DeepOcean, Solstad and Østensjø Rederi bid welcome to new uncrewed vessel for subsea realm

USV, a joint venture company established by Solstad Offshore, Østensjø Rederi, and DeepOcean, has enriched its fleet with a newbuild uncrewed surface vessel (USV), envisioned for subsea survey, inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) work across offshore energy industries.

USV, whose main purpose is to invest in and own uncrewed vessels, will now expand its footprint on the remote-controlled subsea work scene by taking delivery of its new uncrewed vessel, named USV Challenger, which sports a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system and a battery package that allows it to operate offshore for up to 30 days without charging or refuelling. The vessel was delivered by the Astilleros Gondán shipyard in Spain.

The USV will shortly arrive at DeepOcean’s subsea base at Killingøy, Haugesund. Upon arrival, the 24-meter-long and 7.5-meter-wide vessel will test its launch and recovery system for the onboard remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) and get maritime authority approval for its remote operating capabilities before entering a long-term charter agreement with DeepOcean.

With the ability to operate and endure in severe weather conditions, this USV will be remotely controlled from shore and equipped with multiple autonomous features. The unit’s USV maritime crew and ROV operators will be co-located during operations in the same remote operating centre (ROC) at Killingøy, near Haugesund.

Øyvind Mikaelsen, CEO of DeepOcean, commented: “Needless to say, the USV is fully capable of deploying offshore and conducting subsea operations independently. However, it can also serve as a highly cost-effective supplement to larger subsea vessels. Rather than mobilizing large vessels for every offshore task, operators can leverage the USV and its onboard ROV for parts of subsea installation, survey, or IMR scope.

“By reducing the need for repeated transits of larger vessels, the USV offers significant cost savings. The value proposition is clear – the USV represents a more economical and efficient alternative for a wide range of offshore operations.”

DeepOcean and Aker BP, which already cooperate under a frame agreement for subsea IMR and survey work, have agreed to pioneer the use of the USV for subsea inspection, maintenance, and repair (IMR) and survey work. The Norwegian oil and gas operator has contributed to the development of the USV, as the duo shares a long-term ambition to move 30% of IMR work from traditional vessels to USVs. 

DeepOcean is also in dialogue with other operators on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS) regarding utilizing the USV for demonstration projects. Vår Energi is among the participants in a project to demonstrate the USV’s operability and capabilities in 2025. The vessel will spend the next four to five months in Haugesund to undergo various installation work and conduct an inshore test period.

“We are experiencing strong interest from operators who recognize the cost and environmental advantages of integrating the USV as part of their subsea operations,” disclosed Mikaelsen.

Equipped with a fully electric work-class ROV with hydraulic capabilities capable of operating down to 1,500 meters of water depth, plus a sizeable tool package that will allow the vehicle to perform a wide range of subsea operations, the vessel comes with ROV outfitted with survey sensors for pipeline survey, seabed mapping and annual inspection work, including measurements and cleaning operations. 

In addition, the USV can interface a fly-out ROV to offer visual inspection support for a larger host remotely operated vehicle in busy, congested, and high-risk operating environments, which can also perform 3D scanning of the subsea assets.

The ROV has been equipped with the same software as DeepOcean’s autonomous inspection drone (AID) to perform pre-programmed inspections of subsea assets, thanks to the latter’s proprietary digital twin platform, where a model of the vehicle is controlled. In seabed areas with low visibility, the operator can instead fly and operate the ROV in the digital twin.

“The USV provides a highly cost-efficient transport and launch platform for the ROV, and the well-equipped ROV enables efficient subsea operations. We expect that this combination will provide substantial cost benefits for operators of subsea equipment in both the oil and gas and renewable energy industries,” underlined Mikaelsen.

Furthermore, the remotely operated vehicle can perform subsea maintenance and repair work, including light lifting operations, as it is equipped with thrusters and has a through-frame lifting capacity. The ROV has the ability to open hatches on subsea templates, conduct repair work, use torque tools on subsea equipment, run cleaning tools, and conduct leak measurement work.

Additionally, it can connect and disconnect flying leads, perform general commissioning support on subsea equipment, and provide touchdown support for cable-laying operations. With the aim of boosting its workable weather window, the USV sports a launch and recovery system (LARS), designed by DeepOcean, consisting of an electrical winch, a sheave wheel trolley, kicker and rear hatch.

As the USV is also fitted with a gyro stabilizer that reduces vessel movements during launch and recovery operations, the combination of the LARS and the USV’s other features is expected to allow DeepOcean to launch and recover the onboard ROV in significant wave heights.

The USV solution is set to reduce CO2 emissions by more than 90% compared to a conventional offshore vessel when conducting subsea IMR operations, with remotely controlled operations from shore included in this calculation.

Moreover, DeepOcean and its JV partners have developed the vessels’ remote system by integrating equipment from many maritime suppliers along the Norwegian coastline.

The USV Challenger is fitted with a wheelhouse and certified for having four crew members on board for operations within 20 nautical miles off the Norwegian coastline, seen as a useful solution during inshore testing of the USV, LARS, remote technology, and future new technologies.

Mikaelsen elaborated: “We have designed the USV around the LARS. We know from conventional vessels what the challenges and limitations are with moonpool or A-frame solutions. So we have chosen a solution that is inspired by fishing and trawling.

“We have conducted scale tests in rough seas and we firmly believe that the operating potential of our LARS is higher than what a conventional solution would be on such a small vessel.”