Fishing equipment locator adapted for offshore oil and gas application

Succorfish has upgraded its acoustic location device for use in the oil and gas sector.

The company originally developed MyGearTag for crews on fishing vessels to help them locate their lost fishing equipment over a 3-km radius.

Succorfish then decided to adapt the technology to withstand pressures and conditions in the waters around the bases of offshore oil and gas platforms and rigs.

Having identified a number of possible new uses for MyGearTag, Succorfish began a six-month product adaptation process to enable the technology to withstand the pressure levels and conditions found in the waters around the bases of oil and gas rigs.

In cooperation with Eastern Seals, the system’s casing, which was assembled from recycled fishing nets and weighs 500 grams, was modified before undergoing a series of pressure tests.

“We added an FKM [fluoro-elastomer] O-Ring to the casing, which is generally well suited for use in seawater due to its resistance to water, ozone and UV light," said Merrill Lansbury, Eastern Seals operations manager. "The equipment’s subsequent pressure test performance showed that the adaptation had achieved the required objectives.”

"Hold" tests were completed at depths of 300 m and 650 m at IKM Testing UK, with the system then subjected to a "destructive" test at a depth of more than 1,500 m.

“The units were tested in a water-filled hyperbaric testing chamber to a range of depths and for different periods of time, including an overnight test to ensure consistency of pressure," said Anthony Laing, UKAS laboratory and instrument services manager at IKM Testing UK. “They performed better than had been expected across the board, with no water found in the units after the hold tests and the Succorfish team still able to get a response from the electronics in the unit that we tested to destruction.”

Succorfish is now in talks with service providers of the oil and gas sector about potential applications. These may include determining where storage spaces on the seabed are located, monitoring for moving of rig anchor lines, and marking the location of lost equipment for recovery later on.

MyGearTag is designed to run on four interchangeable AA batteries for up to six months.

“Monitoring equipment is obviously in use in deep offshore waters, but it is large, heavy and expensive," said Succorfish Founder and CEO Chad Hooper. “Each MyGearTag unit is registered to its user with a unique ID, meaning they always know exactly where it is and if it has moved from where it should be, while an easy-to-use app provides the directional tool required to find it.”