SPEAKER: Tony Rodgers – Principle Orca Maritime, Inc., Commander U.S. Navy EOD (Ret), Previous Commanding Officer of Naval Special Clearance Team ONE. TOPIC:  Underwater GIS products, described in “Story Map” format. Examples of side scan sonar, bathymetry, magnetometry and underwater video embedded in the program explain the process of collecting and consolidating underwater information. 

Orca Maritime was established in 2006 by two retired U.S. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal experts, who specialized in naval mine countermeasures.  While on active duty, they introduced the employment of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to the mine hunting mission, using AUV-mounted side scan sonar in the ports of Southern Iraq.  Orca Maritime principals, after leading their teams to survey the Ports of Umm Qasr and Az Zubayr, analyzed the underwater data collected, took steps to mitigate the suspected threat, and recommended opening the ports to commercial traffic, which occurred shortly thereafter. Today Orca Maritime uses AUVs and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to collect underwater data and create comprehensive geographic information systems (GIS) for clients in energy, environmental monitoring and port security sectors.

 

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