A UK builder of uncrewed surface vessels has passed a significant milestone with an order of two vessels from the world’s leading geo-data specialist.
Fugro has ordered two 12m SEA-KIT X class Uncrewed Surface Vessels (USVs); with one bound for their Asia-Pacific region and the other for North Sea operations.
Ivar de Josselin de Jong, Director Remote Inspection at Fugro, said: “This order cements Fugro’s strategy to lead the development of remote and autonomous solutions, which is key to delivering a safer, more sustainable and more efficient approach to the construction and maintenance of marine assets. Integration of the new USVs into our global network of remote operation centres (ROCs) will allow us to provide our clients with an entirely remote controlled inspection solution for the first time in history. In addition to applications in the oil and gas industry, we specifically foresee an important role for our new remote inspection solution in the rapidly growing offshore wind sector.”
The two new USVs are the first of multiple planned builds for Fugro as part of the partnership, with the schedule also including the design, build and delivery of SEA-KIT’s 24m Omega class USV in 2021.
The first order is already under construction at SEA-KIT’s bespoke facility in Tollesbury, Essex, where the fit-out of the hull and the integration of the onboard systems and sensors will take place.
By Jake Frith
