Pioneering Deepwater AUV Survey in Mediterranean Completed
UK-based subsea service company Modus Seabed has performed seabed surveys at a new deepwater well site in the Mediterranean on behalf of M-Surveys, part of the Maritech Group, using hybrid AUV technology.
Modus Seabed Intervention, a specialist global provider of modular subsea vehicles and managed services, has recently completed bathymetric survey and inspection work at a new deepwater well exploration site in Mediterranean waters, offshore Israel. M-Surveys awarded the project to Modus who used their latest 3,000m-rated hybrid AUV (HAUV) system to complete the offshore scope of work in water depths up to 1,800m, the deepest dive Modus has undertaken to date with an AUV.
The HAUV was deployed from the M-Surveys operated Ocean Link vessel in Q1 2020. Subsea surveys of 4 x 4km grids were conducted at high speed, making use of the HAUV’s flexible payload, which included a multibeam sonar and high-resolution video cameras, to collect data simultaneously.
This project demonstrated that the HAUV spread will provide operational efficiency in relation to the speed of data acquisition and improved data quality when compared to conventional ROV or AUV methodologies.
Disruptive Deepwater Survey Methodology
Vyron Skaftouros of M-Surveys commented: “M-Surveys as part of the Maritech Group is an innovative, forward thinking company that looks to take advantage of the latest technology on the market. Modus’ HAUV system provided us with the opportunity to significantly reduce our project timeline through the speed and efficiency of the HAUV at deepwater drill sites. This was unprecedented and a step forward in how data will be acquired at these depths in the future.”
Luke Barnes, commercial manager for Modus said: “With the latest 3,000m-rated HAUV only being delivered to our fleet in late 2019, it is a positive step forward for the technology to disrupt the traditional survey methodologies at these water depths. Operating the HAUV-2 fully autonomously, Modus sought to create a new benchmark for data quality, as well as helping to achieve a reduced project schedule for M-Surveys.”
