NEW LONDON, Conn. — Off the coast of a Connecticut seaport, the Coast Guard is developing and testing new technology that could help record and mark the location of oil spills all across the oceans.
The Coast Guard Research and Development Center in New London developed the Marine Object Tracking Technology for these purposes, and performed a simulated test of the devices by throwing them off a bridge into a nearby river on Tuesday.
The goal of a simulated bridge test was to prepare for a full test where they would be dropped from helicopters. Not all of the 15 devices tested were retrieved however, some broke during testing.
A full field test in San Francisco is planned for later this month.