Oh buoy! CSIR attends Datawell BV Waverider® training in the Netherlands

Withstanding an unpredictable marine environment, automated ocean buoys collect metocean data, which they transmit through satellites\High Frequency\Global System for Mobile Communication to a global network of meteorological and oceanographic centres. Buoys come in different shapes and sizes and measure many things such as wave parameters, air temperature above the ocean surface, sea surface temperatures, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure and humidity. Two CSIR researchers recently attended buoy service training in the Netherlands at Datawell BV.

Sarel Haasbroek, who is a senior researcher at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), saw the need to visit Datawell BV and motivated for the training as part of expanding knowledge and expertise within the CSIR to effectively maintain and service the specialised Waverider® wave measurement buoys.

Haasbroek and fellow CSIR engineer, Vuyo Ndayi, represented the CSIR at Datawell BV from 17 to 21 July 2023 for the specialised Waverider® technical training in the Netherlands. The training focused on Waverider® buoy maintenance, fault identification and servicing. During their four-day visit, Haasbroek and Ndayi gained valuable insights into the existing hardware and software, as well as the new hardware and software developments taking place at Datawell BV®.

Datawell’s flagship products, the Waverider® and Directional Waverider®, are considered the global standard in wave measurements. In testing the equipment during training, the duo was equipped with the necessary knowledge and tools to maintain and service CSIR-owned Waverider® buoys and their ancillary equipment, such as mooring lines, in a manner that will improve its longevity.

The CSIR’s Coastal Engineering and Port Infrastructure (CEPI) team makes extensive use of Datawell’s buoys for short- and long-term wave measuring studies along South Africa’s coastline. “Most notably, we use them in the Integrated Port Operation Support System provided to the eight major Transnet ports for real-time wave height and direction (and sometimes currents) measurements necessary for their shipping and other harbour operations,” says Ndayi.

Although the training was conducted in an informal manner, it offered Ndayi and Haasbroek the opportunity to apply an experiential approach with the Waverider® technology. Here, they were able to apply themselves and their skills more practically during their training time with the Dutch collaborators. The technical instructions involved servicing a wave rider, inspection and calibration, replacement of sensor parts, as well as inspecting uncharacterised items on buoys, its overall manufacturing and product life usage.

The insights that Ndayi and Haasbroek gained will prove handy as the CEPI team owns 12 of the Waverider® buoys. “We are skilled and familiar with the basics of maintaining and servicing the buoys, however, we wanted to gain in-depth knowledge on its inner functioning,” Ndayi explains. He believes that this will assist them in troubleshooting issues and equip them with an understanding of what they are able to and unable to repair.

One of the solutions CEPI provides to the Transnet National Ports Authority is acquiring wave information and providing it in a user-friendly platform. “We also provide other port operational assistance tools that use the wave data as input into their models. Furthermore, we maintain and service the buoys,” explains CSIR senior researcher, Haasbroek. As buoys are pricey instruments, the need for them to be used effectively over their complete life cycle is viewed as a return on the investment.

Datawell BV is a Dutch-based company that manufactures oceanographic wave measuring instruments.