GEO: Why accurate subsea navigation was vital for an ROV assisting with deep ocean research

By Eric Van Rees – 7th March 2021

Pelagic Research Services, based in Cape Cod, has been carving out a niche in the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) market with its versatile Odysseus vehicle, which can carry out a wide variety of duties despite its small footprint.

The ROV is capable of providing real-time HD imagery, lifting loads of up to 4000 lb (1814 kg – in-air weight) and using seven-function manipulators to carry out precise work in water depths down to 6000 m.

The ROV has proved to be a flexible tool for University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), which installs infrastructure in the waters around Canada’s coasts to deliver data in real time for scientific research to help government and industry decision-making on future projects.

As part of ONC’s “Wiring the Abyss” program, Odysseus has carried out several assignments. Operating in one of the most hostile underwater environments on the planet, the ROV has enabled ONS to monitor and install infrastructure in an area of hydrothermal vents some 200–300 km offshore Vancouver Island at depths of greater than 2200 m.

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