Four underwater vehicles feature on the Saab Seaeye stand (D16) at Seawork 2012, including the new double-hulled Sabertooth AUV/ROV, which offers twice the operational duration of last year’s single-hulled Sabertooth.

It can have a range of over 40 miles, has 14 hours’ duration and can be depth rated to 3000 metres. The unique Sabertooth concept combines the technologies of both AUV and ROV into a single, unified resource with the range and manoeuvrability of an AUV and the tooling capability of a light-work ROV.

Three operational modes are possible: autonomous roaming; attached fibre-optic cable and umbilical for power and communications. In places where access is seasonally restricted, it can remain underwater for a year at an isolated location ready to be deployed as needed. Tooling packs can be stored at its docking station; batteries can be re-charged, data and video downloaded and fresh instructions uploaded.

Subsea World News Staff, May 23, 2012; Image: Saab Seaeye