Oct 3, 2003: Odyssey Explorer and ZEUS Complete Sea Trials Successfully
We're very pleased with the performance of ZEUS and look forward to starting archaeological work on the site next week."
biz.yahoo.com
TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 2, 2003--Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. (OTCBB:OMEX - News), a leader in the field of deep ocean shipwreck exploration, has completed sea trials of the company's recently acquired ship and ROV system, the Odyssey Explorer and ZEUS. The vessel has returned to port to complete minor modifications and to load additional supplies to sustain the ship and crew for the planned extended stay offshore. The company anticipates that this work will be finished within approximately 48 hours, then the Odyssey Explorer will depart to begin operations on the shipwreck site believed to be SS Republic.
"The Odyssey Explorer and ZEUS are performing very well," stated Greg Stemm, Odyssey Co-founder and Director of Operations. "We have an excellent team that's been working very hard over the last few weeks to prepare the ship and ROV for operations on the Republic. We're very pleased with the performance of ZEUS and look forward to starting archaeological work on the site next week."
The Odyssey Explorer is a 251 foot Class II dynamically positioned (DP) ship and state-of-the-art deep ocean archaeological platform. The centerpiece of Odyssey's system is ZEUS, a seven ton, 205 horsepower remotely operated vehicle (ROV). ZEUS is rated to 2,500 meters (8,200 ft) and has two Schilling seven-function Conan Force-Feedback manipulators, which provide for exceptional dexterity and fine control of delicate archaeological procedures.
Additional sea-bottom site measurement and positioning technology, as well as archaeological recording and logging equipment have been integrated into the system to perform detailed archaeological excavation of the site.
The SS Republic was a sidewheel steamer that was lost in deep water in 1865 after battling a hurricane for two days. All the crew and passengers made it safely off the vessel, although a number of passengers eventually died on one of the rafts before they could be rescued.
Pictures from the sea trials of the Odyssey Explorer and ZEUS are available at shipwreck.net. |
