Grovfjord Mek. Verksted will build an Armada of large, cutting-edge robot ships for Ocean Infinity, the world leading marine robotics company. The fleet of ultra low emission marine robots will be deployed from shorelines across the globe.

Ocean Infinity was established in 2017 in the USA and has quickly built itself up to be the world’s leader in technology led maritime operations.  Today as it takes the first steps in its’ transition to the greenest, safest and highest value maritime fleet operation that has ever been seen Ocean Infinity is looking to the future with Grovfjord Mek. Verksted AS (GMV) who it appointed to build its’ initial fleet of up to 13 vessels capable of wholly robotic operations.  Each robot ship can be equipped with ROVs and AUVs, as well as a variety of other sensors or equipment, and will be remotely controlled from one of 3 global control centres in Austin, Texas, Southampton in England and a location in Asia still to be determined.

GMV is Norway’s largest manufacturer of aluminum work boats and is located in Grovfjord in Sør-Troms. Since 2000 we have delivered about 150 vessels, of which 128 have gone to the aquaculture industry, to customers all over the country. In addition, we have delivered 12 large offshore wind catamarans plus various other vessel types including the world’s first pure battery driven fish-farming vessel GMV Zero.

What sets us apart from many other shipyards is that we do the design work on all our vessels ourselves, in close collaboration with our customers. In addition, we have built up a large electrical department with high expertise in battery technology and the development of our own control systems, which enable us to develop and offer world-class climate-friendly solutions at competitive prices.

GMV has already started the construction of Ocean Infinity’s first 4 21m autonomous vessels.  The robots which are designed to be transported worldwide by airplanes have been specifically designed to include highly efficient propellers, engines, and batteries, to reduce the CO2 emissions during the operation.

In addition, we are near completion of the design work on 36m autonomous vessels, with the same advanced vessel technology as the 21m vessel, but with increased payload capability.

Dan Hook, Ocean Infinity, Managing Director said “We are ahead of the rest of the world in terms of our commitments and ambitions for delivering low environmental impact maritime services.  We spent a long time deciding who to select to build these first of a kind vessels for our Armada fleet and are incredibly excited about working with the team at GMV who bring many years of experience building highly efficient vessels for operations in the harshest of conditions”

This contract is a fantastic opportunity for us, says CEO Bård Meek-Hansen. That a world-leading company like Ocean Infinity Group Ltd chooses to partner with us is a great honour and tells me that our focus on design and technology development in recent years has been right. We really look forward to cooperating with OIGL and the other main suppliers in the development and construction of these vessels.

The vessels will be built according to DNV GL class and British flag. The first delivery is planned late this year, and the rest of the deliveries will take place in the period 2021-2023.