NOAS has been developed to meet the demand from yacht owners and their captains for a simple to use, real time obstacle avoidance and warning system whether they are out at sea or approaching an unfamiliar harbour. NOAS meets these requirements with its three main operating modes. When a yacht is underway, a 2-D imaging mode provides long range navigation information out to 1,500 metres. When approaching shallow or poorly chartered areas, a high definition 3-D imaging mode scans the water column to detect and graphically visualise obstacles directly in the path of the vessel, including the sea bottom, up to 150 metres away.

Designed by the same team that developed Sonardyne's market leading Sentinel diver detection sonar, also on the stand at this year's show, an intruder detection alarm mode can be incorporated into the NOAS system. When a yacht is at anchor or in a harbour, NOAS continuously monitors a 360 degree area below the yacht to detect, track and identify underwater intruders approaching the yacht, warning the crew of the approaching threat.

"The requirement for obstacle avoidance is accelerating across the yachting industry, with many owners wanting to take every precaution possible to protect their yachts, guests and crew. The Monaco Yacht Show is a fantastic opportunity to discuss the capabilities of both NOAS and Sentinel with owners and their captains and we're looking forward helping them identify the best safety and security solutions," said Ross Gooding, Sonardyne Business Development Manager for Maritime Security.

Sonardyne International Ltd is recognised as a world leader in the design and manufacture of underwater acoustic positioning, inertial navigation, wireless communications and sonar technology systems for the offshore oil and gas, ocean scientific and maritime security industries.