1. Refurbishment of drifters for the VOS Donation Programme
Pierre Blouch
EUMETNET/E-SURFMAR Operational Service Manager
JCOMM/PMO-5 meeting
Viña del Mar July 2015

2. Buoys found ashore Many are beached or picked up.
Some still work if their batteries are not empty
They may be recovered thanks to local contacts found on the Web
The manufacturer is sometimes contacted thanks to the buoy nameplate

3. Possible refurbishment
If there is a chance to refurbish the buoy, this latter is either rapatriated in France or sent to a partner (e.g. Icelandic Met Office)
Batteries are then replaced: easy to do on Metocean buoys (hemispheres are bolted)
A battery pack (8x10 D cells) costs about 250 €
It confers more than 18 months of lifetime to the buoy
The buoys are then
either re-deployed without its drogue (its replacement is a professional work)
or used as a « deck drifter »

4. Deck drifter
The buoy is put in a wooden box which is attached on a ship deck
Total cost includes:
the buoy transport
custom fees
new batteries and
the wooden box
but remains cost effective in most of the cases
… and makes us slightly eco-responsible

5. Experiences 2014’ Tenace (French navy tug) campaign in northern seas
Will be renewed with a sister ship of Tenace in 2015
a second deck drifter will be used on another French ship based in Newfoundland

6. Questions ?

7. Pierre Blouch E-SURFMAR Programme Manager GIE/EIG EUMETNET
Contact Details
Pierre Blouch
E-SURFMAR Programme Manager
GIE/EIG EUMETNET
E-SURFMAR Programme Manager
Meteo-France
Centre de Meteo Marine
13 rue du Chatellier – CS 12804
F Brest Cedex 2 
Tel: (0)
Fax: (0)
Web:
GIE EUMETNET Secretariat
c/o L’Institut Royal Météorologique
de Belgique
Avenue Circulaire Bruxelles, Belgique
Tel: (0) Fax:     +32 (0)
Web: