Marine survey and exploration specialist Ocean Infinity has selected Fincantieri subsidiary Vard to design and build four new optionally crewed vessels.
The value of the contract for the four "multi-purpose robotic vessels" (MPVs) exceeds €200 million (US$230 million). Two vessels will be delivered from Vard’s Norwegian shipyards in the first and second quarters of 2028, while the other two will be built at Vard Vung Tau in Vietnam, with delivery scheduled for Q3 and Q4 2028.
The contract also includes a comprehensive scope of supply from Vard Electro, which will deliver the full suite of systems for remote operations, and from Vard Interiors, responsible for the complete interior solutions.
Seaonics will provide the MPVs' launch and recovery systems, which will enable advanced handling of remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) as well as geotechnical units.
Vard had earlier supplied two different classes of optionally crewed vessels to Ocean Infinity. These include 78-metre and 86-metre variants, all of which are being used as launch, recovery and support platforms for smaller unmanned craft such as autonomous underwater vehicles and ROVs.
The vessels have been designed to be controlled remotely via satellite with the aid of Ocean Infinity's own operations centres in Austin, Texas, and Southampton, UK.