The Mariner USV, which stands for an unmanned surface vehicle, was produced by Maritime Robotics, a company revolutionizing the ocean space with innovative uncrewed solutions. It was handed over to Aker BioMarine earlier this month.
The six-meter-long, unmanned vehicle is equipped with a range of sensor integrations and will be used both in the search for krill and to gather data for research and population mapping. By the end of the year, the drone will be stationed at the fishing field in Antarctica.
“This is a big day for us as we have worked for a long time to put such a solution in place. The USV will undoubtedly give a boost to the fishing industry. And with the help of big data, it will make it easier to secure and stabilize the availability of our raw materials. It will simply help make fishing ‘smarter’. The USV will also assist our vessels to navigate more efficiently, which will reduce our CO2 footprint,” said Matts Johansen, CEO of Aker BioMarine.
This is the first time this type of USV has been used in a Norwegian fishery. it was built to withstand the extreme conditions in Antarctica, with both harsh climates and long distances to travel.
The new drone will be part of the company's data-driven search for krill. Simply explained, information such as weather data and satellite images provide the crew aboard the fishing boats with indications of where there might be krill. Based on this, the USV is sent out to confirm that there is krill at the site.
“If the USV confirms that there is in fact krill at the site, we will send fishing boats out. This allows us to save time searching for krill with the fishing boat and most importantly, it helps us avoid unnecessary emissions from large fishing boats,” said Frank Grebstad, SVP Vessels Operations.
The drone is a continuation of the work the company has put in over the last few years to optimize its fishing operations. Among other things, Aker BioMarine has slowly tested the concept of using the fleet's sensors to reduce search days.
