Skimmer - Deep Sea | Austin Macauley Publishers

A contractor sub-surface mining skiff is delivering deep sea minerals collected by its drones to the moonpools of a giant Chinese-owned GlobeCorpMining Harvester ship stationed in the Pacific Ocean. The artificial intelligence or AI operating the skiff and its drones is monitored by a small young crew. Onboard, one of them with family connections to mining in ‘the Area’ is coerced into acquiring a revolutionary AI technology being developed by another crew member. It becomes apparent that Xed Ocean Academy crew monitoring and communications security has been compromised. Another mining skiff has also disappeared off ‘the Area’ grid. As the situation becomes ever more desperate no one seems to know who is behind all the deception and why. Somehow the Sea Hunters who patrol ‘the Area’ and GlobeCorpMining are also involved. Against the odds, and with the Sea Hunters in pursuit the young crew must learn to work together and overcome betrayal.

Andrew has a PhD in environmental and marine science, Grad. Cert. in strategic studies and a Grad. Dip. Ed. He has published in peer-reviewed science journals and co-founded the New Zealand Aquaculture Magazine. Andrew has served as a watchkeeping officer in the navy. He has lectured and taught statistics, marine and maritime studies at a technical institute. During this period, he consulted to the fisheries and aquaculture industry. Subsequently, Andrew contracted to the offshore oil and gas industry in environmental management. He then taught secondary school science and mathematics and is a future schools STEM industry focus advocate.