Subsea Europe Services and Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) innovator MARTAC have signed an extensive partnership agreement for cooperation on the delivery of unmanned and autonomous marine survey platforms.

The partnership unites Florida-headquartered MARTAC’s extensive USV portfolio for defence, commercial and scientific applications with Subsea Europe Services’ hydroacoustic sensors, platforms and solutions expertise, which is available through its established European rental pool, sales and support channels.

The partners aim to make MARTAC’s high-performance USVs more accessible for defence and marine surveying applications in Europe, with Subsea Europe Services providing added value through deep integration between the USVs and its own integrated technologies, which are designed and proven to simplify and optimise marine data acquisition.

The initial focus is on MARTAC’s new fully electric MANTAS T12, a 3.6 metre ‘X-Class’ vessel, mobilised with Subsea Europe Service’s integrated Hydroacoustic Survey System (iHSS). The combination unlocks unprecedented speed, agility and operational capabilities that can transform the marine survey workflow to improve data quality and reduce costs.

The MANTAS T12 is a next generation USV offering new levels of operator control flexibility with full and semi-autonomous, and human-in-the-loop operations. With optional solar power, its open architecture and modular design allow rapid integration of new sensors and communication technologies to meet diverse mission requirements.

The first MANTAS T12 integrated Hydrographic Survey Platforms will be made available for the European survey industry by Subsea Europe Services at the start of 2022.

“The MANTAS T12 is the ideal system for Subsea Europe Services’ to deliver on its ambition of enabling organisations without in-house resources to acquire and extract value from their own marine data by simplifying, standardising and automating marine survey sensors, platforms and solutions,” said Stephen Ferretti, Chief Marketing Officer, MARTAC. “We’re confident of the added value our new partner can bring and looking forward to seeing the MANTAS system perform in European markets.”

The payload flexibility integral to MANTAS vessels reduces the complexity of deploying hydrographic systems and related equipment, paving the way for expedited delivery of turnkey marine survey systems across Europe. Further, the MANTAS system and installed technology are supported by Subsea Europe Services as a single source, ensuring any service issues can be addressed at the solution level for faster resolutions.

“The partnership with MARTAC is an important part of our efforts to bring down the cost of high-quality marine data by making the sensors, platforms and solutions that collect it at sea much easier to access and operate,” said Sören Themann, CEO, Subsea Europe Services. “MARTAC USV’s are highly regarded in defence circles due to incredible resilience, speed and flexibility, so besides working with the European Navies, we’re looking forward to bringing the USVs and our integrated solutions closer to commercial and scientific users in Europe.”