Let’s hear it for the buoy

By Noah Brenner Houston

 10 February 2012 01:12 GMT

J im Feeney turned a fascination with the ocean and a willingness to go where others fear to tread into a successful company that helps industry players monitor ocean currents for efficient rig moves and safe offshore operations.

A sailing enthusiast and former US Navy Frogman (a precursor to the elite Navy Seals), Feeney is chief executive of Massachusetts-based Horizon Marine.

Through its Eddy Watch, Route Watch and Fast Eddy services, ­Horizon forecasts currents and their impacts worldwide. Feeney formed Horizon Marine in 1982, monitoring currents around Baltimore Canyon off the Atlantic Coast, where Shell was drilling exploration wells.

Industry found the data useful, but companies were not willing to allocate big dollars for science.

“We had to be the preacher, knock on a lot of doors and come up with clever…

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