International Submarine Engineering Ltd (ISE) has announced the signing of a Contract to Build a 5000 Meter Depth Explorer class Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) for the University of Tasmania (UTAS) and the Australian Research Council (ARC) Antarctic Gateway Partnership project.
This Explorer will be ISE’s fourth under-ice capable AUV that builds on the success of Theseus and the two Arctic Explorer vehicles owned and operated by Natural Resources Canada. it is destined for the Australian Maritime College, a specialist institute of UTAS, and will be used by the Antarctic Gateway Partnership (AGP), an Australian Government funded initiative to build further polar research capability in Tasmania.
AGP Theme 4 (Marine Technology and Polar Environments) Leader and AMC Principal, Professor Neil Bose, said this Explorer will be utilized by a talented group of scientists and operators taking the under-ice capable vehicle into unexplored environments. Explorer’s variable ballast system will facilitate unique science operations such as sediment and ice sampling. This will be a novel use for Explorer’s variable ballast system which has been utilized previously on Explorer and Theseus AUVs to facilitate parking and cable laying. For more information, visit www.ise.bc.ca.