USV Maxlimer

USV Maxlimer is a semi-autonomous unmanned surface vehicle operated by the British company Sea-Kit.[1] She was the winning entry in the Ocean Discovery X Prize competition, and subsequently has been used as a proof-of-concept vessel for underwater mapping.

History

Maxlimer was constructed in Maldon, Essex, for the GEBCO-NF Alumni Team, an international group that competed in the Ocean Discovery X Prize.[2] During the competition, which took place in late 2018,[2] Maxlimer deployed a HUGIN autonomous underwater vehicle to map 278 square kilometres (107 sq mi) of seafloor in the Mediterranean Sea off the Greek city of Kalamata in 24 hours, an accomplishment that made GEBCO-NF the winning team.[3]

In May 2019, Maxlimer made a demonstration crossing of the North Sea between West Mersea, England and Oostende, Belgium.[4] On the outbound trip to Belgium, she carried a cargo of 5 kilograms (11 lb) of oysters, and on the return a case of beer.[4] Though largely ceremonial, as the voyages were for the purposes of demonstration, Sea-Kit said that they were the first ever commercial autonomous crossings of the North Sea.[4] In July, Maxlimer again deployed a HUGIN robot, this time in commercial service for inspecting offshore underwater pipelines in the North Sea, an operation that was the first time inspection equipment had been remotely controlled past line of sight.[5]

Sea-Kit intended to send Maxlimer on a transatlantic crossing in early 2020, which would have been the first unmanned crossing,[6] but as a result of restrictions imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the voyage was canceled.[1] Instead, in July, Maxlimer sailed from Plymouth on a 22-day mission to map about 1,000 square kilometres (390 sq mi) of previously uncharted seafloor 460 kilometres (290 mi) southwest of England.[7]

Design

Maxlimer is 11.75 metres (38.5 ft) long and 2.2 metres (7.2 ft) wide.[4] She is has a diesel-electric propulsion system, which gives her a top speed of 4 knots (7.4 km/h) and a range of 22,000 kilometres (14,000 mi).[4] Although her speed is low, Sea-Kit claims that Maxlimer uses only 5% as much fuel as a comparable crewed vessel as a result of weight savings and efficiencies in the propulsion system.[8] Maxlimer can operate autonomously, depending on conditions, or under remote control from a shore-based command facility.[6]

References
  1. "22 day unmanned Atlantic mission accomplished". Maritime Journal. 19 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. "Ocean mappers line up for XPRIZE final". BBC News Online. 7 March 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  3. "GEBCO-NF Alumni robots win ocean-mapping XPRIZE". BBC News Online. 31 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  4. "Autonomous boat makes oyster run". BBC News Online. 9 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  5. "Swire Seabed Wraps Up Equinor Unmanned Pipeline Inspection". Offshore Energy. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  6. "SEA-KIT Gears Up for First Ever USV Transatlantic Crossing". The Maritime Executive. 17 August 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  7. "Robot boat completes three-week Atlantic mission". BBC News Online. 15 August 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  8. "12-metre ship aims to be first to cross Atlantic without a crew". Reuters. 21 May 2019. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.