Kraken to form subsea services JV

Canada’s Kraken Robotics, through wholly owned subsidiary Kraken Robotic Systems, is set to establish a joint venture with an unnamed company owned by Kraken Board member Larry Puddister for the provision of subsea services.

The joint venture will be called Ocean Discovery and will operate in Atlantic Canada. It is expected that a definitive agreement covering the establishment and operation of the joint venture will be finalised in the fourth quarter of 2019.

As part of the planned venture, Mr Puddister’s company recently purchased the former Royal Canadian Mounted Police marine patrol vessel Murray, which has since been renamed Ocean Seeker.

Under the joint venture, it is anticipated that the vessel will be retrofitted and equipped with a wide variety of sensors and systems for ultra-high definition imaging, mapping, and inspection of the seabed and other subsea assets. The systems will a Kraken towed vehicle equipped with synthetic aperture sonar.