The deployment is part of the company’s first lease agreement with Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding (MES). The PB3 was shipped to Japan in February and arrived in Tokyo on March, 18th, 2017. Following standard customs processing, the PB3 was then transported to Kozu-shima Island where standard pre-deployment functional checks and preparations were carried out. The deployment of the PB3 and its moorings was completed by a joint team of Penta-Ocean Construction and MES. OPT supported MES with the mooring system specifically for the harsh ocean conditions of Kozu-shima Island.
OPT’s PB3 is a reliable and persistent integrated power and communication platform for remote offshore applications such as subsea and ocean-surface surveillance for security and defense, subsea production operations for oil and gas, and subsea drone docking stations used in the defence and oil and gas markets. Customers can sometimes lower operational costs by replacing expensive on-site vessels with a PB3 PowerBuoy, allowing for remote offshore subsea monitoring and control from land-based operations. The PB3 can also provide substantial power to remote offshore sites when replacing lower-powered solar and battery buoys, oftentimes enabling real-time operational decision making through cellular or satellite communications which is standard on the PB3.
“This is an exciting time for OPT as we initiate this lease and deploy the PB3 in Japanese waters for the first time” said George H. Kirby, President and Chief Executive Officer at OPT. “The deployment went well and the PB3 has already exceeded two thousand Watts of peak power. We’re looking forward to leveraging this opportunity to bring our PowerBuoys to Japan and other parts of East Asia.”
Mr. Toshihiko Maemura, Manager of the Renewable Energy Project Group of MES, added that the company is pleased to see the PB3 operating well in Japanese waters and is looking forward to seeing a successful ocean demonstration in order to confirm the resonance control and durability of the mooring system.
The lease agreement calls for a 6-month deployment with the possibility of extension. Throughout its planned deployment, the performance of the PB3 will be monitored with the intent of demonstrating its capabilities for a range of applications.
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