EOM Offshore Joins BlueZone for Distribution

EOM Offshore Joins BlueZone for Distribution

BlueZone Group is pleased to welcome EOM Offshore for exclusive distribution in Australia and New Zealand.

Electro-Optical-Mechanical (EOM) Offshore provides specialised mooring components that may be configured to support multiple industries and research. EOM Offshore’s patented stretch hose technology is the result of decades of research and development at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The stretch hose is unique, and there is no other product like it on the market. Other EOM products include Universal Joints, Electromechanical Chain, Anchor Recovery System and Multi-Function Node.

Stretch Hose

The stretch hose is a direct electrical connection that enables the constant delivery of data and power for fixed, real-time measurements from seafloor-to-surface. It is a compliant electromechanical cable. Different lengths and conductor arrangements are available, including twisted pairs for Ethernet, and in some applications the stretch hose can allow water from the surface to pass through its hollow centre to sampling instruments that are located in different locations on the mooring.

The stretch hose elongates 2.5 times its original length, using mechanical compliance rather than geometric compliance that is used with the traditional catenary mooring. The stretch hose provides constant communications and power transmission between underwater instruments and a buoyant object in any weather conditions. In calm conditions, the stretch hose returns to its original length, thereby minimising the watch circle.

The stretch hose provides a stable and quiet platform for instruments, and the design eliminates several risks such as the mooring line becoming entangled, mechanical failure due to having a large watch circle, and the line snapping from intense loads.

Real Time Data from the Seafloor

BlueZone Group CTO, Darren Burrowes, said that EOM Offshore products would make a synergistic contribution to the leading-edge products offered by BlueZone to customers in multiple markets. “We see applications for Stretch Hose in Offshore Oil & Gas,” said Darren, “and also for our Oceanographic Science customers with deep water mooring applications who want to have real time data from their instruments.” The EOM Stretch Hose could easily be integrated with the Kailani Telemetry Buoy [/product-catalogue/oceanographic-equipment/kailani-telemetry-buoy] capability to provide a complete seafloor-to-space solution for transmitting ocean floor instrument data to the desktop. “Increasingly customers in many markets are demanding real-time data from their instruments,” said Darren, “and we see the EOM Stretch Hose and other products as another key contributing technology to meet this need.”

Synergy in Product Offering

BlueZone has long-standing relationships with leading suppliers from the Woods Hole area and looks forward to working closely with EOM Offshore for the benefit of customers in Australia and New Zealand. EOM Offshore joins with other OEMs from the Woods Hole area including:

Teledyne Benthos. Acoustic Modems, Acoustic Releases, Hydrophones, Pingers & locators
Edgetech Side Scan Sonar, Sub-Bottom Profilers, Bathymetry systems, Underwater Positioning & Navigation, Acoustic Releases & Transponders
Falmouth Scientific Inc. Portable Side Scan Sonar, Portable Low Frequency Acoustic Seismic Profiler, Transducers, Current Wave Metres 2D & 3D, Tide Systems, Underwater Structural Stress Monitoring System.
Hydroid Inc. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) REMUS 100, REMUS 600, REMUS 6000, LARS, Gateway Buoy
McLane Research Labs Inc. Time-series oceanographic profilers and samplers