USVs shape the future of subsea surveys 

These 230-gt vessels have a top speed of 11 knots and can operate for 30 days over the horizon, with multiple communications supporting remote operations including very small aperture terminal (VSAT), 5G mobile network, Iridium Certus L-band, Ceragon Pointlink and Starlink low Earth orbit, and an acoustically aided inertial navigation system.

They have a Kongsberg hull-mounted dual EM2040 multibeam echosounder and a Topas PS120 sub-bottom profiler system, plus a ZeeROV unit carrying standard survey systems, including dual multibeam, side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profiler systems.

In September, Reach Subsea secured financial support from Norwegian banks for its US$62M investment in two more USVs - Reach Remote 3 and Reach Remote 4.

These will be built in Poland and Norway to Kongsberg’s UT5208 design with technology enabling remote and autonomous offshore operations.

“The Reach Remote programme is a cornerstone of our strategy to redefine subsea operations,” said Mr Alendal.

Kongsberg is also responsible for supply chain management, systems integration, commissioning and final delivery of these USVs.It will integrate automation and navigation systems, situation awareness solutions, manoeuvring and thruster control, low-voltage switchboards, energy storage modules and equipment for deploying ROVs and hydrographic sensors, plus the communications suites.

Massterly will remotely operate the vessels with Reach Subsea managing subsea mission execution, including remote control of ROVs, data collection and processing.

“The success of Reach Remote 1 has proven that remote operations are not only viable, but they are also transformative,” said Kongsberg Maritime president Lisa Edvardsen Haugan.

“With vessels three and four now confirmed, we are entering the scale-up phase – ready to meet global demand and shape the future of remote subsea services.”

Ocean exploration 
Fugro is also ramping up its USV deployments having entered into a five-year co-operative research and development agreement with the US National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ocean exploration programme.

This public–private partnership intends to use Fugro’s USVs, electric-powered ROVs and cloud-based data workflows that link offshore surface platforms and underwater systems with onshore teams in real time.

NOAA ocean exploration director William Mowitt said the mission would accelerate precise mapping of seafloors for offshore energy, marine resource management and national security.

“By enabling remote operations and enhancing the use of innovative technologies, we can reduce costs and expand our reach, unlocking the ocean’s potential at a scale and speed needed to keep pace with America’s growing demands for ocean resources and information,” said Capt Mowitt.

Fugro group director for the Americas Celine Gerson said, “We are entering an exciting new era of deep ocean mapping where data can be collected and delivered without a single person at sea.”

South America 
In Brazil, Seagems has contracted Wärtsilä to analyse real-time engineroom data in a bid to minimise machinery failures and repairs and avoid operational outages. Real-time data from engines and propulsion machinery across its fleet will be used for remote performance monitoring and predictive onboard maintenance.

To achieve this, Seagems has extended a lifecycle agreement with Wärtsilä to include digital and analytics services over its fleet of platform supply ships and subsea construction and maintenance support vessels.

“The renewal and expansion of the existing agreement will support our long-term operational goals for these vessels, particularly in enhancing efficiency, reliability and sustainability,” said Seagems chief operating officer Ricardo Bicudo.

Also in Brazil, oil company PRIO will start using Shape Digital’s Shape Lighthouse to manage three FPSOs on the Albacora Leste, Frade and Tubarao-Martelo fields and the Polvo A wellhead platform.

This artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital module supports predictive maintenance processes for critical assets, asset management, proactive anomaly detection and cost reduction.

Petrobras has deployed a reservoir monitoring grid on its giant Mero oil field in the Santos basin offshore Brazil.

DOF has installed the dynamic cable riser using a wheeled horizontal lay system and reel-drive unit from UK-based Maritime Developments on 2017-built subsea construction vessel Skandi Involver.

This enabled it to connect to a permanent reservoir monitoring sensor grid on the deepwater field. DOF installed a spread, manufactured in Scotland, on the Marin Teknikk 6027 design vessel to install this grid. 

Riviera’s OSJ Subsea Conference will be held in London on 2 February 2026. Use this link for more information and to register for the event