Kongsberg expands its Reach in autonomy
Kongsberg Maritime will deliver Reach Subsea ASA two additional uncrewed vessels to strengthen its innovative Reach Remote offshore fleet.
The 24-metre autonomous vessels, based on Kongsberg Maritime’s UT5208 design, are purpose-built for remote and autonomous offshore operations, supporting subsea missions with advanced automation and energy-efficient technologies.
“This contract reflects a growing industry confidence in remote and autonomous technologies,” said Lisa Edvardsen Haugan, president of Kongsberg Maritime.
“The success of Reach Remote 1 has proven that remote operations are not only viable, but they’re also transformative.”
Proven capability
The first in the fleet, Reach Remote 1 has recently completed a series of fully remote-controlled offshore deployments off the coast of Norway.
Earlier this month, Reach Remote 2 was on its way to the Scarborough gas field in Australia, owned by Woodside Energy, to perform reservoir monitoring with the company’s gWatch technology.
Following the achievements of Reach Remote 1 and 2, including achieving the Ship of the Year 2024 award, the new uncrewed vessels will further accelerate the shift forward toward sustainable autonomous subsea services.
Kongsberg Maritime will oversee ship design of the two new vessels, to include supply chain management, systems integration, commissioning and final delivery, ensuring efficient production and fleet-scale potential.
Massterly, a joint venture between Kongsberg Maritime and Wilhelmsen, will manage remote navigation from onshore operations centres, while Reach Subsea will control subsea missions such as ROV operations, data collection and processing.
Jostein Alendal, CEO of Reach Subsea, described the Reach Remote programme as “a cornerstone of our strategy to redefine subsea operations,” confirming that vessels three and four will mark the beginning of a global scale-up phase.
