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Reach dives into the future with remote subsea intervention
A Norwegian owner is building a fleet of remotely controlled vessels for subsea support operations
Demand for deploying remotely controlled vessels for subsea inspection and maintenance duties is growing, and fleets are now being built.
Reach Subsea operates two Reach Remote vessels, one in Norway and another in Australia, and has two more on order from shipyards. These vessels deploy remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) controlled from shore to infrastructure on the seabed for surveys and light intervention.
Reach Subsea UK managing director Alastair McKie discussed the technology on these vessels, which enable remotely commanded transits, ship operations, and mobilise ROVs, in a video interview on the sidelines of Riviera’s Offshore Support Journal Subsea Conference, in London, UK, on 2 February 2026.
He said the 24-m vessels were designed and built almost entirely around the ability to remotely deploy a work-class ROV.
“It essentially consists of four things: an engineroom, a server room, a winch area, and a payload bay,” said Mr McKie. “The payload bay is the ROV hangar, and it is operated and controlled remotely from shore.”
Reach Subsea’s onshore facilities are in Norway, Australia and the UK at present, but more remote operating centres could be opened, and more Reach Remote vessels are coming.
“Reach Remote 1 currently operates in Norway, and Reach Remote 2 is now operating out in Australia quite successfully,” Mr McKie said.
“In the last few weeks, we have managed to do a mission at sea with Reach Remote 2 that had it entirely at sea on its own for 26 days, with the ROV submerged on an operational dive for 22 of those days, which demonstrates the capability of the technology in a harsh operating environment.”
Mr McKie said the next two Reach Remote vessels could be commissioned and deployed in northern Europe, and the Norwegian company could order two more for global operations in the future.
“We already have Reach Remote 3 and Reach Remote 4 in build, and there are design talks underway as to what five and six might look like,” said Mr McKie.
“The intention is not to stop beyond five and six. The intention is to keep going and build the fleet and our capabilities.”
Riviera’s Offshore Support Journal Conference, Asia will be held in Singapore on 8-9 September 2026. Use this link for more information and to register for the event.
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