Jan De Nul has placed a newly acquired unmanned surface vehicle (USV) in operational service in Dubai, where it will conduct surveys in support of dredging and coastal development projects.
Vaquita 04 belongs to the same series as Vaquita 01, which was delivered to Jan De Nul by Norwegian unmanned systems company Maritime Robotics in 2023.
Equipped with a multibeam echosounder and a winch sound velocity profiler, the two-metre Vaquita 04 can collect bathymetric data for various applications, including dredging, land reclamation, beach profiling and sand placement.
The data will be used for analysing the bathymetric situation before, during and after the works, enabling more accurate planning and execution while minimising environmental impact.
The USV has a displacement of 55 kilograms and a draught of only 0.3 metre, enabling it to operate safely in narrow channels with bridges and other low-hanging structures.
A catamaran design provides enhanced stability. Other sensor options include acoustic Doppler current profilers, CTD sensors, fluorometers, and hyper spectral imagers depending on operational requirements.