A new, patented marine mammal mitigation software solution has completed its first successful field trials, according to its manufacturer.
The software is the product of Oceaneering International and aims to be able to provide live, real-time marine mammal location data. The offshore wind and renewables industry can then use this capacity to reduce and eliminate their impact on these creatures.
The field trial occurred in August 2023 off the coast of the northeastern United States in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. The software demonstrated its operational effectiveness, greatly cutting down on false positives, which have generally hampered these types of efforts in the past.
According to Oceaneering Product Manager Blanca Montoya:
“We are thrilled with the data we gathered at the Marine Mammal Sanctuary field trial, our third for Ocean Perception. We proved that the system could provide novel marine mammal monitoring for wind and other renewable developers while meeting strong regulatory requirements. SMRU’s Cab Guardian Buoy system coupled with Ocean Perception provides disruptive, game changing capabilities that will improve regulatory compliance and increase mammal protection during operations.”
While SMRU Consulting Director of Engineering Paul King added:
“We’re delighted to work with Oceaneering to help offshore wind developers increase operational safety and increase project efficiencies through deploying a real-time, lightweight, cost-effective, battery-powered acoustic buoy system.”
