Kongsberg Maritime Ltd to Grow Rental Service with Munin AUV

Kongsberg Maritime Ltd, the UK division of Kongsberg Maritime, has announced the expansion of its extensive subsea Aberdeen-based rental pool, with the addition of its sophisticated new MUNIN AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle).

MUNIN is designed to collect high resolution payload data, geo-referenced by a survey grade positioning system. Capable of providing the same high-level performance and survey accuracy as the established KONGSBERG AUV range, MUNIN is a compact vehicle which enables effortless launch and recovery, as well as the possibility of using smaller launch vessels.

The AUV will be available from May 2016, and the announcement comes as Kongsberg Maritime is to exhibit at Oceanology International in London on March 15, 16 and 17.

In order to enhance the existing portfolio of Kongsberg Maritime's rental equipment, which supports customers within the offshore oil and gas, environmental and renewable energy markets, a marine robotics lab was specifically created at the Aberdeen base. The marine robotics lab will also support customers of KONGSBERG's Seaglider, providing routine maintenance, vehicle overhauls and spare parts. This means customers no longer have to ship the Seaglider vehicles to the United States for service, saving significant time, effort and money.

Keith Thomson, rental manager, Kongsberg Maritime Ltd, said: “The addition of MUNIN to our comprehensive inventory of rental products underlines KONGSBERG's commitment to supporting our customer base, giving them the opportunity to utilize our latest cutting edge technologies without having to procure assets at the outset and finance any capital expenditure.

“Underwater robotics is an evolving technology which offers significant advantages over traditional methods, not only do they offer customers low utilization costs, high reliability and easy deployment, they also produce clean, quality data requiring little to no user processing.”

The rental service offers a vast range of other KONGSBERG products including portable hydro acoustic positioning systems and associated subsea transponders, shallow to medium water depth seabed mapping systems, vessel reference systems and sensors.