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Current Sensor Deployment Systems
Getting a current profiler into the water, and back out again, safely.
An ADCP measures nothing until it is in the water at the right depth, and it stops telling you anything useful once it is fouled or damaged. A Launch and Recovery System (LARS) is what makes deployment a routine job rather than an operation — lowering the sensor over the side, holding it steady at depth, and bringing it back to deck for cleaning and servicing without a crane spread or a dive team.
What a LARS does
Our launch and recovery systems are purpose-built for the safe deployment of Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCP) and Acoustic Current Meters (ACM) from a fixed or temporary installation. The sensor sits in a protection frame on a boom, is lowered on a stainless-steel wire rope and umbilical, and is recovered to deck for maintenance. That last part matters as much as the first: a profiler that is awkward to recover is a profiler that stops being serviced.
Key features
- Ex and non-Ex. Systems are available for Ex Zone 2 (ATEX Ex II 3G ck IIB T4, IECEx) as well as for safe-area installations.
- Controlled handling. Hydraulic winches give measured lowering and recovery, with air-driven or electric power units to suit the services available on the installation.
- Durability. AISI 316 stainless steel throughout, for a long service life in seawater.
- Safety by design. DNV-compliant lifting arrangements, ATEX compliance where required, sensor crash frames and fail-safe operation.
- Ease of maintenance. The sensor comes back to the deck, so cleaning, servicing and battery changes happen in a safe working position rather than over the side.
The LARS lowering and recovering a current profiler.
The range
The family is built around the LARS 2.0 (1500), which offers the greatest reach and the heaviest lifting capacity and is the configuration most often specified. Beneath it sit the standard LARS 2.0, for lighter sensors and simpler installations, and LARS Lite, where deck space is at a premium and the deployment is nearshore or shallow-water.
All systems can be adapted for Ex or non-Ex environments, a hydraulic lamella brake can be retrofitted to an installed winch, and subsea mounting frames are available where the profiler is seabed-deployed instead.
LARS 2.0 (1500)
Rated for Ex Zone 2 (ATEX Ex II 3G ck IIB T4, IECEx) and supplied with 100 m of stainless-steel wire rope on the drum and 100 m of subsea cable, this is the fullest specification in the range. A delivery comprises:
- Sensor protection frame and boom
- Hydraulic cylinders and a hydraulic power unit
- 100 m stainless-steel wire rope drum
- 100 m subsea cable and connectors
- Umbilical reel spooling device
The power unit comes in two forms: air-driven, where instrument air is among the services already available on the installation, and electric, where it is not. Nothing else differs between the two variants.
Applications
- Offshore energy projects
- Environmental monitoring
- Oceanographic research
- Hydrographic surveys
Examples from our range
Deployment systems we engineer, supply, install and maintain. We supply more variants than are listed here.
LARS 2.0 — Ex Zone 2
The standard ADCP hoisting and launch-and-recovery system, rated Ex Zone 2 (ATEX Ex II 3G ck IIB T4, IECEx). Protection frame, boom, wire rope drum, subsea cable and connectors, and umbilical reel spooling.
LARS 2.0 (1500) — air-operated
Greater reach and heavier lifts, Ex Zone 2. Protection frame, boom, hydraulic cylinders, air-driven power unit and 100 m stainless-steel wire rope — for installations where instrument air is the available service.
LARS 2.0 (1500) — electric drive
The same system with an electric hydraulic power unit in place of the air-driven one, for installations without a suitable instrument air supply. Ex Zone 2, 100 m stainless-steel wire rope.
Related
A deployment system is specified alongside the instrument it carries — see current sensors for the profilers themselves, and wave sensors for the acoustic units that measure both. Recovered sensors are cleaned and serviced between deployments, and sent for calibration when the interval falls due. See all sensor types.
Contact Us
Whether you need a compact system for nearshore operations or a high-capacity solution for offshore installations, we can provide a tailored solution that meets your requirements. All systems can be adapted for Ex or non-Ex environments. Contact us today to discuss your project and find the right deployment system for your needs.