VITROVEX Mooring System with ADCP

Within a VITROVEX Mooring System, the VITROVEX buoyancy spheres are arranged vertically.
The Turkish company DenAr Deniz Araştırmaları A.Ş has chosen a different approach of the VITROVEX Mooring System for the installation of an ADCP.
For this purpose, 4 VITROVEX buoyancy spheres, each with 26kg positive buoyancy, were mounted on a metal frame using the Eddygrip mounting system.
The metal frame also serves to support an ADCP with downward facing transducers and has an attachment point for the mooring rope, releaser and anchor weight.

We would like to express our sincere thanks for their support to DenAr Deniz Araştırmaları A.Ş.

Research vessel Sonne on tour to recover moorings

The ongoing Corona pandemic has delayed research activities in the oceanographic sector in the past year.

Some projects had to be postponed or even cancelled for the time being, since research cruises, if any, could no longer be carried out to the previous extent. Among other things, this led to ther situation that moorings, installed on previous cruises, could not be recovered to the extent planned. This has led to the problem that the battery capacity of some moorings may sometimes be dangerously depleted. Remaining battery capacity is, however, a mandatory prerequisite for the recovery of the moorings, as they have to receive and process an acoustic command from the surface in order to detach themselves from their ballast weights in several thousand meters and to start their way back to the sea surface by means of VITROVEX buoyancy spheres installed along with the sensors.

The German research vessel Sonne is now on its way to recover these moorings, some of which being overdue. Cruise leader Nico Lahajnar is documenting this cruise in a blog worth reading.

We wish Sonne good luck on this journey and hope that all moorings can be recovered successfully.

Picture courtesy Knut Heinatz, University Hamburg

Nautilus wishes all partners a Merry Christmas

The past year has been a real challenge to most of us and we all hope that the situation will improve in the upcoming weeks and months.

Nevertheless or rather because of this the team of Nautilus Marine Service wishes all customers, subsuppliers and partners a safe and peaceful Merry Christmas and a good start into the new year. We look forward to continue providing service, support and consulting for all kinds of maritime challenges that may arise in 2021.

Stay safe,

The Nautilus Team

Nautilus Marine Service celebrates its 35th anniversary

Nautilus Marine Service, the German manufacturer of VITROVEX® high quality glass floatation and instrument housings, celebrated its 35th anniversary in October 2020.
Founded in 1985, the company offers the ultimate in quality and reliability with glass products of different shapes and sizes for underwater applications to full ocean depth.

Nautilus Marine Service’s first Vitrovex products were glass floatation and instrument spheres rated to 6.700m in the early 1990s followed by the introduction of 9.000m and then 12.000m spheres a short while later. The company’s growth has been at a steady, controlled pace, with regular annual expansion of the product line. It now rightly claims its place as the world leader in deep sea pressure housings made from glass.

Additionally, Nautilus Marine Service represents the interests of some of the world’s leading manufacturers of marine technologies via sales and advisory activities for their product lines within the German market. The portfolio covers data loggers, oceanographic sensors, a range of buoys for various applications as well as marine safety equipment, such as survival suits and pneumatic line throwers.

„The wide range and variability of the products in combination with our services make Nautilus Marine Service exceptional and unique. My thanks go to all my colleagues who made this result possible with their commitment to continuously strive for the highest quality and reliability of products, services and work processes. Despite the present adverse circumstances, we are thrilled to celebrate this milestone in the history of Nautilus Marine Service,“ said managing director Steffen Pausch in a simple ceremony amongst the representatives and employees.
„The growth that the company has experienced over the past 35 years is quite remarkable and today we are proud to offer solutions to a significant portfolio of professional, globally based clients within the ocean research/exploration and maritime sectors in more than 35 countries.“

NMS Team

Nautilus team staying safe.

VITROVEX collectible spheres now also available on Ebay

Lately 6 x 17″ VITROVEX floatation spheres have appeared on Ebay Brazil and are currently for sale for as little as 1,500 US$! For a strange reason however, these spheres are not designated to be shipped to Germany.

These spheres were sold in 2016 and given that comparable new spheres are available from us for less than half the requested Ebay price we have now learned that our VITROVEX spheres are obviously valuable collector’s items as their value increase over time. So, watch this sale on Ebay and if the seller succeeds with his sale you may very well considering acquiring new spheres, keeping them a few years and then resell them on Ebay for more than twice the original price.

As always we are eager to assist you whenever necessary and if you require a quotation just let us know.

Nautilus Marine Service at the Oceanology

Nautilus Marine Service will exhibit again this year at the Oceanology in London.

The VITROVEX glass housings will be presented with the corresponding accessories and services.

From 17.03.-19.03.2020 you will find Nautilus Marine Service at booth A201. You are welcome!

Pressure testing of oceanographic instruments by RBR

The pressure test facility operated by Nautilus Marine Service can generate pressure up to 1300 bar (18.850 psi), which is more than the pressure at the sea floor at the deepest points of the oceans. The test execution is fully automatic according to an individually defined pressure profile. Nautilus Marine Service operates its pressure test facility primarily for demanding tests on VITROVEX® glass enclosures and provides in terms of speed, accuracy and robustness advantages over conventional pressure testing equipment.

Since the pressure test facility is also available to external clients, the Canadian company RBR recently accomplished a series of calibration tests under seawater conditions for their latest RBRconcerto³ CTD probes to ensure the highest accuracy of these oceanographic instruments.

The complete article has just been published in the ON & T magazine  and can be downloaded here.

VITROVEX glass spheres used in Canadian Seabed Observatory

The Canadian Northern Cascadia Subduction Zone Observatory (NCSZO), led by Ocean Networks Canada(ONC) has deployed a „Seafloor GPS“ network off Vancouver. Its purpose is to monitor tectonic movements of the Juan de Fuca plate relative to the North American plate.

The core technology of the observatory are more than 20 Fetch units installed in 400 – 2500m water depth for a period of seven years. These Fetch units, supplied by Sonardyne utilise a technique called GPS-A which uses acoustic positioning techniques, inertial navigation, and GPS data to periodically position the Fetch instruments to centimetre-level accuracy, using a Sonardyne transceiver mounted on an unmanned surface vessel. The fetch units themselves are housed in VITROVEX® glass instrument housings secured by protective shells supplied along with the glass spheres.

More information on the Sonardyne website, in their 22nd Baseline Issue and at Ocean News & Technology.

Image courtesy of David Chadwell

Oceans 2019 in Marseille

In June Nautilus Marine Service will participate at the Oceans 2019 conference in Marseille, France.

OCEANS conference is jointly sponsored by the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society (IEEE/OES) and the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and is one of the most influential international conference in this field. Nautilus will showcase its VITROVEX glass deep sea pressure and looks forward to discussing challenges and opportunities in this field with interested visitors.