WatchMate for Global Offshore Consulting Company

AXYS Technologies has supplied an oceanographic and meteorological data collection buoy to its' Australian representative, a major offshore consulting company, Metocean Services International (MSI). The AXYS WatchMate buoy will be added to MSI's equipment pool and will be initially used to provide meteorological and oceanographic data to MSI in a project for a major international oil company. It will be deployed in 1,000m of water alongside a deepwater subsurface mooring providing a through column current profile.

The 1.8m WatchMate buoy is a rugged, lightweight environmental monitoring buoy that maintains the requirements of a navigational aid. The solar and battery powered buoy is configured with an extensive range of environmental monitoring sensors, including directional waves, ocean currents, air temperature, humidity, wind speed & direction, and barometric pressure.

Data from the buoy is collected by AXYS' proprietary onboard WatchMan500 data acquisition system and will be transmitted to the MSI data centre at its offices in Cape Town, RSA using Iridium satellite telemetry. MSI personnel will access buoy information and environmental data at their Cape Town office using AXYS' Data Management System (DMS) software, as well as via the web using the DMS web display interface SmartWeb. Using the two-way communication Iridium telemetry option, the DMS software is capable of remotely re-configuring specific parameters on the buoy such as sensor sampling periods.

The purchase of this system reinforces MSI's ability to offer advice and support to their existing and potential AXYS clients throughout Australia.

This new order for Australia is in addition to recent deliveries including AXYS TRIAXYS wave buoys and, most recently, the delivery in January of an AXYS HydroLevel Mini.

MSI was formed in 2003 to provide meteorological and oceanographic services globally. It has a management team with nearly 50 years experience in the offshore oil and gas industry and has conducted operations in over 29 different countries. MSI keeps offices in South Africa and Australia.