, the Irish Coast Guard, the Irish bunker tanks. Aviation Authority, Commissioners of Irish Lights, Clare deck cargo and causing heavy fuel oil to leak from the Limerick and Kerry Commissioners County Councilsof and theLights, Irish Naval bunker tanks. Aviation Authority, Irish Clare • Shannon Estuary Oil Pollution response plans are Limerick and Kerry was County Councilsroom andstrategic the Irishexercise Naval tanks. Service, the exercise a command • bunker Shannon Estuary Oil Pollution response plans are Limerick and Kerry was County Councilsroom andstrategic the Irishexercise Naval activated. Service, the exercise a command • activated. Shannon Estuary Oil Pollution response plans are centred on the maritime response to aroom HNS/Oil spillexercise within Service, the exercise was a command strategic • Unmanned Vehicles used to complete first centred on thearea. maritime response to a HNS/Oil spillscenario within activated. Aerial the estuarine The exercise replicated the exact • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to complete first centred on thearea. maritime response to a HNS/Oil spillscenario within assessment of the area remotely.used the estuarine The exercise replicated the exact • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles used to complete first and response if a 90,000 tonne container ship grounded assessment of the area remotely. the estuarine area. exercise replicated the ship exactgrounded scenario • Large patches of area fuel remotely. oil begin to come ashore and a and response ifarea aThe 90,000 tonne container assessment of the within a special of conservation, spilling both bunker oil • Large patches of fuel oil begin to come ashore andasa and response if a 90,000 tonne container ship bunker grounded of the ship’s cargo within a special of conservation, spilling both oil • faxed Large copy patches of fuel oilmanifest begin todetails come deck ashore andasa and HNS cargo. area The primary goals of the exercise included: faxed copy of the ship’s manifest details deck cargo within a special area of conservation, spilling both bunker oil Formaldehyde and ship’s Acrolein. and HNS cargo. The primary goals of the exercise included: faxed copy of the manifest details deck cargo as Formaldehyde and Acrolein. and HNS cargo. The primary goals of the exercise included: Formaldehyde and Acrolein. 2405-8963 © 2015, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright IFAC responsibility 2015 88 Control. Peer review©under of International Federation of Automatic Copyright © IFAC 2015 88 10.1016/j.ifacol.2015.06.015 Copyright © IFAC 2015 88
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• • • • •
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control system utilises optimal control allocation of thrusters and includes features such as fast auto-tuning of lowlevel controllers, position holding, full 3-D dynamic control underwater and automatic thruster fault detection and accommodation. More information about control system can be found in [6].
Irish Navy vessel LÉ Orla manages coordination at sea and establishes an exclusion zone around the area. Unmanned Underwater Vehicles used to survey the stricken vessel and locate missing deck cargo. Shannon SAR helicopter deploys boom equipment and the ILV Granuaile in co-ordination with the Celtic Rebel manages large boom equipment at sea. Shoreline response deploys booms and begins clean-up operations under the direction of Clare county council. As the weather moderates, preparations are made to pump out the remaining fuel oil, and plans are made to salvage the ship and her cargo.
Pilot Interfaces: The Pilot interfaces include a graphic 2D topside display (Fig. 2) and advanced pilot interface. The interfaces present all important control data to the ROV pilot using familiar graphic controls & indicators. The pilot is able to use a combination of touch display, joystick, gamepad, mobile device, mouse or keyboard as input devices to generate commands, switch operating modes and enable/disable low-level controllers. Set points can be entered numerically (e.g. using numeric control fields) or graphically (e.g. moving instrument pointers by mouse as demonstrated in Fig. 2).
3. UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLES One of the principle concerns of the exercise was the demonstration, evaluation and dissemination of new robotic systems, both aerial and subsea, in maritime incidents endangering human life and the environment. In the subsea domain, two state-of-the-art remote vehicles, ROV LATIS and AUV SEACON, were made available to the exercise. 3.1 ROV LATIS ROV LATIS, shown in Fig. 1, is a 1000m depth rated stateof-the-art smart multi-mode ROV that was developed and built in MMRRC at the University of Limerick. ROV LATIS demonstrates many of the unique features offered by software known as OceanRINGS [4]. Among other innovations, OceanRINGS is also responsible for the enhanced ROV auto and semi-autopilot systems using an inertial navigation system for position estimation. Similar to the autopilot used by modern day commercial aircraft, it assists ROV pilots operating in high energy environments to drastically reduce the technical issues and risks that an ROV pilot has to deal with. ROV LATIS offers smart ROV technologies such as automatic way point following, one-click survey design, fault tolerant control, auto vehicle stabilization and augmented reality visualization that make it an incredibly intuitive, adaptable and cost effective piece of equipment.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2. (a) ROV LATIS pilot control screen and (b) typical Go-To operation. The pilot can also easily switch between manual mode, semiautomatic modes (Follow Desired Speed & Course, Keep Current Position and Go To Position) and fully automatic mode (automatic navigation through way points). Augmented Reality visualisation: All real-time data streams such as ROV (position, heading) ship (position heading), existing seabed bathymetry used in to create a 3D real-time Augmented Reality Visualisation overview of the operations. This is displayed on a screen in both the control cabin on deck and on the ships bridge, providing a piloting aid for both the ROV Pilot and Ships navigator. Advanced Sonar Systems:
Fig. 1. ROV LATIS on Granuaile during exercise with LÉ Orla and Shannon 1 visible on-scene.
LATIS is equipped with a patented, data-adaptive, multisonar survey making it possible to acquire multiple sets of survey data simultaneously from different types of sonar operating within the same bandwidth [7]. ROV LATIS is equipped with multibeam high resolution bathymetry sonar, long range forward looking sonar and side-scan sonar.
