Case study

Fiomarine has successfully saved the RAN and the US Navy considerable time and money in their mine shape retrieval. The time taken for retrieval has been significantly reduced from two to three weeks to only a few days.

The Problem

For environmental and security reasons Navies cannot leave anything on the seabed when carrying out their training. Divers were previously used by the Royal Australian Navy and the United States Navy to assist in underwater retrieval following their Mine Countermeasure exercises. Upon completion of the exercise a team of divers was required to tether each individual mine shape to allow for their retrieval. This is both time consuming and dangerous.

The Fiomarine Solution

Fiobuoys provide a simple, quick and safe alternative when retrieving the Navies’ underwater equipment. Fiobuoys are tethered to the mine shapes prior to deployment. When the exercise is completed the Navies’ now need only communicate with the Fiobuoys to release, they unwind to the surface and allow for fast retrieval without the need for any divers at all.

The Result

Fiomarine has successfully saved the RAN and the US Navy considerable time and money in their mine shape retrieval. The time taken for retrieval has been significantly reduced from two to three weeks to now only a few days. This represents major financial savings, as costs associated with labour, time at sea and fuel is drastically reduced. Fiomarine has also freed up the Navies’ resources i.e. divers and ships, for other exercises and operations and allowed them to carry out their training in deeper waters. A Fiobuoy AC200 supports deployment in waters previously impossible, even with a certified diver. Fiomarine therefore allows the Navies to carry out much more realistic Mine Countermeasure training.