Beluga 01: First unmanned seagoing survey vessel registered in Luxembourg by Jan De Nul Group on 17.06.2022

Jan De Nul Group is the first dredging contractor to deploy a seagoing unmanned survey vessel in marine and offshore conditions

Jan De Nul Group has ordered Maritime Robotic's well-proven and hybrid Mariner Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) as the first step towards unmanned and autonomous offshore survey operations. Named Beluga 01, this vessel is sailing under the Luxembourg flag and will be deployed for worldwide hydrographical and environmental surveys on marine and offshore construction projects.

Jan De Nul is herewith the first dredging contractor to deploy an unmanned survey vehicle in marine and offshore conditions.

The unmanned and hybrid Beluga 01 improves safety during operations and reduces carbon emissions.

Maritime Robotics’ well-engineered high-quality Mariner Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) offers a low-risk platform for data acquisition at sea as an alternative or adjunct to larger manned vessels.

Main Characteristic of the Beluga 01 (Mariner-class USV)

• Fully redundant hybrid propulsion system
• Autonomy up to 50 hours
• Redundant communication setup with a range up to 30 km
• All navigation aids available (VHF, AIS, Radar)
• Fitted with a special designed Launch and Recovery System
• Fits in a container for easy transport
• The Beluga 01 is capable of operating in up to sea state five (although this usually precludes gathering any useful survey data) and the vessel can survive in up to sea state seven
• The Beluga 01 only needs 80 cm of water to operate in