Underwater Inspection Drones Transform Hull Maintenance Operations

Advanced underwater ROVs are revolutionizing hull inspections as of August 2025, eliminating diver risks while achieving 300% increases in lateral inspection speed through new form factors and AI-powered navigation. DeepOcean's Autonomous Inspection Drone (AID), developed with Argus Remote Systems and Vaarst, performs programmed inspections of subsea assets using machine vision for autonomous navigation. Technical capabilities: Modern inspection drones feature DVL sensors for position locking at short distances from hulls, automated lashing verification in low visibility, and hull servoing that maintains optimal inspection distance automatically. Systems like Seasam HullScan can perform long transects autonomously with one-click operation. Safety revolution: ROV inspections eliminate decompression sickness risks for divers working below 12 meters, remove collision dangers in busy ports, and enable operations in strong currents where human divers cannot safely operate. Operational efficiency: Digital twin integration allows real-time mission planning and monitoring, while AI classifiers generate smart inspection reports automatically, transforming raw footage into actionable maintenance intelligence.
[Offshore Magazine]

This story is part of the Maritime AI Digest of 17 August 2025.

More on: Autonomous ships · Hull inspection