Page 38: of Marine Technology Magazine (July 2025)

TECH FEATURE SEAMOR

CUSTOM SEARCH AND RECOVERY GRIPPER

FOR UNDERWATER BODY RECOVERY earch and Recovery operations for victims of under- water fatalities are high-pressure, time-sensitive, and extremely technical. Investigating of? cers and griev-

Sing families are wholly dependent on recovery teams achieving mission success, an ever-present reality for Ser- geant Jay White who heads up the National Underwater Re- covery Training Center (NURTC).

In addition to managing recovery operations, he trains spe- cialized of? cers deployed to work in the Royal Canadian

Mounted Police’s (RCMP) six Underwater Recovery Teams ronments and threatens the preservation of the crime scene.

Early implementations of the prototype design encountered stationed in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, New

Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland. His a challenge related to the biochemistry of decomposition: as bodies are raised toward the surface, the changing pressures expertise and ? eld experience led him to initiate the develop- can cause internal gases to expand in unpredictable ways. ment of a new custom search and recovery (SAR) gripper for

For example, a body might weigh just fourteen pounds due his Chinook ROV, collaborating with SEAMOR Marine.

to buoyancy three hundred feet underwater. However, as it is recovered, the expanding gases from decomposition can cause

Not a Task for the Faint-Hearted sudden shifts or changes. Worse than the damage this twisting

The standard challenges of working in a marine environment are ever present, including high pressure at depth, strong or could in? ict on the body, which obstructs investigative efforts, variable currents, and submerged physical obstructions. Every there is a risk of losing grip entirely. Therefore, extra rein- case presents multi-faceted complications for operators, such forcements beams were added to stabilize the custom SAR gripper arm. This, in addition to the Chinook ROVs six power- as a victim’s body being trapped inside a vehicle, a seatbelt still ful thrusters, was the key to achieving a reliably stable grip. intact, or the natural processes of decomposition actively taking place within the bodies. The general challenge for the recovery teams is two-fold: ? nd a reliable gripping point to maneuver Spontaneously Adaptable

The integrity of the victim’s body is critically important for the body free and then stabilize the ascent back to the surface. investigative purposes, regardless of the complexity of the ex- traction. Any new damage or disruption can severely impact

A Custom-Fit Recovery Solution forensic analyses, especially in cases where the fatally is still

Sergeant White found that the robotic manipulators commer- cially available to him proved insuf? cient for this challenge. under investigation. Careful selection of instruments and on-

In response, he initiated a collaboration with the SEAMOR site adaptation are crucial to complete the recovery as smooth- team to develop a custom-made gripper speci? cally for the ly as possible. The design of the custom SAR gripper allows task of recovering submerged victims. Since its creation in it to be swapped with the original SEAMOR dual-gripper or cutter without needing to re-trim the ROV. This allows teams 2023, the SAR gripper has been employed in eight successful recovery missions. Now this design has been replicated and to overcome additional obstacles such as seatbelts, broken deployed to multiple Underwater Recovery Teams across the windows, or other obstructions spontaneously. And when the clock is ticking, every minute counts. country for use on their ROVs.

The Stakes are High - Your Standards Should Be Too

Expanded Grasp

The stakes of these operations really cannot be understated.

Initial strategies using SEAMOR Marine’s dual-function “When you ? nd someone then lose them, it’s a really bad day,” gripper relied on using clothing as the primary gripping point. says Sergeant White, who knows ? rst-hand that investigators

However, given the circumstances of many marine fatalities, it and families are counting on success every time. proved to be the case that often little or no clothing was acces-

The reliable, portable, and versatile design of SEAMOR Marine’s sible for these purposes. A widened grasp allowed operators

Chinook ROV allows the operators at NURTC to con? dently de- to ? nd more secure points to grip, primarily wrists and ankles.

In addition, the ? eld of view was increased by extending the ploy their unit anywhere, from Baf? n Island, to the East Coast, the neck of the manipulator so that the camera ‘eye’ of the ROV Great Lakes, or the wild coast of Canada’s western shore. could capture a clearer picture of the environment. Extending

Images above: (L): The Chinook ROV with the custom SAR gripper. Courtesy: the SAR gripper allowed ROV pilots to stay away from the

SEAMOR Marine (R): A view of the custom SAR gripper from the ROV’s per- silty bottom which, when touched, creates low visibility envi- spective. Courtesy: National Underwater Recovery Training Center (NURTC) 38 July/August 2025

MTR #5 (34-47).indd 38 MTR #5 (34-47).indd 38 7/29/2025 11:35:11 AM7/29/2025 11:35:11 AM