USEA Ocean Data One Step Closer to Uncrewed Ship

USEA Ocean Data has received preliminary approval to build and operate a 24-meter uncrewed vessel on Norwegian waters reports the company's CEO, Felipe Lima.

USEA has developed a unique technology for safe seabed data acquisition with the help of unmanned vessels and autonomous underwater vehicles. Right after New Year came the preliminary validation that the company needed to build and operate a the vessel on Norwegian waters.

"We are very few companies who have passed such preliminary assessment from the Norwegian Maritime Authority, and we are ready to move immediately to the nest project phase," said Lima. "Our technology will enable the vessel to operate uncrewed from day one, and both customers and investors can soon look forward to a whole new and safe method for subsea data acquisition."

Fully automated L&R
The Norwegian Maritime Authority issued a clarification confirming that, in the light of their preliminary assessment and in accordance with IMO guidelines for alternative design (MSC.1/Circ.1455), the design is considered feasible where no showstoppers are identified, and the project is cleared to proceed to shipbuilding phase. 

USEA’s proprietary system for recharging and data transfer—the uLARS—is designed to secure fully automated lauch and recovery of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV), and also makes it possible for AUVs to connect to the unmanned vessel without the need for recovery to deck, during a seabed mapping campaign. This patented system is designed to enable the integration of autonomous underwater vehicles and unmanned vessels with no compromise, reducing costs and increasing efficiency.

USEA Ocean Data team members [L to R]: Erik Sollesnes, Senior Robotics Engineer, Ellen Svestad, CCO; and Felipe Lima, CEO.
Image courtesy USEA