Precision Navigation & Control: The ROV uses an inertial navigation system based on 3-axis fibre optic gyros to accurately track its position underwater [5]. The frame mounts eight thrusters, four horizontal and four vertical, in an X-shaped configuration, providing 3 degrees of freedom (surge, sway and yaw) vectored control with redundancy. The 89
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With an operational depth up to 100 meters and 8 hours range it can collect several oceanographic data during its programmed mission and is typically outfitted with several onboard sensors such as: CTD Turbidity Rhodamine Chlorophyll Side-scan sonar Multibeam echosounder
3.2 AUV SEACON The light autonomous underwater vehicle, SEACON (shown in Fig. 3), developed by the Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory from Porto University is a low-cost autonomous submarine for oceanographic and environmental surveys [8]. The LAUV is a lightweight, one-man-portable vehicle that can be easily launched, operated and recovered with a minimal operational setup. The LAUV is an affordable, highly operational and effective surveying tool.It is a torpedo shaped vehicle constructed of composite materials with one propeller and 3 (or 4) control fins. The LAUV SEACON has an advanced miniaturized computer system running modular controllers on a real-time Linux kernel. It is configurable for multiple operation profiles and sensor configurations. In the standard configuration it comes with a low-cost inertial motion unit, a depth sensor, a LBL system for navigation, GPS, GSM and WiFi.
SEACON is particularly suited to the fast completion of wide-area searches using onboard cameras and imaging sonars. 4. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE The exercise was carried out following state legislation in collaboration with four Irish state organisations, Irish Coast Guard, Irish Defence Forces, Local County Council Offices and Local Port Company (Shannon Foynes), and was attended by over 200 personnel from a range of marine bodies across Europe and Ireland. The initial report of the distressed ship, assessed and managed by the Irish Coast Guard, initiated a chain of response involving all relevant stakeholders in the region, shown in Fig. 5, which led to a response plan based on best available capabilities being put into action.
Fig. 3. Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle SEACON. At the core of its control is a distributed command, control, communications and intelligence framework, known as Neptus [9]. Neptus, shown in Fig. 4, is used for operations with networked vehicles, systems, and human operators and can be used through all phases of a mission life cycle: planning; simulation; execution and post-mission analysis. Operators not only can use Neptus to observe real-time data of networked vehicles but also to revise data from previous missions, plan and simulate future missions to be executed by one or several vehicles.
Fig. 5. Scenario response chain which was implemented during the initial stages of the exercise. Shoreline and on-water tactical response teams were mobilised and were assigned to various tasks such as monitoring, containment and cleanup. Clare County Council oversaw operations on the shore, while seaborne operations were overseen by the Irish Coast Guard in collaboration with Shannon Foynes Port Company and Irish Naval Service. Progress of all parties was managed from an exercise SimCell which was setup in Moneypoint Generating Station, 11km distant from the stricken vessel. The Irish Naval Service established a seaborne exclusion zone on the water and the Irish Aviation Authority established an aerial exclusion zone around the area up to 1000ft. Additionally, a multi-purpose workboat, the Shannon1, was used onsite as the stricken vessel.
Fig. 4. Typical planning screen on Neptus for AUV SEACON.
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5. COMMUNICATIONS The radio equipment used to establish the high bandwidth network was composed of a variety of radios from Ubiquiti Networks using the airMAX protocol [10]. This protocol uses time division multiple access (TDMA) with 2X2 Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) dual polarised antennas. This enables 150Mbps data rates in point to point (PtP) configurations as implemented during the exercise. Table 1 outlines the specific radios and antennas used in each segment of the network and figure 6a shows the various hardware elements of the network.
Fig. 7. Backhaul structure of remote sites: Moneypoint, Corlis Mast and Corlis Front Light. (Red line: radio backhaul, yellow boundary: operations zone for the exercise.
Table 1. Radio equipment & antennas Location Moneypoint
Role Backhaul to Corlis Mast
Antenna Directional, 5GHz, 30dBi, 5° beamwidth
Corlis Mast
- Backhaul to Moneypoint
Directional, 5GHz, 30dBi, 5° beamwidth
- Backhaul to Corlis Light
Directional, 5GHz, 16dBi, 40° beamwidth
- Link to Shore Response
Omni, 5GHz, 13dBi
- Backhaul to Corlis Mast
Directional, 5GHz, 16dBi, 40° beamwidth
- Link to Granuaile and LÉ Orla
Sector, 5GHz, 19dBi, 120° beamwidth
Granuaile
Link to Corlis Light
Omni 5GHz 13dBi
LÉ Orla
Link to Corlis Light
Omni 5GHz 13dBi
Corlis Light
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To facilitate improved situational awareness for the exercise coordinators, the important mobile support vehicles/vessels (ILV Granuaile, LÉ Orla, logistics & support van) were fitted with GPS trackers. The trackers transmitted GPS data over the GSM/GPRS network. The data was then retrieved from the server, logged, and displayed in the command centre. The system is highly scalable if additional assets required tracking. The tracker devices are self-contained with an embedded battery. Additional external battery packs were attached to provide power over the duration of the exercise without recharge. Fig. 6b shows a single tracker and waterproof bag. 5. OPERATIONS Once the exercise was initiated, Shannon Foynes Port Company used an existing OilmapWeb system and database [11] to accurately predict the extent of the spill in the estuary. Data such as location, amount and type of oil and latest wind and current forecasts were utilised and fused into the model to provide an estimated dispersion map, shown in Fig. 8.
(a) (b) Fig. 6. (a) Radios & antennas of WLAN network (b) GPS/GSM tracker and waterproof bag. The resulting network interconnected two ships, several smaller vessels, ROV’s, UAV’s, AUV and a Fire Service Mobile Command Unit and the exercise command centre in Moneypoint. The backhaul route through the remote stations is illustrated in Fig. 7.
