Recently upgraded Oceaneering vessel starts cross-regional offshore survey campaign

July 1, 2026, by Nadja Skopljak

Oceaneering has begun executing a multi-discipline offshore survey campaign using its Ocean Intervention II (OI2) vessel offshore Trinidad and the U.S. Gulf on behalf of a “large international operator”.

The program started in April and includes OI2 delivering integrated geophysical, geotechnical, and autonomous survey services offshore Trinidad and the U.S. Gulf for approximately 6 months, with options for additional work and extensions.

In Trinidad, the vessel is in charge of 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition, high-resolution and ultra-high-resolution seismic surveys, seabed mapping, and geotechnical investigations, geotechnical activities such as seabed sampling using box cores and piston cores, as well as autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) surveys in deeper water areas and shallow-water surveys using towed conventional geophysical systems. Operations are expected to last approximately four months.

In the U.S. Gulf, OI2 will perform geotechnical investigations, AUV-based block surveys, and pipeline inspection activities, spanning approximately two months, with options for additional site and block surveys.

“We appreciate our customers’ trust in our ability to deliver reliable, integrated survey operations tailored to their project needs. By consolidating multiple survey scopes onto a single vessel and crew, OI2 supports single-pass and simultaneous operations that reduce campaign duration, minimize mobilizations, and shorten offshore exposure—improving efficiency and lowering overall emissions compared to traditional multi-vessel survey programs,” said Peter Buchanan, Oceaneering’s Senior Director – Survey, Products and Services.o

Oceaneering in 2025 upgraded the 77-meter-long research vessel OI2, launched in 2000, to perform simultaneous, multi-discipline survey operations. The enhancements included survey system upgrades, dedicated launch and recovery capability for autonomous systems, and modernized data infrastructure.