SEA-KIT wins first export deal
UK Uncrewed Surface Vessel manufacturer SEA-KIT International has sold its first vessel overseas, to US-based surveillance firm ThayerMahan.
ThayerMahan will use the 12m X-Class USV to ’support introduction of the technology into government service’, along with commercial activities, SEA-KIT CEO Ben Simpson said.
”This US export deal marks a significant milestone in the company’s journey so far,” he said. “The UK is forging a leadership stance in Maritime Autonomous Systems innovation, and we are proud to be part of that.”
In September, SEA-KIT sent a USV to transmit data and video from the caldera of a subsea volcano in Tonga. The survey was remotely controlled and streamed live from the site.
In February, ThayerMahan partnered the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center in a hydrographic survey carried out with a Seascout system on the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer.
Seascout is a high-speed, high-resolution survey system that uses multibeam echosounder sensors simultaneously to collect data from a large area of the seabed. It has near real-time visualisation of ultra-fine resolution beam-formed imagery and interferometric bathymetry, which enables immediate quality assurance and control to map the ocean floor.
Synthetic aperture sonar data was collected over a series of subsea heritage sites using Seascout, including a shipwreck, using remote command and control.
The SEA-KIT vessel will be delivered next spring, with plans to put it to use in the summer.
