The 3,000m, all-electric umbilical winch was recently delivered to Panama with a Chinook ROV to perform 7.1km of tunnel and penstock inspection.

Okeanus Science & Technology, LLC (Okeanus), an established provider of marine oceanographic engineered equipment, today announced that it has delivered one of its 3,000m, all-electric umbilical winches to SEAMOR Marine to be used with one of SEAMOR’s Chinook ROV systems. The package was then delivered to Panama where one of the country’s hydroelectric generation companies has begun using it for tunnel inspections of two hydroelectric projects on the Old Chiriqui River.

SEAMOR selected the Okeanus DT-305AEHR winch, which is a standard product within the Okeanus catalog of marine winches. It is capable of holding 3,000m of .492” umbilical, and it also allows for remote operation. The aluminum umbilical winch is capable of a bare drum line pull of 750 lbs. and has a bare drum line speed of 0-150 feet per minute.

Don Brockett, COO of Okeanus said “It was a pleasure to provide SEAMOR with this umbilical winch. We pride ourselves on being able to solve our customers’ problems, no matter how simple or complex. When our customers are developing new systems, we enjoy getting involved in the early stages to ensure that the launch and recovery needs for their new subsea products are handled safely and efficiently.”

The Chinook worked really well with the winch provided and the turn-key system achieved the target distance at the first attempt, with plenty of power in reserve, which is testament to the quality and reliability of both Okeanus and SEAMOR and also to the ease of use of the system.

Robin Li, President of SEAMOR said “We are very happy with the performance of Okeanus’ winches. Its efficient and robust designs fit the nature of the projects well. I would welcome the opportunity to have Okeanus’ winches listed as one of many options for the SEAMOR line of ROVs.”