Fig. 8. Map showing spill dispersion prediction after 3hrs These results identified the areas that were expected to be impacted by the spill within the Estuary. In total, four oil prediction documents were produced and distributed to the various organisations involved. What was acutely evident was that if unchecked, the spill was due to impact a special area of conservation, specifically salt marches which contain a wide range of protected species, within 12hrs.
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The initial assessment of the scene was carried out by an advanced aerial system known as FULMAR from Aerovision [12]. During the initial assessment, FULMAR was launched and recovered from shore, operated in winds of 75km/hr and stayed aloft for over 2hrs. Once initial assessment by FULMAR was completed, ROV LATIS aboard ILV Granuaile and AUV SEACON aboard LÉ Orla were tasked to the scene. ROV LATIS was tasked to survey the hull of the stricken vessel as it lies. The ROV used a forward looking high resolution multibeam sonar, Reson 7128, to complete this task and live video streams from onboard sonar and video were relayed back to command. The live video streams were displayed individually on projector screens at the command centre, allowing for fast dissemination of information.
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Fig. 10. (a) Sidescan image of seabed and HNS container and (b) course overlaid bathymetry map produced during AUV operation. Side-scan sonar was employed aboard the AUV to complete wide-area search patterns, producing accurate backscatter maps. This data, once recovered from the AUV, used to identify and locate the potential submerged cargo targets. The successfully located of the missing deck cargo standing upright on the seabed at a depth of 15MSW and the images and data were sent streamed back to the SimCell for assessment. The side-scan and course overlaid bathymetry maps produced are shown in Fig. 10 above. ROV LATIS, carried out a search for a second missing container using the forward looking sonar configuration. The forward looking sonar allowed for distances of up to 120 metres range from the ROV to be covered rapidly with a high degree of accuracy. Survey of a large area surrounding the stricken vessel was completed in minimal time and the potential target was located after a few minutes (shown in Fig. 11).
Fig. 9. Forward looking sonar scan of hull of the stricken vessel during exercise Cathach. This sonar data can be assessed to not only give an accurate picture of the hull, to check if intact or for breaches but also to give a high resolution image of how the ship lies on the seafloor. Such surveys can be of particular interest when it comes to recovering the vessel or if the vessel is in danger of moving - such as in the case of the Costa Concordia in 2012 [13]. This involvement helped keep tactical response teams updated and to concentration the response effort where needed. The live video stream (camera and sonar) from the ROV were viewed by managers and first responders in the SimCell in moneypoint power station. This technique was deemed a vast improvement over current operations. The responders were given a clear picture of the incident scene and were even able to direct the ROV pilot in real-time. Furthermore, positional data for objects subsea could be read directly off screen and passed onto tactical response teams for immediate action. Additionally, it was noted that daily ROV operations could allow for continued analysis of objects on the seafloor.
Fig. 11. Forward looking sonar images of the missing deck cargo located lying in the seabed. Once again, the live sonar and camera streams from LATIS were transmitted to the command centre, allowing information to be assessed immediately. This led to the request for visual confirmation of the target to confirm that it was in fact the missing Acrolein. The ROV moved to close quarters with the target and, under direction from response personnel in the SimCell, confirmed the target to be Acrolein through a visual ID tag.
AUV SEACON, supported with Rhibs on site from the LÉ Orla, was tasked along with ROV LATIS to perform search grids on the seafloor and locate two missing containers of HNS, specifically Acrolein.
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[2] Exercise ‘Cathach’ Website Page as of January 15th 2015, www.shannonresponse.com. [3] ERDF Funded Interreg project NETMAR (2013) Networked systems for situational awareness and intervention in maritime incidents, Website Page as of January 15th 2015, http://project-netmar.eu/ [4] Omerdic, Edin, and Daniel Toal. "OceanRINGS: System concept & applications." Control & Automation, 2012, July 3-6, Barcelona, Spain. [5] D. Toal, E. Omerdic, G. Dooly, "Precision navigation sensors facilitate full auto pilot control of Smart ROV for ocean energy applications", IEEE Sensors Conference, 28-31 October 2011, Limerick, Ireland. [6] E. Omerdic, D. Toal, S. Nolan and H. Ahmad, "Smart ROV LATIS: Control Architecture." UKACC International Conference on CONTROL 2010, Coventry, UK, 7th-10th September 2010. [7] James Riordan, Edward Thurman, and Daniel Toal. "Method and apparatus for determining the topography of a seafloor and a vessel comprising the apparatus." U.S. Patent No. 8,305,841. 6 Nov. 2012. [8] Braga, José, Anthony J. Healey, and João Sousa. "Navigation scheme for the LSTS SEACON vehicles: Theory and application." Navigation, Guidance and Control of Underwater Vehicles, Vol. 3. No. 1. 2012. [9] Dias, P. S., Fraga, S. L., Gomes, R. M., Goncalves, G. M., Pereira, F. L., Pinto, J., & Sousa, J. B., “Neptus-a framework to support multiple vehicle operation” In IEEE Oceans 2005, Brest, France. [10] Ubiquiti Networks, Inc., Ubiquiti Airmax Hardware. 2015, Website Page as of January 15th http://www.ubnt.com/airmax#powerbridge [11] Howlett, E., Mulanaphy, N., Menton, A., & Sontag, S., “Web Based Oil Spill Response System” International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 300313. [12] RPAS FULMAR, Website Page as of January 15th 2015, http://www.wake-eng.com/#!fulmar/c1ew4 [13] Andrea Faccioli, Marco Fumanti, “Geomatics Usage on the Costa Concordia”, HYDRO International Online, April 2012, Volume 16, Number 2.
Once the missing HNS cargo was located and sonar mapping completed, the ROV/AUV involvement in the exercise was completed. The acquired data was assessed and it was decided that UUVs would be used to assess the HNS underwater on an on-going basis until it could be removed from the seafloor and disposed of. The second day of the exercise was concerned with infield containment and recovery (as shown in Fig. 12) utilising assessment data from day1.
