Uni-Pact USV Empowers FMS Next-Gen Survey Work

Unique Group, one of the world’s leading integrated subsea and offshore solutions provider, has successfully supported First Marine Solutions’ (FMS) Survey and Positioning Business line, and their end client Well-Safe Solutions, in completing a cutting-edge, carbon-conscious debris survey in the Port of Cromarty Firth, Scotland, using Unique’s proprietary unmanned survey vessel (USV), Uni-Pact.

The Uni-Pact, a part of Unique Group’s growing fleet of USVs, is available in the survey rental collective, and has a successful track record covering thousands of line kilometers of survey data. Additionally, Unique Group’s reputation as a trusted provider of technologically advanced survey and inspection equipment also presented FMS with meaningful confidence in proposing and executing an efficient and innovative deliverable for Well-Safe Solutions.

Uni-Pact’s innovative design reduced the process complexity, offering a lightweight and easy to deploy solution. Delivered to the project location at Saltburn Pier fully mobilized and calibrated, the vessel was deployed in under an hour, completing the full scope of work in less than 90 minutes.

Unique Group’s Uni-Pact performing autonomous survey at the Port of Cromarty Firth, Scotland

Uni-Pact’s control interface enabled the surveyor to work remotely from Copenhagen, Denmark, with onsite support at Cromarty including the launch and recovery implementation, as well as communication coordination and safeguarding visual oversight of operations provided by FMS’s Survey Engineer and Unique Group’s USV Pilot/Engineer.

Carl Lafferty, Survey and Positioning Manager at First Marine Solutions, noted: “FMS has a clear determination to operate world leading technology to reduce overall cost for our clients, whilst lowering the HSE and environmental impact and producing paper free, modern survey data deliverables. We are delighted to have partnered with Unique Group in delivery of this debris survey project, with Uni-Pact allowing us to complete the campaign in an efficient and environmentally friendly manner.”

David Rennie, ASV Global Technical Manager at Unique Group, commented: “FMS and Unique Group are extremely pleased with the survey data results and Uni-Pact’s performance in this project. With a varied range of unmanned vessels in our rental asset pool, the extent of operations we can perform to increase productivity, efficiency and safety in operations is maturing. We would like to thank the FMS team for their trust and we look forward to a productive relationship going forward, as FMS continues to enhance its survey offering.”