Exail’s USV making Baltic Sea debut with Orlen

October 16, 2025, by Dragana Nikše

U.K.-based Exail and its partner Thesta have delivered an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to Orlen Petrobaltic, part of Poland’s Orlen Group, for deployment in the Baltic Sea.

DriX H-8 USV; Credit: Gilles Martin Raget / Exail

According to Exail, the delivery of the DriX H-8 USV marks the first commercial deployment of its DriX model in Poland. Orlen Petrobaltic will use the vessel to support offshore platform activities in the Baltic Sea, where the complex maritime environment is said to require innovative and resilient solutions.

“Deploying DriX H-8 in the Baltic Sea for the first time is another illustration of how Exail pushes the boundaries of uncrewed maritime operations,” said Jens Higgen, Regional Sales Director at Exail. “Together with Orlen Petrobaltic, we’re proud to shape a new standard for offshore data acquisition and autonomy.”

Exail describes its DriX H-8 model as being robust and boasting endurance and the ability to deliver high-quality hydrographic and geophysical data. Its autonomous capabilities reportedly make it a safer, more efficient, and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional crewed vessels.

For this project, the DriX H-8 will be equipped with a Norbit B51S multibeam echosounder (MBES), integrated on the platform for what Exail says will be the very first time. The new configuration is expected to provide Orlen Petrobaltic with a next-generation hydrographic survey capability, enhancing data quality and efficiency.

A few months ago, Exail was picked to provide 30 Quadrans attitude and heading reference systems (AHRS), which will be installed on floating production, storage, and offloading units (FPSOs) working off the coast of Brazil for Petrobras.