Saildrone, in partnership with Meta, completed a 26-day uncrewed deep-water cable route survey in the North Atlantic using the Saildrone Surveyor, a 65.6’ uncrewed surface vehicle (USV). The mission, conducted in June and July 2024, focused on collecting bathymetric data for subsea cable planning and comparison with traditional crewed survey vessels.
The Saildrone Surveyor mapped over 2,796 miles of seabed, Saildrone said in a statement. Equipped with a Kongsberg EM304 MKII multibeam sonar system, the USV operated in sail and motor-sail modes and achieved swath coverage of up to 6.2 miles in water depths up to 18,045’.
The survey included the established Anjana cable route and the recently surveyed Aurora route. Performance was evaluated based on route fidelity, line keeping, data transmission, and depth accuracy, Saildrone said.
“This mission demonstrated that autonomous ocean mapping is not just possible—it’s here, and it’s incredibly effective,” said Andy Palmer-Felgate, subsea cable engineer at Meta. “Saildrone delivered data that matched legacy surveys with exceptional accuracy, all while operating remotely and with minimal environmental impact.”
Using the Saildrone Mission Portal and high-bandwidth satellite communications, Saildrone hydrographic surveyors and pilots remotely monitored the USV’s performance. Saildrone said the Surveyor was dynamically re-tasked in real time to investigate underwater features including seamounts and canyons, an operational capability typically limited to crewed vessels.
Surveyors and cable route engineers operated from shore-based locations, eliminating offshore deployment requirements. According to Saildrone, the uncrewed mission avoided an estimated 243 metric tons of CO₂ emissions which they claim is more than 50 times less than a traditional survey vessel.
The company stated future USV operations will focus on expanding range, improving weather resilience, and integrating additional tools such as AI-assisted navigation and expendable bathythermographs. Saildrone noted that potential applications include subsea telecommunications, offshore energy development, and national hydrographic mapping programs.
