In pictures: Harvesting from beneath the water
A crew evaluates wood hauled to the surface of Volta Lake in Ghana. Among the species found are valuable odum, ebony and mahogany.Triton Logging Co.
A Triton work crew at Volta Lake.Triton Logging Co.
Triton Logging's SHARC underwater harvester has a maneuverable telescopic boom and a cutting head that can reach 36.5 meters below the surface.Triton Logging Co.
At the moment, only a single harvester is working on the lake. But Triton plans to launch a total of four, adding the second early next year.Triton Logging Co.
Tropical hardwoods such as those harvested from Volta Lake are in high demand. A lot of the countries with abundant tropical hardwoods, like Burma and Malaysia, have log export bans because they couldn't control illegal logging, says Russell Taylor, a market analyst and president of the consulting firm International Wood Markets Group Inc.Triton Logging Co.
The Sharc operator find logs using sonar, remote cameras and GPS coordinates. The wood is harvested and put in floating bunks that can each carry a truckload of lumber.Triton Logging Co.