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Fig. 12. Cleanup operations shown during the second day of the exercise (a) at sea and (b) on shore. 5. CONCLUSIONS The involvement of unmanned underwater vehicles in exercise Cathach was deemed comprehensive. The vehicles were shown to be capable of operating in harsh tidal conditions, identifying missing HNS deck cargo and providing high resolution sonar maps of the stricken vessel and surrounding area.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT This material is based upon works supported by the European Union through the Interreg IV project NETMAR (Grant 2011-1/176) and Science Foundation Ireland under the Charles Parsons Award (Grant 06/CP/E003) in collaboration with the SFI Centre for Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI) (Grant 12/RC/2302).
REFERENCES [1] Commission of the European Communities 2003b Council directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. As amended by the Accession Act of Austria, Finland and Sweden (1995) and the Accession Act of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic (2003). Official Journal of the European Union L 236 33 23.9.2003.
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UUV’s in Maritime Spill Response Exercise Cathach UUV’s in Maritime Spill Response Exercise Cathach UUV’s in Maritime Spill Response Exercise Cathach
Gerard Dooly*, Edin Omerdic*, Joseph Coleman*, José Braga**, Filipe Ferreira** James Hayes*, Hugh Conlon***, Gerard Dooly*, Edin Omerdic*, Joseph Coleman*, José Braga**, James Hayes*, Hugh Conlon***, João Sousa**, Daniel Filipe Toal* Ferreira** Gerard Dooly*, Edin Omerdic*, Joseph Coleman*, José Braga**, João Sousa**, Daniel Filipe Toal* Ferreira** James Hayes*, Hugh Conlon***, João Sousa**, Daniel Toal* *Mobile & Marine Robotics Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, *Mobile &Ireland Marine(Tel: Robotics Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, +353-61-213386; e-mail: [email protected]). *Mobile &Ireland Marine(Tel: Robotics Research Centre, University of Limerick, Limerick, +353-61-213386; e-mail: [email protected]). ** Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Ireland (Tel: +353-61-213386; e-mail: [email protected]). ** Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (Tel: +351-22-5081539; e-mail: [email protected]). ** Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal (Tel: +351-22-5081539; e-mail: [email protected]). *** Shannon Foynes Port Company, Harbour Office, Foynes Co. Limerick, Portugal (Tel: +351-22-5081539; e-mail: [email protected]). *** Shannon Foynes Port Company, Harbour Office, Foynes Co. Limerick, Ireland (Tel: +353-69-73100; e-mail: [email protected]). *** Shannon Foynes Port+353-69-73100; Company, Harbour Office, Foynes Co. Limerick, Ireland (Tel: e-mail: [email protected]). Ireland (Tel: +353-69-73100; e-mail: [email protected]). Abstract: Exercise Cathach was a large training exercise which utilised and evaluated the use of Abstract: Exercise Cathach was (UUV’s) a large training exercise utilised and evaluated the oil useand of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles and sensors in a which maritime spill Incident involving Abstract: Exercise Cathach was (UUV’s) a large training exercise which utilised and evaluated the oil useand of Unmanned Underwater Vehicles and sensors in a maritime spill Incident involving harmful andUnderwater noxious substances (HNS). Theand exercise wasina afirst in termsspill of the level of robotic systems Unmanned Vehicles (UUV’s) sensors maritime Incident involving oil and harmful and (HNS). The exercise was aroles, first assessing in terms ofthethescene levelin of real-time robotic systems deployed to noxious assist in substances survey, surveillance and inspection before harmful and noxious substances (HNS). The exercise was aroles, first assessing in terms ofthethescene levelin of real-time robotic systems deployed to assist in survey, surveillance and inspection before committing first responders for respond and recover operations. The evaluation showed the effectiveness deployed to first assist in survey,forsurveillance and inspection roles, The assessing the scene in the real-time before committing responders respond and recover operations. evaluation showed effectiveness of these technologies to operate in harshand conditions and the efficiency and usability of the real-time data committing first responders for respond recover operations. The evaluation showed the effectiveness of these technologies tofield. operate in harsh conditions and the efficiency and usability of the real-time data from operations in the of these technologies operate in harsh conditions and the efficiency and usability of the real-time data from operations in thetofield. from operations in the field. © 2015, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles; Navigation Systems; Motor Control; Communication Systems; Sonar Keywords:Incident Autonomous Vehicles; Navigation Systems; Motor Control; Communication Systems; Sonar Imaging; Response; Harmful Noxious Substances. Keywords: Autonomous Vehicles; Navigation Systems; Motor Control; Communication Systems; Sonar Imaging; Incident Response; Harmful Noxious Substances. Imaging; Incident Response; Harmful Noxious Substances. 1. INTRODUCTION Planning and execution of a coordinated emergency 1. INTRODUCTION -response Planning anda execution a coordinated exercise to simulated of pollution spill ofemergency hazardous 1. INTRODUCTION anda execution of a coordinated The Shannon Estuary forms the largest estuarine complex in -response Planning exercise to simulated pollution spill ofemergency hazardous and noxious substances. 2 The Shannon Estuary forms the largest estuarine complex in response exercise to a simulated pollution spill of hazardous navigablecomplex water and Ireland covering an area of 500km and noxious substances. 2 of estuarine The Shannon Estuary forms the largest in navigable water Ireland covering an area of 500km substances. stretching for over 100km from2 of Kerry/Loop Heads and to -and noxious Deploy a range of emerging technologies for remote of navigable water Ireland covering an area of 500km stretching for over 100km from Kerry/Loop Heads and to Deploy a range of emerging technologies for remote Limerick City. The estuary is Ireland’s premier deep-water sensing operations, demonstrate specific capabilities and stretching City. for The over estuary 100kmis from Kerry/Loop Heads to -sensing Deploy a range of emerging technologies for remote Limerick Ireland’s premier deep-water operations, demonstrate specific capabilities and port due to its strategic location and routinely caters for ships evaluate their merits in an operational setting. Limerick The estuary is Ireland’s premier deep-water operations, specific port due toCity. its strategic location and routinely caters for entire ships sensing evaluate their merits indemonstrate an operational setting.capabilities and up to 200,000 deadweight tonnage. Furthermore, the port to its strategic location and routinely catersthe for entire ships evaluate their merits in an operational setting. up todue 200,000 deadweight tonnage. exercise involved both aerial and subsea vehicles and Estuary is designated a Special Area Furthermore, of Conservation and is The up to 200,000 deadweight tonnage. Furthermore, the entire exercise involved aerial subsea vehicles Estuary is designated a Special Area of Conservation andthe is The technologies, paperboth herein willand report primarily on and the considered to be important on a