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sel is also chartered and primarily does IMR-based work. into how we use our feet in the Gulf of America. And

What makes the company’s feet unique is that regard- that's an ongoing discussion.

less of the vessel, all boats are equipped with its own ROVs and survey services. This holistic approach, Vela said, al-

Plotting a Course lows the company to collaborate and coordinate internally.

For Vela, the near-term future holds exciting potential “On a day-to-day basis, we evaluate the needs of projects for Oceaneering. “In the next three to fve years, we’re try- coming in and look at the vessel best available to suit that,” ing to really understand what our feet needs to look at. he added. “We try to match the vessel to the scope the best What does it look like? How many autonomous vehicles we can, and if we don't have it available then we’re able to are included in that?” move things around and shift work from vessel to vessel.”

Crewing is one factor that requires the right balance. “We’re looking at how we can reduce our crew sizes off-

One-stop shop shore. Not that we want to reduce people, but we see areas

A recent project, although non-traditional, showcased where we can move into remote operations.”

Oceaneering’s service capabilities from start to fnish. The It’s just one element under consideration. “So, on top customer, a pipeline company in the Gulf of America, want- of our day-to-day operations, we’re looking at a lot in the ed to change their production lines subsea, as opposed to background. There’s a lot of things going on, a lot of mov- shutting down processes before starting the work. Oceaneer- ing parts and challenges, but we have great people here ing’s engineering team was able to build complex skids with that want to be challenged. They want these new and ex- isolation valves that would allow for operations to continue. citing opportunities to think about and plan for and prob- “They built the system, tested it and then we received the lem solve with.” system and went offshore to do the installation,” said Vela. “It allowed us to bring the full weight of what Oceaneering can do to the table, from creating the engineered product, to building it, testing it, delivering it and installing it.”

He added, “We’re looking forward to doing more of that with this customer. They’ve got several more of these proj- ects coming up and we’re well positioned to help.”

Ship Shape

In a turbulent global business environment, with rapidly growing trends like marine autonomy and the use of artif- cial intelligence (AI), Oceaneering is embracing adaptabil- ity to best serve its customers. “There are a lot of external impacts that affect our business and are the biggest driv- ers,” said Vela. “A lot of that has to do with the market and where and how our customers are spending their money.

That’s a key point for us to understand to help us react or be proactive to those trends. When we think about AI on the vessels, there's some opportunity there, but I think the biggest part is how we can use it to help us work more effciently.” He noted that tracking and planning can be streamlined using AI.

Regarding autonomy, Oceaneering’s feet already fea- tures autonomous processes, such as dynamic positioning systems, subsea survey equipment, ROV systems and the cranes. “We also have a group whose sole focus is looking at autonomous vessels. We collaborate with them on what we use the vessels for and how can we integrate autonomy

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 23