Carlos Pane, a 55-year-old electronic engineer, told him that last week he received a message written in Russian on his cell phone, and that when intrigued, he returned the call, he found the voice of the captain of the sophisticated boat speaking to him. in English to hire him.
Pane is a researcher professor at the National University of Tierra del Fuego (Untdf) and teaches classes in the careers of Industrial Engineering and Bachelor of Systems, within the Institute of Economic Development and Innovation (Idei) that functions as a college of the upper house. Fuegian studies.
Six years ago he summoned a group of his most advanced students to be part of a private enterprise, and thus “Carlos Pane Consultores” was born, an SME that offers consulting services, electrical measurements and tests, geo-radar and radio detection, among other benefits. .
In addition, the firm later diversified to create “Deep Ocean Engineering”, when it added its own fleet of compact ROV-type underwater drones, capable of diving up to 150 meters deep, taking measurements, samples, photographing and filming in 4K quality and with own lighting.
The venture is totally private. The students do not do internships, or academic assistantships or anything similar. They are legally hired to work, “said Pane, a graduate of the National Technological University (UTN).
The teacher said that after perfecting his staff of students in the handling of drones, he began to knock on the doors of all the shipping companies that operate in the port of Ushuaia, to offer their services.
“I handed out old-fashioned cards, and that’s how the first calls began, to inspect the damaged propellers of different boats,” he recalled.
Regarding the search for the anchor of “La Datcha”, Pane said that the first searches were carried out from a Zódiac-type boat of the yacht itself, and that a study of the possible zone of anchor drift on the Beagle Channel was previously carried out. .
“I cannot give more details of the work because the company signed a confidentiality contract with those responsible for the yacht and we must comply with it. I only add that we are now at the captain’s disposal to carry out the next stages of the search,” he said.
The aquatic surveys do not occupy all the time of the Fuegian teacher and his group of students: recently they were dedicated to the installation of a new photovoltaic power generator system in the Tierra del Fuego National Park.
In 2020, the same team carried out a pre-professional internship at the “Vaca Muerta” deposit in Neuquén.
There they provided technical service for grounding and geoelectric measurements for the US company Chevron.
In addition, during that experience they managed to map a petrified forest that is believed to be around 50 million years old, through a georadar.
“We offer the thrust of new technologies applied to the company, and the speed of response of a dynamic and young structure at the same time”, can be read on the website of the Fuegian SME that is now working to find the anchor of the Russian yacht of 77 meters long, 14 wide and capacity for 12 passengers and 25 crew members.
The ship, belonging to the Russian banker Oleg Tinkov, can break ice up to 40 centimeters thick and navigate polar waters for up to 40 days without the need to refuel.
It has six decks and inside it houses six cabins, including 2 en suite and two VIP, as well as sophisticated glazed observation rooms.
The ship’s facilities include two helicopter hangars and a dive center with a decompression chamber, while the equipment includes two motorboats (one luxury and one rescue), a three-person submarine, two snowmobiles and four jet skis.
However, the Argentine Naval Prefecture based in Ushuaia has already notified those responsible for the ship that international navigation regulations prevent it from sailing until the missing anchor is replaced, and for this, they depend a lot on the success of the Fuegian SME.
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