European level under The exercise this involved both aerial and subsea vehicles Estuary is designated a Special Area of Conservation and is technologies, this paper herein will report primarily on and the considered to be important on a European level under the subsea elements of paper the exercise. Habitats Directive [1]. Special consideration for the technologies, this herein will report primarily on the considered to be important on a European level under the subsea elements of the exercise. Habitats Directive [1]. Special consideration for the the environment needs to be taken into account and as such subsea elements of the exercise. Habitats Directive Special consideration for the the 2. SCENARIO environment needs to [1]. be taken intoresponse account and as such 2. SCENARIO marine incident preparedness and capability of the environment needs to be taken into account and as such the marine incident preparedness and response capability of the The 2. SCENARIO exercise was developed as a close to real-life incident, relevant authorities is crucial to ensuring safe and sustainable marine preparedness response of the The exercise was developed as astrands close to incident, relevantincident authorities is crucial toand ensuring safecapability and sustainable incorporating all of the various of real-life typical response operations. exercise was developed as astrands close to real-life incident, relevant authorities is crucial to ensuring safe and sustainable The incorporating all of the various of typical response operations. capacities within Ireland and Europe. summarised list of incorporating all of the various strandsA of typical response operations. capacities within Ireland and Europe. A summarised listare of Over the course of two days, from 17-18 April 2013, exercise capacities the response activities incorporated into the exercise within Irelandincorporated and Europe. into A summarised listare of Over the course of two days, from 17-18 April 2013, exercise the response activities the exercise Cathach held on the Shannon estuary [2]2013, and involved below:activities incorporated into the exercise are Over the was course of two days, from 17-18 April exercise itemised the response Cathach was held on the Shannon estuary [2] and involved itemised below: over twowas hundred personnel from estuary a range [2] of national and itemised below: Cathach held on the Shannon involved • The 90,000 tonne container ship “Marée Noire”, reports over two hundred personnel from a government range of and national and international partners representing, agencies, • The 90,000 tonne “Marée Noire”, in reports over two hundred personnel from a government range of national and damage andcontainer requestsship anchorage the international partners representing, agencies, • hull The 90,000 tonne container shipsafe “Marée Noire”, in reports companies andpartners research representing, centres. Organised by the Mobile and hull damage and requests safe anchorage the international government agencies, Shannon Estuary, a recognized harbour of refuge. companies and research centres. Organised by the Mobile and hull damage and requests safe anchorage in the Marine Robotics Research Centre at the University of Shannon Estuary, a recognized harbour of refuge. companies and research centres. Organised by the Mobile and • While proceeding torecognized deep water anchorage, the ship’s Marine Robotics Research Centre at the University of Shannon Estuary, a harbour of refuge. Limerick, as work package leader within the ERDF Interreg • While proceeding to deep water anchorage, the ship’s Marine Robotics Researchleader Centre at the University of fails, and she goes aground. Limerick, asNETMAR work package within the ERDF Interreg • steering While proceeding to deep water anchorage, the ship’s IVB project [3] and in collaboration with Shannon steering fails, and she goes Limerick, asNETMAR work package leader within the ERDF Interreg • On a falling tide the ship aground. begins to list, losing HNS IVB project [3] and in collaboration with Shannon steering fails, and she goes aground. Foynes Port Company, the Irish Coast Guard, the Irish • On a cargo fallingand tide the ship begins losing IVB project NETMAR [3]the andIrish in collaboration with the Shannon deck causing heavy fuel to oil list, to leak fromHNS the Foynes Port Company, Coast Guard, Irish • On a cargo fallingand tide the ship begins to list, losing Aviation Authority, Commissioners of Irish Lights, Clare deck causing heavy fuel oil to leak fromHNS the Foynes Port Company, the Irish Coast Guard, the Irish bunker tanks. Aviation Authority, Commissioners of Irish Lights, Clare deck cargo and causing heavy fuel oil to leak from the Limerick and Kerry Commissioners County Councilsof and theLights, Irish Naval bunker tanks. Aviation Authority, Irish Clare • Shannon Estuary Oil Pollution response plans are Limerick and Kerry was County Councilsroom andstrategic the Irishexercise Naval tanks. Service, the exercise a command • bunker Shannon Estuary Oil Pollution response plans are Limerick and Kerry was County Councilsroom andstrategic the Irishexercise Naval activated. Service, the exercise a command • activated. Shannon Estuary Oil Pollution response plans are centred on the maritime response to aroom HNS/Oil spillexercise within Service, the exercise was a command strategic • Unmanned Vehicles used to complete first centred on thearea. maritime response to a HNS/Oil spillscenario within activated. Aerial the estuarine The exercise replicated the exact • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles to complete first centred on thearea. maritime response to a HNS/Oil spillscenario within assessment of the area remotely.used the estuarine The exercise replicated the exact • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles used to complete first and response if a 90,000 tonne container ship grounded assessment of the area remotely. the estuarine area. exercise replicated the ship exactgrounded scenario • Large patches of area fuel remotely. oil begin to come ashore and a and response ifarea aThe 90,000 tonne container assessment of the within a special of conservation, spilling both bunker oil • Large patches of fuel oil begin to come ashore andasa and response if a 90,000 tonne container ship bunker grounded of the ship’s cargo within a special of conservation, spilling both oil • faxed Large copy patches of fuel oilmanifest begin todetails come deck ashore andasa and HNS cargo. area The primary goals of the exercise included: faxed copy of the ship’s manifest details deck cargo within a special area of conservation, spilling both bunker oil Formaldehyde and ship’s Acrolein. and HNS cargo. The primary goals of the exercise included: faxed copy of the manifest details deck cargo as Formaldehyde and Acrolein. and HNS cargo. The primary goals of the exercise included: Formaldehyde and Acrolein. 2405-8963 © 2015, IFAC (International Federation of Automatic Control) Hosting by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright IFAC responsibility 2015 88 Control. Peer review©under of International Federation of Automatic Copyright © IFAC 2015 88 10.1016/j.ifacol.2015.06.015 Copyright © IFAC 2015 88
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control system utilises optimal control allocation of thrusters and includes features such as fast auto-tuning of lowlevel controllers, position holding, full 3-D dynamic control underwater and automatic thruster fault detection and accommodation. More information about control system can be found in [6].
