USVs push further offshore

Image: Reach Remote 1 enters the port of Aberdeen (image: Source Reach Subsea).

The unmanned surface vessel (USV) Reach Remote 1⁽¹⁾ made offshore history on 16 June 2026 when it arrived at the Port of Aberdeen.

It was a world-first for a Norwegian-flagged USV, remotely operated from Norway, to sail into a UK port after completing a commercial project in the UK sector.

Reach Subsea is one of the companies that has moved robotic offshore operations from concept to commercial reality, with six years of development culminating in remotely operated offshore projects across the North Sea, UK, and Australia.

The 24m Kongsberg USV Reach Remote 1 has 30-day operational endurance and operates at IMO Degree 3 autonomy (uncrewed, remote operation centre-controlled) to perform subsea inspection, survey, seabed mapping, and light repair in the offshore energy sector.

The vessel can perform bathymetric and sub-bottom surveys to a depth of 500m. Its work class ROV can, additionally, provide high resolution geophysical inspections including pipeline surveys.

For Reach Subsea, one of the most significant outcomes has been substantially improved fuel efficiency. Over a 12-month period in the North Sea, Reach Remote 1 consumed