Woolpert and Chance Maritime pioneer fully uncrewed offshore hydrographic survey off Florida's Gulf Coast

Woolpert is conducting the first fully uncrewed offshore hydrographic survey mission on behalf of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Operating off the coast of Pensacola, Florida, multiple uncrewed survey vessels designed and piloted by Chance Maritime and equipped with Woolpert's multibeam sonar are mapping deep-sea corals and ocean habitats across 1,391 square nautical miles.

The high-resolution data collected will be used to explore deep-sea corals and sensitive marine habitats, identify seafloor hazards, detect changes to the underwater environment and update NOAA's nautical charting products to enhance maritime safety.

According to Chris Taylor, PhD, ecologist with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, the project will fill gaps in modern seafloor mapping data in the Gulf region: "New maps of seafloor bathymetry and texture will be used by NOAA and our partners to develop new habitat maps and characterizations supporting the restoration of mesophotic and deep benthic communities in the region that were damaged during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill."

Accelerating data collection

Two uncrewed survey vessels form the backbone of the operation. Chance Maritime's Chance MC40, a high-power, extreme long-endurance 12-metre vessel, leads the mission, supported by the Chance MC29 to boost efficiency and accelerate data collection. Together, they enable continuous remote hydrographic survey operations with no crew on board.

The scale of the project is significant: over several months, Woolpert will survey approximately 11,000 linear nautical miles. To keep pace, Woolpert hydrographers spread across multiple time zones will conduct surveys around the clock. Data is transmitted via Starlink satellite communications to a cloud server, where it is ingested into Woolpert's Automatic Survey Production Environment (ASPEN) and prepared for further postprocessing by the hydrographic team.

For Woolpert Programme Director Dave Neff, the mission reflects a broader shift: uncrewed survey vessels are rapidly becoming the go-to solution for offshore and deep-ocean data collection.

“Uncrewed vessels allow us to collect high-quality hydrographic data more efficiently and safely, particularly in challenging deep-ocean environments,” Neff said. “This project demonstrates just how valuable USVs are in expanding our access to critical ocean data while reducing operational risk. We’re proud to support NOAA’s mission and to help set a new precedent for large-scale offshore marine mapping.”

With the survey now underway, completion is expected later this year. The mission builds on solid foundations; last year, Woolpert and Chance Maritime successfully completed a hybrid crewed/uncrewed survey as part of the Florida Seafloor Mapping Initiative, collecting over 6,000 linear nautical miles of multibeam seafloor bathymetry across the Chance MC29 and Woolpert's RV Thunder.