IMOS - AUV SIRIUS, CAMPAIGN: South East Queensland, NOVEMBER 2011

The objectives of the work in SE Queensland (Nov. 2011) was to revisit dive sites inside and outside of a green zone offshore of Moreton Island. There were a few issues associated with working on a small vessel and on the final day of operations the AUV was lost in part due to the vessel not having sufficient fuel to stay on station when the vehicle did not surface on the completion of its dive. An extensive search was conducted over the following three days using Coast Guard vessels and aerial search but the AUV was not located. Two weeks later the vehicle washed ashore some 100km to the North of the site where it was last seen. It had sustained relatively little damage but this incident highlights the vulnerability of the Facility to the loss of its one asset. An ARC LIEF proposal has been submitted to support the development of multiple, smaller AUVs to help maintain the AUV Facility observing program