An
operation for the recovery of submerged objects lying on the sea bottom
has just been successfully completed in the waters of the Gulf of Taranto.
Though being a routine activity for the Italian Navy minesweepers, this
operation was exceptional because of the depths of underwater interventions,
the size of objects recovered, and the synergistic cooperation with
a private company specialized in design and manufacture of underwater
vehicles. |
Minesweepers
ITS Vieste and ITS Chioggia have been deployed in the Gulf of Taranto
for seabed mapping using a Hugin 1000 vehicle, in search of an object
of interest lying on the seafloor at a depth of over 1,000 metres.
Once detected
and identified, thanks to the image acquisition capabilities of the
AUV embarked on ITS Vieste, the object has been recovered. This phase
of the operation was implemented in synergy with Gay Marine, a specialised
company which has been deploying - for the first time with the Italian
Navy - the "Pluto Palla" ROV (embarked on ITS Chioggia, and
operated by Dr. Guido Gay himself).
This operation
once again showed the excellent dual capabilities of the Italian Navy
minesweepers using autonomous underwater vehicles for the localization,
identification, photo- and video-recording of small-size objects, even
much smaller then mines and at great depth. Minesweepers can also be
employed for recovery operations. High design adaptability and flexibility
enable these units to be fitted out with new or additional modules without
structural changes.
Over time
these special dual capabilities have ever-increasingly enabled several
cooperation opportunities with the Ministry of Cultural Heritage and
Activities, the judiciary and other government agencies, for the performance
of a great variety of activities of common interest, including deep
sea exploration for the location and recovery of ship or aircraft wrecks,
archaeologic finds or any other object lying on the sea bottom, as was
the case with Battleship Roma. Moreover, with a view to protect and
preserve marine ecosystems, large-scale partnership activities are conducted
in cooperation with universities and the Directorate General for Safety
of Mining and Energy Activities - National Mining Office for Hydrocarbons
and Georesources of the Ministry of Economic Development. |
