The Aurora Trust Foundation called upon Daniel Nordstrom from AtlantEco, SEAMOR Marine‘s Norwegian dealer to help provide ROV support during their series of dives in Malta and Panarea Island off the coast of Sicily. With a large interdisciplinary team, the mission for this excursion was to explore three shipwrecks that had historical significance and share this information with the Italian government.
The Chinook ROV was used to pinpoint the location of the wreck. By using an ROV from a small inflatable vessel, the team was able to save both time and financial resources. The ROV was also used to provide emergency support for the UBoat Worx submarine (for safety and insurance purposes, the ROV needed to be able to cut the two-person submarine out of nets or if it became tangled in ropes – a task the ROV was able to do easily).
Archaeologists on the expedition were also able to have hands-on time with the ROV – with no experience, they found it easy to mobilize, and were impressed with the power the Chinook was able to demonstrate, being small enough to be launched from a small boat without the need of a crane, and still be strong enough to handle the job!
Daniel Nordstrom (left) and two other members of the expedition get a little shade while doing some pre-research location scouting.
Easy to launch from even a zodiac-style boat, the SEAMOR Chinook is a versatile tool.
Various wine and oil jugs, cargo on the shipwrecks, were found in remarkable condition during these dives.