Figure 80 Autonomous underwater vehicle, courtesy of General Dynamics Mission Systems.
Function
Provide low cost means of surveying below water, focussing on balance of plant assets such as cables and foundations.
Who supplies them
Manufactures: ECA Hytec, General Dynamics, Teledyne Marine Gavia and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
Operators: Fugro, Modus, Verlume and UTEC.
Key facts
Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) have the potential to replace vessel-based surveys. They are launched offshore from parent vessels.
AUVs can be launched from a CTV and therefore avoid the need for a larger vessel with the lifting capacity needed to launch and recover an ROV.
What’s in it
- Vehicle maintenance and service