The crew of FESCO’s vessel 'Vasily Golovnin' conducted a search and recovery of two self-propelled platforms for maritime research of the Norwegian Polar Institute nearshore Antarctica. In severe weather conditions, FESCO’s seamen managed to find two self-propelled research vehicles – Seaglider and Sailbuoy – and bring them on board.
The difficulties were not only in the dimensions of the vehicles (each is 2 metres long), but also in the sensors on the sides of the vehicles. When the expedition is finished and the vessel returns to Cape Town, the platforms will be sent to the Norwegian Polar Institute.
Seaglider and Sailbuoy
Seaglider is an autonomous underwater vehicle used for collecting data on the water environment for ocean research. Sailbuoy is an autonomous surface vehicle used for water surface exploration.
FESCO has extensive experience in Antarctica and has repeatedly participated in government projects aimed at supplying research stations in the USA, Australia, Great Britain, Chile, and Argentina.
For 60 years of work at polar stations, the crews of FESCO vessels conducted loading and unloading of cargo on ice and unequipped shore, and most of those cargo operations were unique and very complex.