DeepOcean has entered into a long-term charter agreement for a newbuild unmanned surface vessel (USV) which will be utilised for subsea inspection, maintenance and repair (IMR) and survey work in the offshore renewables and oil and gas industries.DeepOcean is chartering the vessel from USV AS – a joint venture company established by Solstad Offshore, Østensjø and DeepOcean itself.
The USV will be equipped with a work ROV that is capable of operating down to 1,500 metres water depth, plus a tool package to perform subsea operations. The USV will be capable of handling most of all subsea inspection work, survey work and a significant part of subsea intervention tasks. The USV will be equipped with a hybrid diesel-electric propulsion system and a battery package which allows the unmanned vessel to operate offshore for up to 30 days without charging or refuelling. The USV will be 24metres long and 7.5 metres wide. USV AS has contracted Astilleros Gondán shipyard to build the USV. Delivery of the vessel is expected by the end of2024. The plan is that the USV, following offshore testing, will be ready for operations in 2025, when it will go on charter for DeepOcean.