Irish Navy vessel LÉ Orla manages coordination at sea and establishes an exclusion zone around the area. Unmanned Underwater Vehicles used to survey the stricken vessel and locate missing deck cargo. Shannon SAR helicopter deploys boom equipment and the ILV Granuaile in co-ordination with the Celtic Rebel manages large boom equipment at sea. Shoreline response deploys booms and begins clean-up operations under the direction of Clare county council. As the weather moderates, preparations are made to pump out the remaining fuel oil, and plans are made to salvage the ship and her cargo.
Pilot Interfaces: The Pilot interfaces include a graphic 2D topside display (Fig. 2) and advanced pilot interface. The interfaces present all important control data to the ROV pilot using familiar graphic controls & indicators. The pilot is able to use a combination of touch display, joystick, gamepad, mobile device, mouse or keyboard as input devices to generate commands, switch operating modes and enable/disable low-level controllers. Set points can be entered numerically (e.g. using numeric control fields) or graphically (e.g. moving instrument pointers by mouse as demonstrated in Fig. 2).
3. UNMANNED UNDERWATER VEHICLES One of the principle concerns of the exercise was the demonstration, evaluation and dissemination of new robotic systems, both aerial and subsea, in maritime incidents endangering human life and the environment. In the subsea domain, two state-of-the-art remote vehicles, ROV LATIS and AUV SEACON, were made available to the exercise. 3.1 ROV LATIS ROV LATIS, shown in Fig. 1, is a 1000m depth rated stateof-the-art smart multi-mode ROV that was developed and built in MMRRC at the University of Limerick. ROV LATIS demonstrates many of the unique features offered by software known as OceanRINGS [4]. Among other innovations, OceanRINGS is also responsible for the enhanced ROV auto and semi-autopilot systems using an inertial navigation system for position estimation. Similar to the autopilot used by modern day commercial aircraft, it assists ROV pilots operating in high energy environments to drastically reduce the technical issues and risks that an ROV pilot has to deal with. ROV LATIS offers smart ROV technologies such as automatic way point following, one-click survey design, fault tolerant control, auto vehicle stabilization and augmented reality visualization that make it an incredibly intuitive, adaptable and cost effective piece of equipment.
(a)
(b)
Fig. 2. (a) ROV LATIS pilot control screen and (b) typical Go-To operation. The pilot can also easily switch between manual mode, semiautomatic modes (Follow Desired Speed & Course, Keep Current Position and Go To Position) and fully automatic mode (automatic navigation through way points). Augmented Reality visualisation: All real-time data streams such as ROV (position, heading) ship (position heading), existing seabed bathymetry used in to create a 3D real-time Augmented Reality Visualisation overview of the operations. This is displayed on a screen in both the control cabin on deck and on the ships bridge, providing a piloting aid for both the ROV Pilot and Ships navigator. Advanced Sonar Systems:
Fig. 1. ROV LATIS on Granuaile during exercise with LÉ Orla and Shannon 1 visible on-scene.
LATIS is equipped with a patented, data-adaptive, multisonar survey making it possible to acquire multiple sets of survey data simultaneously from different types of sonar operating within the same bandwidth [7]. ROV LATIS is equipped with multibeam high resolution bathymetry sonar, long range forward looking sonar and side-scan sonar.
Precision Navigation & Control: The ROV uses an inertial navigation system based on 3-axis fibre optic gyros to accurately track its position underwater [5]. The frame mounts eight thrusters, four horizontal and four vertical, in an X-shaped configuration, providing 3 degrees of freedom (surge, sway and yaw) vectored control with redundancy. The 89
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With an operational depth up to 100 meters and 8 hours range it can collect several oceanographic data during its programmed mission and is typically outfitted with several onboard sensors such as: CTD Turbidity Rhodamine Chlorophyll Side-scan sonar Multibeam echosounder
3.2 AUV SEACON The light autonomous underwater vehicle, SEACON (shown in Fig. 3), developed by the Underwater Systems and Technology Laboratory from Porto University is a low-cost autonomous submarine for oceanographic and environmental surveys [8]. The LAUV is a lightweight, one-man-portable vehicle that can be easily launched, operated and recovered with a minimal operational setup. The LAUV is an affordable, highly operational and effective surveying tool.It is a torpedo shaped vehicle constructed of composite materials with one propeller and 3 (or 4) control fins. The LAUV SEACON has an advanced miniaturized computer system running modular controllers on a real-time Linux kernel. It is configurable for multiple operation profiles and sensor configurations. In the standard configuration it comes with a low-cost inertial motion unit, a depth sensor, a LBL system for navigation, GPS, GSM and WiFi.
