A story of the searcher becoming the searched, the lost becoming found, and, the weather.

The Recovery of the Hydrospheric ProSAS-60, Photo Credit: Mel Proudlock, ATSB

Posted by: Katrina

The last time I found myself sitting down to write an update on Hydrospheric Happenings, it was a delightfully sunny Spring day in the heart of London.  With wide blue skies above, it seemed even the birds were singing particularly gleeful songs of  Springtime optimism.  Hydrospheric was geared up and eager to have a presence at Oceanology - the biggest event in the oceanic industry - mingling with peers and maybe meeting a few new folks.  

The future felt bright on that glorious Spring day!

Less than a week later, Jay and I found ourselves trying to out run an unforgiving Autumn rainstorm as we made our way from the taxi to the shelter of our hotel, having just completed a 23 hour trip from London to Fremantle, Australia.  An unexpected turn of events required our presence in Fremantle, the hub of search operations for the missing Malaysia Air Flight MH370.  A few days earlier, still in the crisp London sunshine, basking in the success and inspiration found during Oceanology, we received The Call.  

Our sonar had been lost!  

On March 21, nearing the end of a difficult 45-day swing in the remote Southern Indian Ocean, the cable termination failed and the Hydrospheric ProSAS-60, still tethered to her depressor weight, took a 3000+ meter nose dive through the water column.  Aside from the report of an injury to a Hydrospheric crew member, the news that your one-of-a-kind sonar is lost, presumably resting on the seafloor (in unknown condition), in the middle of a gigantic ocean is absolutely the worst possible news a small business like ours could receive.

Fast forward one very long, stressful, anguish-filled month, and the news improves.  Through the support, expertise, and efforts of MANY, the Hydrospheric ProSAS-60 once again sees the light of day as she is lifted aboard (intact!) thanks to a specialized ROV and an amazing team of experts from Hydrospheric Solutions, Phoenix International, the M/V Dong Hai Jiu 101, and the ATSB.
            

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Today, the sun is once again shining in the lovely seaside town of Fremantle.  And, despite an uncertain month of cold-storage in the depths of one of the most remote deep-sea locations on the planet - the Hydrospheric ProSAS-60 sonar is dockside, safely strapped to the deck of the M/V Dong Hai Jiu 101.  We are grateful and elated to have her there, where our Hydrospheric team is hard at it with repairs to get her back to the important work that still lies ahead.  

Turns out, the future really is bright, after all!

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