Argeo launches its first USV in ‘a major breakthrough for offshore energy’

Marine survey contractor Argeo has launched its first uncrewed, remotely supervised survey and inspection vehicle Argus for offshore and coastal applications.

The Argus uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) will perform mapping and inspection services using robotics and autonomous ocean space technology for offshore and energy projects in water depths from 2 to 200 metres.

According to Argeo, the vehicle offers a stable, low-emission hybrid platform equipped with state-of-the-art navigation, supervision, and hydrographic and geophysical technology.

Other key benefits of the USV are full position control, high-resolution data quality for detailed seabed mapping and shallow water geology as well as the ability to reach up to 30 operating days.

It has been tailor-made to comply with governmental rules and regulations and runs on the hybrid propulsion system, enabling cost-effective shore-to-shore operations, Argeo claims.

Furthermore, Argus features a configurable back-deck with two moonpools for operational and sensor configuration flexibility and can potentially be tooled with Argeo’s electromagnetic technology for UXO investigations and an Ultra-High Resolution (UHR) seismic system.

Finally, data acquired by Argus will be integrated into Argeo’s Digital Ocean Space platform, the company explained.

“Investments in the offshore energy sector are growing at a massive rate. The Argeo Argus is a major breakthrough in commercial uncrewed solutions for the offshore energy sector”, said Trond Crantz, CEO at Argeo.

“We believe Argeo Argus is the perfect match for developers in this market segment. The demand for mapping & inspection services is increasing and we expect that offshore wind will be an important business segment for years to come”.

However, in addition to the offshore wind market, Argeo’s USV can also find applications within oil & gas and mineral extraction and for environmental monitoring and inspections of infrastructure and installations, Crantz added.

He also noted that the USV, built at Maritime Robotics in Trondheim, Norway, managed a 95% reduction in the emission compared to a traditional manned vessel, thus achieving the main goal of reducing its carbon footprint.

Argeo currently owns and operates four autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) – two Hugin AUVs and two SeaRaptor AUVs.

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