SEACON is particularly suited to the fast completion of wide-area searches using onboard cameras and imaging sonars. 4. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE The exercise was carried out following state legislation in collaboration with four Irish state organisations, Irish Coast Guard, Irish Defence Forces, Local County Council Offices and Local Port Company (Shannon Foynes), and was attended by over 200 personnel from a range of marine bodies across Europe and Ireland. The initial report of the distressed ship, assessed and managed by the Irish Coast Guard, initiated a chain of response involving all relevant stakeholders in the region, shown in Fig. 5, which led to a response plan based on best available capabilities being put into action.
Fig. 3. Light Autonomous Underwater Vehicle SEACON. At the core of its control is a distributed command, control, communications and intelligence framework, known as Neptus [9]. Neptus, shown in Fig. 4, is used for operations with networked vehicles, systems, and human operators and can be used through all phases of a mission life cycle: planning; simulation; execution and post-mission analysis. Operators not only can use Neptus to observe real-time data of networked vehicles but also to revise data from previous missions, plan and simulate future missions to be executed by one or several vehicles.
Fig. 5. Scenario response chain which was implemented during the initial stages of the exercise. Shoreline and on-water tactical response teams were mobilised and were assigned to various tasks such as monitoring, containment and cleanup. Clare County Council oversaw operations on the shore, while seaborne operations were overseen by the Irish Coast Guard in collaboration with Shannon Foynes Port Company and Irish Naval Service. Progress of all parties was managed from an exercise SimCell which was setup in Moneypoint Generating Station, 11km distant from the stricken vessel. The Irish Naval Service established a seaborne exclusion zone on the water and the Irish Aviation Authority established an aerial exclusion zone around the area up to 1000ft. Additionally, a multi-purpose workboat, the Shannon1, was used onsite as the stricken vessel.
Fig. 4. Typical planning screen on Neptus for AUV SEACON.
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5. COMMUNICATIONS The radio equipment used to establish the high bandwidth network was composed of a variety of radios from Ubiquiti Networks using the airMAX protocol [10]. This protocol uses time division multiple access (TDMA) with 2X2 Multiple input multiple output (MIMO) dual polarised antennas. This enables 150Mbps data rates in point to point (PtP) configurations as implemented during the exercise. Table 1 outlines the specific radios and antennas used in each segment of the network and figure 6a shows the various hardware elements of the network.
Fig. 7. Backhaul structure of remote sites: Moneypoint, Corlis Mast and Corlis Front Light. (Red line: radio backhaul, yellow boundary: operations zone for the exercise.
Table 1. Radio equipment & antennas Location Moneypoint
Role Backhaul to Corlis Mast
Antenna Directional, 5GHz, 30dBi, 5° beamwidth
Corlis Mast
- Backhaul to Moneypoint
Directional, 5GHz, 30dBi, 5° beamwidth
- Backhaul to Corlis Light
Directional, 5GHz, 16dBi, 40° beamwidth
- Link to Shore Response
Omni, 5GHz, 13dBi
- Backhaul to Corlis Mast
Directional, 5GHz, 16dBi, 40° beamwidth
- Link to Granuaile and LÉ Orla
Sector, 5GHz, 19dBi, 120° beamwidth
Granuaile
Link to Corlis Light
Omni 5GHz 13dBi
LÉ Orla
Link to Corlis Light
Omni 5GHz 13dBi
Corlis Light
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To facilitate improved situational awareness for the exercise coordinators, the important mobile support vehicles/vessels (ILV Granuaile, LÉ Orla, logistics & support van) were fitted with GPS trackers. The trackers transmitted GPS data over the GSM/GPRS network. The data was then retrieved from the server, logged, and displayed in the command centre. The system is highly scalable if additional assets required tracking. The tracker devices are self-contained with an embedded battery. Additional external battery packs were attached to provide power over the duration of the exercise without recharge. Fig. 6b shows a single tracker and waterproof bag. 5. OPERATIONS Once the exercise was initiated, Shannon Foynes Port Company used an existing OilmapWeb system and database [11] to accurately predict the extent of the spill in the estuary. Data such as location, amount and type of oil and latest wind and current forecasts were utilised and fused into the model to provide an estimated dispersion map, shown in Fig. 8.
(a) (b) Fig. 6. (a) Radios & antennas of WLAN network (b) GPS/GSM tracker and waterproof bag. The resulting network interconnected two ships, several smaller vessels, ROV’s, UAV’s, AUV and a Fire Service Mobile Command Unit and the exercise command centre in Moneypoint. The backhaul route through the remote stations is illustrated in Fig. 7.
Fig. 8. Map showing spill dispersion prediction after 3hrs These results identified the areas that were expected to be impacted by the spill within the Estuary. In total, four oil prediction documents were produced and distributed to the various organisations involved. What was acutely evident was that if unchecked, the spill was due to impact a special area of conservation, specifically salt marches which contain a wide range of protected species, within 12hrs.
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The initial assessment of the scene was carried out by an advanced aerial system known as FULMAR from Aerovision [12]. During the initial assessment, FULMAR was launched and recovered from shore, operated in winds of 75km/hr and stayed aloft for over 2hrs. Once initial assessment by FULMAR was completed, ROV LATIS aboard ILV Granuaile and AUV SEACON aboard LÉ Orla were tasked to the scene. ROV LATIS was tasked to survey the hull of the stricken vessel as it lies. The ROV used a forward looking high resolution multibeam sonar, Reson 7128, to complete this task and live video streams from onboard sonar and video were relayed back to command. The live video streams were displayed individually on projector screens at the command centre, allowing for fast dissemination of information.
