Leading Survey Providers Choose HUGIN AUV

Leading survey providers DOF Subsea, Fugro Geoservices, Northwest Maritime and AXA Engehnaria Submarina have chosen Kongsberg Maritime’s autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) HUGIN for offshore operations.

According to Geir Espen Schmidt, Vice President AUV in Kongsberg Maritime, the HUGIN orders come from both new and repeat customers for offshore operations. Schmidt said, “We see an increase in the demand for autonomous underwater vehicles with flexible advanced survey capabilities tailored to specific needs, for instance autonomous pipeline inspection which is a growing market. In addition portability of the modular system, high reliability and high performance is something we can deliver that is highly valued by our customers.”

In October 2014, Kongsberg Maritime will deliver a new HUGIN vehicle to Fugro Geoservices Inc. of Lafayette, Louisiana, U.S. The latest HUGIN ordered by Fugro is rated for operations from 10 to 4,500 meters and carries a very high specification payload suite that enables it to perform advanced survey operations and inspections. Designed for portability and operation from ships of opportunity, the sophisticated AUV is supplied in a series of packing cases and configured for easy assembly after arriving in the area of operation.

DOF Subsea AS of Bergen Norway has also recently ordered another HUGIN AUV System that will add to the company's growing subsea survey capability. The newest addition is rated to 3,000 meters and carries a range of sensors making it capable of completing several tasks in parallel. The launch and onboard Stinger is designed to operate from ships with freeboards of up to 5 meters in up to Sea State 5, making it highly flexible to use.

“DOF Subsea’s newest HUGIN addition is very flexible. This gives the company several areas of usage, including geophysical surveys, inspection of subsea facilities and environmental inspections. Another important usage area is quick inspection of pipelines. We have developed the capacity to inspect pipelines both alongside the pipe and on top of the pipe using sidescan sonar, multibeam sonar and a high resolution camera. HUGIN can also use environmental sensors to sniff for methane and oil leakage in water. The unique software that enables HUGIN to follow as close as three meters directly above the pipeline is a result of several years of development,” Schmidt said.

Northwest Maritime AS of Norway, and AXA Engehnaria Submarina of Brazil have recently taken delivery of the first of two HUGIN AUV systems specifically configured for pipe survey operations. Supplied as a containerized system, the first vehicle is tailored for survey operations, including launch and onboarding system and post-mission analysis of collected software. The vehicle is fitted with one of the world’s most advanced sonars that provide acoustic pictures and sea maps with high resolution, and a still camera providing georeferenced high resolution pictures of subsea pipes. The second HUGIN will be delivered to Northwest Maritime and AXA later in 2014, equipped with a similar payload suite and rated to 3,000 meters.

Kongsberg Maritime claims that in total HUGINs have completed more than 700,000 line kilometers of commercial survey across the globe. The vehicles come in several depth ratings and endurance options. They can be supplied with a variety of payload sensors including modular packages that can be added or removed for specific missions.

The HUGIN AUV project began in the early 1990s with the first commercial work completed in 1997. HUGIN AUVs are in operation with commercial survey companies, navies and hydrographic agencies. Development and production of HUGIN is conducted in Kongsberg Martime’s Subsea division in Horten, Norway.