Comprehensive AUV fleet expansion

Sep 20, 2023 | News

Argeo confirms Letter of Intent for an agreement for the purchase of two Hugin Superior AUVs and one Hugin 6000 AUV. “Following this expansion, Argeo will have the most advanced AUV fleet worldwide”, says Argeo’s CEO, Trond Crantz.

Amplifying operational capacity and enabling superior productivity

The first Hugin Superior is scheduled for delivery early Q4 2023, and the second Hugin Superior in Q1 2024. The full scope delivery will be finalized with the Hugin 6000 in Q1 2025. Argeo’s AUV fleet will thus consist of a total of 7 units by 2025, amplifying the company’s operational capacity, and enabling superior productivity. This puts Argeo in a unique position within both the marine minerals, oil and gas and the renewables segment, increasing efficiency and productivity substantially.

“The introduction of these highly advanced AUVs from Kongsberg, with Argeo’s advanced sensors systems integrated is a strategic move that propels us ahead of the competition. With this purchase, Argeo will be the leading commercial player with the Hugin Superior’s in its fleet and these additions are significantly enhancing our operational capacity and reaffirming our industry leadership”, says Trond Crantz.

Fully financed

The purchase is fully financed through a lease agreement with and international financing partner and has a lease term of 4 years. The total financing deal size is USD 25m and is subject to Argeo Board approval and final signing.

Superior technology

The Hugin Superior brings unique capability and productivity through its increased coverage and long-range sensors. The Kongsberg HISAS 1032 Dual Rx synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) doubles the area coverage from 500m of previous systems up to 1000m range for the Superior, in the same high-resolution imagery and bathymetry data products. This allows one of our new Superiors to acquire a total of 4.5 km2 per hour of operation, that is a total of 108 km2 per 24 hrs. The Superior has a larger energy bank installed providing a total of 80 hours continuous production (dive time) and a total of 360 km2 high resolution data acquisition per dive.

Both the Hugin Superior and the Hugin 6000 will be equipped with Argeo’s state-of-the-art sensor systems including our patented electromagnetic systems, Argeo LISTEN and Argeo WHISPER.

“What truly differentiates the Hugin Superior is the exceptional sensor payload, which has been meticulously designed to capture and interpret the ocean space like never before, combined with our own patented electromagnetic sensor systems”, says Crantz.

At a routine survey speed of 3.5 to 3.8 knots it can detect objects the size of an average mobile telephone over an area of up to 1000 metres (beam-to-beam). The imagery is processed in near real-time on board the AUV and can be analysed by on-board advanced target recognition algorithms to detect and classify objects against a library of known targets.

The Hugin Superior system comprises the following commercial payloads:

Synthetic Aperture Sonar HISAS 1032 Dual-Rx
Multibeam: EM2040 MKII
Sub-Bottom Profiler: EdgeTech
Electro Magnetics: Argeo LISTEN
Electro Magnetics: Argeo WHISPER
CTD sensor
Digital still image color camera
Laser profiler
Magnetometer and turbidity sensor
Acoustic Doppler Current Profiling (ADCPJ
Methane (CH4) sensor

The Hugin 6000 system comprises the following commercial payloads:

Synthetic Aperture Sonar: HISAS 1032
Multibeam: EM2040
Sub-Bottom Profiler: EdgeTech DW-216 (2-16 KHz)
Colour camera: CathX Hunter UHD + LED panels
Laser: CathX Dual Mode Laser profiling
Environmental sensors: WetLabs FLNTU Turbidity

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