Fugro wraps up first uncrewed geophysical route survey in Middle East

In response to increasing demand for remote offshore services, Fugro has completed the first fully autonomous geophysical shallow-water route survey to be conducted in the Middle East.

Controlled from the company’s remote operations centre in Abu Dhabi, an unmanned surface vessel (USV) captured a full range of geophysical data across a survey area some 40 kilometres out from the coast of Abu Dhabi to support a critical project for an unnamed client.

The results of the fully autonomous geophysical shallow-water route survey comprised conductivity, temperature, depth, and salinity (CTDS) profiles, bathymetry data, seabed imaging, sub-bottom profiles, and ferrous object detection such as pipes.

Fugro claims the USV also has a much lower carbon footprint compared to regular survey vessels.