Finding HMAS Sydney (II)

Vessel

The following contains excerpts from Section 6.1 of the Final Report.

Offshore survey operations were conducted from the DOF survey vessel Geosounder, details of which are provided below:

Side view of DOF survey vessel Geosounder at sea
The DOF survey vessel Geosounder.
Name Geosounder
Type Survey vessel
Owner DOF Subsea Pte Ltd
Flag Panama
Year of build
Length overall 59.5m
Beam 10.2m
Maximum draught 4.1m
Speed 11 knots

Detailed survey vessel specifications and photograph are provided in Appendix E1, which can be downloaded here in PDF format.

Equipment

The following is an excerpt from Section 6.2 of the Final Report.

Side Scan Sonar Survey Phase

Blue Water Recoveries (BWR)

  • 1 x CODA DA100 sonar acquisition system

DOF Subsea

  • 1 x Simrad EM300 multibeam echo-sounder
  • 1 x Veripos GcGPS positioning system (primary)
  • 1 x Veripos GcGPS positioning system (secondary)
  • 1 x Seapath dGPS positioning system and altitude sensor
  • 1 x TSS DMS-305 motion sensor
  • 1 x Anshultz gyro-compass
  • 1 x QINSy navigation software

Williamson & Associates (W&A)

  • 1 x SM-30 (30 kHz) deep-tow side scan sonar towfish with integrated sub-bottom profiler
  • 1 x AMS-60 (60 kHz) swath bathymetric deep-tow side scan sonar towfish with integrated sub-bottom profiler
  • 1 x Dynacon deep oceanographic winch c/w 10,000m of marine co-axial tow cable
  • 1 x B1 deep oceanographic winch with 9,500m of marine co-axial tow cable
  • 2 x 2000lb depressors
  • 2 x Sheave blocks
  • 1 x Sonar towfish cable counter and tension meter
  • 1 x Back deck video system
  • 1 x Back deck VHF communications system
  • 2 x EPC 9800 graphic recorder
  • 1 x ISIS sonar acquisition and image processing system
  • 1 x SonarWiz sonar acquisition and image processing system
  • 1 x W&A sonar processing and mapping software
  • 1 x AutoCAD package and plotter

A Navigation and Sonar Systems Integration flow diagram is presented in Appendix E2, which can be downloaded here in PDF format.

Detailed W&A equipment specifications are provided in Appendix E3, which can be downloaded here in PDF format.

ROV Inspection Phase

DOF Navigation and Positioning

  • 1 x Veripos GcGPS positioning system (primary)
  • 1 x Veripos GcGPS positioning system (secondary)
  • 1 x Seapath dGPS positioning system and altitude sensor
  • 1 x Anshultz gyro-compass
  • 1 x QINSy navigation software
  • 1 x HIPAP hydro-acoustic positioning reference system (permanently installed on vessel but not contracted for this project and therefore not calibrated)

DOF ROV

  • 1 x Comanche sub-Atlantic small work class remotely operated vehicle (ROV)
  • 1 x 20ft top-side control container
  • 1 x Gravity-based launch & recovery system (LARS)
  • 1 x Winch c/w 3,200m main lift umbilical
  • 1 x TMS unit c/w 300m control umbilical
  • 1 x Kongsberg Mesotech MS1000/1071 scanning sonar
  • 1 x Mini temperature/salinity meter
  • 1 x Tritech 704-400 bathymetry unit
  • 1 x Kongsberg 1007 altimeter
  • 1 x Wide-angle SIT camera (supplied by BWR)
  • 1 x Kongsberg digital stills camera c/w flash unit OE14-208/OE14-242
  • 1 x Kongsberg broadcast camera OE14-120
  • 4 x 250W lights
  • 2 x NAS data storage units

Detailed DOF ROV equipment information and specifications are provided in Appendix E4, which can be downloaded here in PDF format.

Williamson & Associates (W&A)

  • 1 x ISIS sonar acquisition and image processing system
  • 1 x W&A sonar processing and mapping software
  • 1 x AutoCAD package and plotter

Personnel

The following is an excerpt from Section 6.3 of the Final Report.

The following personnel were involved with the project on board the SV Geosounder:

Client Representatives

Name Position Date on Vessel Date off Vessel
David Mearns FSF Search Director
John Perryman Commonwealth Representative (Senior Navy Historical Officer)
Robert Bruinsma FSF Contracted Watchkeeper
Glenys McDonald FSF Director (Observer)
Dr. M. McCarthy Western Australian Maritime Museum (WAMM) Observer

Williamsons & Associates Survey Personnel

Name Position Date on Vessel Date off Vessel
Art Wright Sonar Party Chief
Jeff Koch Watch Leader / Geophysicist
Brian Bunge Watch Leader / Sonar Technician
Mike Kelly Data Analyst / Report Manager
Phil Colvin Sonar Operator / Technician
Bill Heather Sonar Operator / Winch Technician
Kelly Curtis Data Processor
Carter Le Sonar Operator / Engineer

DOF Survey Personnel

Name Position Date on Vessel Date off Vessel
Nigel Meikle Senior Surveyor
Stephen Bagnell Survey Technician
Johannes Van Rooyen Survey Technician

DOF ROV Personnel

Name Position Date on Vessel Date off Vessel
Simon Hall Senior ROV Technician
David Norton Senior ROV Technician
Dean Glazebrook ROV Technician
Brett Murray ROV Technician
Phillip Grennan ROV Technician
Stephen Linney ROV Technician
Kaamil Douglas ROV Technician
Mick Stokes Senior ROV Technician
Peter Joel ROV Technician
Peter Skinner ROV Technician
Bruce Burman ROV Technician

DOF Vessel Crew – Sonar Survey Phase

Name Position Date on Vessel Date off Vessel
Charles Blair Cliff Master
Rupert Saville Chief Officer
Graham Cann 2nd Mate
Patrick Wildermoth Chief Engineer
Sydney Villanueva 2nd Engineer
Howard Sarmiento 3rd Engineer
Nelson Largo Motorman
Graeme Luckie Electrician
Dennis Hicks Integrated Rating
Luke Harris Integrated Rating
Louis Jacomos Integrated Rating
Peter Morgan Cook
Joseph Larsen Cook
Ashley Kelly Steward

DOF Vessel Crew – ROV Inspection Phase

Name Position Date on Vessel Date off Vessel
Deland van Wieringen Master
John Barnard Chief Officer
Peter Sedgwick 2nd Mate
Preben Christensen Chief Engineer
Howard Sarmiento 2nd Engineer
Sydney Villanueva 3rd Engineer
Nelson Largo Motorman
John Spooner Electrician
Neil Anderson Integrated Rating
Robert McBride Integrated Rating
Geoff Rickets Integrated Rating
Joanne Ham Cook
Leslie Perso Cook
Sonia Sovor Steward