Ørsted has designed and developed an uncrewed surface vessel (USV) for offshore met-ocean measurement campaigns. The prototype USV is named Hugin USV. It is designed for continuous operation in the harshest offshore conditions for a year at a time.The USV has a built-in navigation system, which enables it to transit from shore at various degrees of autonomy, and it can be controlled both in line-of-sight or from a beyond-line-of-sight remote control centre. The USV is designed as a generic sensor platform and can collect large amounts of data on, among other things, the wind conditions, the state of the seabed, and biological and ecological measurements, all dependent on the sensor instrumentation chosen for a given operation.
The prototype USV is constructed by the Danish shipbuilder Tuco Marine Group, and the USV control system is delivered by the Norwegian company Maritime Robotics. The prototype vessel, Hugin USV, has been tested in Danish and Norwegian waters and has been operational during hurricane conditions, where it experienced waves up to nine metres in the North Sea. Hugin USV has also achieved type validation as a floating LiDAR system by DNV.
Ørsted has started a serial production of a new class of USVs. The USVs in the new class are constructed in Denmark by Tuco Marine Group, and the control systems are delivered by Maritime Robotics, which is a continuation of the good collaboration from the prototype USV. The expectation is to produce five new USVs by the end of 2023.
