For Immediate Release – March 8, 2015:
On the one year anniversary of the tragic loss of Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 (MH370), Phoenix International Holdings, Inc. (Phoenix) continues to conduct seafloor survey operations in the Southern Indian Ocean in the search for MH370. Phoenix is deeply honored to be part of the team assisting in the search for the missing aircraft. Working under a contract with DRB-HICOM Defence Technologies Sdn Bhd (DEFTECH) on behalf of the Government of Malaysia and Petroliam Nasional Berhad (PETRONAS), Phoenix and teammate Hydrospheric Solutions, LLC (Hydrospheric) are using the state of-the-art SLH PS-60 SAS (ProSAS-60), a 6,000 meter depth-rated synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) towed system, to search for MH370.
Operating from GO Phoenix, a DP2 offshore operations vessel owned by the GO Marine Group, PTY, LTD, the Phoenix – Hydrospheric team is continuing 24/7 seafloor survey operations of the defined search area positioned approximately 2,500 km west of Perth, Australia. The search area runs lengthwise along the 7th Arc – a curved line running northeast to southwest and signifying the final “electronic handshake” between the aircraft and an INMARSAT satellite. The Phoenix assigned search area includes water depths ranging from 3,000 – 5,000 meters and bottom topography ranging from steep seamounts to underwater canyons and flat plains.
Since commencing deepwater towed search operations in October 2014, the Phoenix – Hydrospheric team has worked tirelessly around the clock and searched over 9,000 km2 of seabed, which equates to 60% of Phoenix’s assigned search area. The ProSAS towed system is capable of achieving a swath width of up to 2.4 km with an imagery resolution of 10cm x 10cm. Using this capability, the search team can collect and analyze on average approximately 140 km2 of seafloor within a 24 hour period (working in two 12 hour shifts). Imagery collected by the ProSAS-60 is of extremely high quality and resolution compared to other commercial towed search systems, clearly showing objects as small as 10 centimeters in diameter while working at depths up to 6,000 meters.
Phoenix is an employee-owned, ISO 9001-2008 Management System certified marine services contractor providing manned and unmanned underwater solutions, deep ocean search and recovery, underwater inspection, maintenance, and repair, submarine rescue, design engineering, and project management services to a diverse set of clients worldwide. Expertise is available from seven regional offices in the areas of wet and dry hyperbaric welding, Nondestructive Testing (NDT), subsea engineering services, conventional and atmospheric diving, Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs), Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), and other robotic systems.
For further information please contact Pete LeHardy (plehardy@phnx-international.com) Tel: 301.341.7800; Fax: 301.499.0027, or view our web site: www.phnx-international.com.