Salvage and Marine Operations (SMO), a branch within the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), will soon acquire a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) to conduct a range of tasks at the deep sea level.
SMO will use the system for a variety of UK Defence taskings, including wreck surveys and salvage response, a MoD spokesperson confirmed. They added that the system “will be deployed from various vessels of opportunity.”
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A contract was signed for a period of two years and nine months with Forum Energy Technologies (FET), a commercial oil company, purchasing a single ROV – specifically the XLX-C Work-class ROV – according to a UK government transparency notice issued on 9 July 2024.
The Work-class Remotely Operated Vehicle is designed and manufactured in Kirkbymoorside, Yorkshire. The new contract will sustain an existing UK work force and create job opportunities for four modern apprentices who are employed for the build of the ROV at FET.
The initial purchase of the ROV system and two years of support is a value of £10.5m ($13.7m).
“We do, however, expect to place orders with FET for additional equipment to support the ROV system through the course of the two-year contract,” added the spokesperson. An estimate found this to be in the region of £7.5m – dependent on the customers’ requirements. Therefore the expected value of the contract at the end of the two years is £18m.
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By GlobalDataHow does the ROV operate?
This ROV is a large adaptable underwater system with robotic arms of similar dexterity to human arms; it has the ability to carry out a variety of taskings at all levels of the water column as well as the seabed.
It can also be fitted with a large range of sensors and tools for specific tasks, which the supplier says can carry a 200-kilogramme payload.
The vehicle will be able to operate in deep water, connected to the surface vessel via an umbilical cable hosting power and command information. The ROV will be able to operate below the surface for a significant amount of time, in excess of five days if required.
SMO operations are varied and include salvage assistance to damaged surface vessels, location of aircraft on the sea-bottom, survey of Second World War wrecks, towage of warships and submarines, emergency response preparedness exercises and underwater engineering support to resolve defects on Navy platforms at home and overseas.
