Page 44: of Marine Technology Magazine (May/Jun 2026)

VESSELS & VEHICLES ¯ NOAA ¯ Sonardyne (L-R) Aidan Thorn, Marine Robotics Business Development Manager, at Sonardyne,

Iain Vincent, Director & General Manager, at ecoSUB Robotics, and Anders Wikmar,

Survey and Technical Director, at Njord Survey.

Credit: LCDR Michelle Levano/NOAA and can return home after six or more months unattended. Thomas Jefferson, NOAA also maps critical areas of the Great

While deployed, it collects the same surface and subsurface Lakes each year using navigation response teams. This year, data trusted by thousands of Spotter Platform users world- those teams will map Thunder Bay National Marine Sanc- wide, and sends every observation to the Spotter Dashboard tuary; western Lake Erie; Braddock Bay and Vicinity, New and API in real time. York; and Green Bay, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Spotter Scout is engineered for long-term performance in the These projects also contribute to the collaborative Lakebed harshest ocean conditions. Its ? ooded hull has no sealed air 2030 initiative to map the Great Lakes, as well as the Great volume to breach, keeping it operational in sea states 7 and 8. Lakes Restoration Initiative’s habitat mapping program.

A keel-mounted 2kWh battery provides the ballast needed to This summer, the Thomas Jefferson will augment operations self-right in extreme conditions and, paired with a 340w solar with a DriX, an uncrewed surface vehicle near Oswego, New array, ensures continuous operation. Spotter Scout supports York to accelerate mapping efforts. The DriX is equipped with cellular, Iridium, and Starlink connectivity, enabling reliable high-resolution multibeam sonar, used to map the sea? oor and communication from nearshore to the open ocean. If a proj- detect objects in the water column or along the sea? oor. The ect’s needs change, an operator can reposition it with a simple DriX is operated using “supervised autonomy,” meaning that browser-based command sent via desktop or mobile. a NOAA pilot is always monitoring the system and ready to take control if needed. The system is capable of operating for ¯ NOAA Ship Thomas Jefferson Returns to the Great upwards of four days at a time before returning to shore for

Lakes to Map the Region routine checks and refueling

For the ? rst time since 2022, the NOAA Ship Thomas Jeffer- son is underway in the Great Lakes. The vessel and its crew of ¯ Sonardyne Navigation Selected by Njord Survey for

NOAA Corps of? cers and professional mariners are working ecoSUB AUVs with NOAA scientists to map the waters of western and cen- Swedish innovator Njord Survey has chosen Sonardyne navi- tral Lake Erie and eastern Lake Ontario this year to improve gation technology for its ecoSUB Robotics autonomous under- navigation safety. Survey work will also occur within Lake water vehicles (AUVs) to transform subsea survey operations.

Ontario National Marine Sanctuary to identify critical habitats Using Sonardyne’s smallest navigator, SPRINT-Nav U, on located within the area. ecoSUB’s low-logistics AUVs, Njord Survey is targeting at-

Western Lake Erie, one of the shallowest areas within the scale survey operations, starting with UXO surveys.

Great Lakes marine transportation system, is highly traf? cked Underpinned by accurate navigation, deployment at scale by commercial and recreational vessels and has not been sur- will enable parallel operations, reducing vessel dependency, veyed since the 1940s. NOAA’s nautical navigation products logistics, cost and time for these types of survey. and services from sea? oor mapping surveys are critical for Combining detection and veri? cation and allowing re-task- a safe, and secure ocean economy. These tools reduce colli- ing, with the same easily transportable platforms, also means sions, identify dangers to navigation, and facilitate more ef- surveys can be delivered faster and more ? exibly, without ? cient and successful ? shing operations. compromising data quality.

The Great Lakes are the least mapped region of the U.S., Njord Survey plans to put its ecoSUB straight into operation making this work even more important for mariners in the on client projects to demonstrate bene? ts from day one as it region. In addition to operations on larger vessels like the proves and evolves its survey offering. 44 May/June 2026

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