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(b)
Fig. 10. (a) Sidescan image of seabed and HNS container and (b) course overlaid bathymetry map produced during AUV operation. Side-scan sonar was employed aboard the AUV to complete wide-area search patterns, producing accurate backscatter maps. This data, once recovered from the AUV, used to identify and locate the potential submerged cargo targets. The successfully located of the missing deck cargo standing upright on the seabed at a depth of 15MSW and the images and data were sent streamed back to the SimCell for assessment. The side-scan and course overlaid bathymetry maps produced are shown in Fig. 10 above. ROV LATIS, carried out a search for a second missing container using the forward looking sonar configuration. The forward looking sonar allowed for distances of up to 120 metres range from the ROV to be covered rapidly with a high degree of accuracy. Survey of a large area surrounding the stricken vessel was completed in minimal time and the potential target was located after a few minutes (shown in Fig. 11).
Fig. 9. Forward looking sonar scan of hull of the stricken vessel during exercise Cathach. This sonar data can be assessed to not only give an accurate picture of the hull, to check if intact or for breaches but also to give a high resolution image of how the ship lies on the seafloor. Such surveys can be of particular interest when it comes to recovering the vessel or if the vessel is in danger of moving - such as in the case of the Costa Concordia in 2012 [13]. This involvement helped keep tactical response teams updated and to concentration the response effort where needed. The live video stream (camera and sonar) from the ROV were viewed by managers and first responders in the SimCell in moneypoint power station. This technique was deemed a vast improvement over current operations. The responders were given a clear picture of the incident scene and were even able to direct the ROV pilot in real-time. Furthermore, positional data for objects subsea could be read directly off screen and passed onto tactical response teams for immediate action. Additionally, it was noted that daily ROV operations could allow for continued analysis of objects on the seafloor.
Fig. 11. Forward looking sonar images of the missing deck cargo located lying in the seabed. Once again, the live sonar and camera streams from LATIS were transmitted to the command centre, allowing information to be assessed immediately. This led to the request for visual confirmation of the target to confirm that it was in fact the missing Acrolein. The ROV moved to close quarters with the target and, under direction from response personnel in the SimCell, confirmed the target to be Acrolein through a visual ID tag.
AUV SEACON, supported with Rhibs on site from the LÉ Orla, was tasked along with ROV LATIS to perform search grids on the seafloor and locate two missing containers of HNS, specifically Acrolein.
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[2] Exercise ‘Cathach’ Website Page as of January 15th 2015, www.shannonresponse.com. [3] ERDF Funded Interreg project NETMAR (2013) Networked systems for situational awareness and intervention in maritime incidents, Website Page as of January 15th 2015, http://project-netmar.eu/ [4] Omerdic, Edin, and Daniel Toal. "OceanRINGS: System concept & applications." Control & Automation, 2012, July 3-6, Barcelona, Spain. [5] D. Toal, E. Omerdic, G. Dooly, "Precision navigation sensors facilitate full auto pilot control of Smart ROV for ocean energy applications", IEEE Sensors Conference, 28-31 October 2011, Limerick, Ireland. [6] E. Omerdic, D. Toal, S. Nolan and H. Ahmad, "Smart ROV LATIS: Control Architecture." UKACC International Conference on CONTROL 2010, Coventry, UK, 7th-10th September 2010. [7] James Riordan, Edward Thurman, and Daniel Toal. "Method and apparatus for determining the topography of a seafloor and a vessel comprising the apparatus." U.S. Patent No. 8,305,841. 6 Nov. 2012. [8] Braga, José, Anthony J. Healey, and João Sousa. "Navigation scheme for the LSTS SEACON vehicles: Theory and application." Navigation, Guidance and Control of Underwater Vehicles, Vol. 3. No. 1. 2012. [9] Dias, P. S., Fraga, S. L., Gomes, R. M., Goncalves, G. M., Pereira, F. L., Pinto, J., & Sousa, J. B., “Neptus-a framework to support multiple vehicle operation” In IEEE Oceans 2005, Brest, France. [10] Ubiquiti Networks, Inc., Ubiquiti Airmax Hardware. 2015, Website Page as of January 15th http://www.ubnt.com/airmax#powerbridge [11] Howlett, E., Mulanaphy, N., Menton, A., & Sontag, S., “Web Based Oil Spill Response System” International Oil Spill Conference Proceedings, Vol. 2014, No. 1, p. 300313. [12] RPAS FULMAR, Website Page as of January 15th 2015, http://www.wake-eng.com/#!fulmar/c1ew4 [13] Andrea Faccioli, Marco Fumanti, “Geomatics Usage on the Costa Concordia”, HYDRO International Online, April 2012, Volume 16, Number 2.
Once the missing HNS cargo was located and sonar mapping completed, the ROV/AUV involvement in the exercise was completed. The acquired data was assessed and it was decided that UUVs would be used to assess the HNS underwater on an on-going basis until it could be removed from the seafloor and disposed of. The second day of the exercise was concerned with infield containment and recovery (as shown in Fig. 12) utilising assessment data from day1.
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Fig. 12. Cleanup operations shown during the second day of the exercise (a) at sea and (b) on shore. 5. CONCLUSIONS The involvement of unmanned underwater vehicles in exercise Cathach was deemed comprehensive. The vehicles were shown to be capable of operating in harsh tidal conditions, identifying missing HNS deck cargo and providing high resolution sonar maps of the stricken vessel and surrounding area.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT This material is based upon works supported by the European Union through the Interreg IV project NETMAR (Grant 2011-1/176) and Science Foundation Ireland under the Charles Parsons Award (Grant 06/CP/E003) in collaboration with the SFI Centre for Marine Renewable Energy Ireland (MaREI) (Grant 12/RC/2302).
REFERENCES [1] Commission of the European Communities 2003b Council directive 92/43/EEC of 21 May 1992 on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora. As amended by the Accession Act of Austria, Finland and Sweden (1995) and the Accession Act of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic (2003). Official Journal of the European Union L 236 33 23.9.2003.
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