CGI impression of ‘Oceanus’ - the world’s first long-range autonomous research vessel

9 April 2024

Oceanus - which will span a remarkable 24 metres - is designed to be a fully-uncrewed, self-righting, autonomous vessel; capable of carrying an array of monitoring sensors to collect data for research into critical areas such as climate change, biodiversity, fisheries and biogeochemistry.   

The vessel is set to usher in a new era for net zero oceanography and advanced international marine research. It will be able to reach remote areas of the ocean that are difficult or impossible to sample through traditional research vessels, whether due to remote locations or due to extreme weather conditions.  

VIDEO: CGI impression of the ‘Oceanus’

We’d like to thank MSubs for commissioning this video. M Subs Ltd is a company that specialises in the design, manufacture and operation of manned and unmanned vehicles for military and commercial markets, and are designing the Oceanus. 
 

Did you know? Humans have only explored 5% of the global ocean

Our Chief Executive Professor Icarus Allen said: 

“A statistic I find quite shocking is that, to date, humans have explored less than 5% of the world’s oceans.  And yet, the ocean does so much for us. It’s absorbed at least 25% of carbon emissions that we have have emitted. It also absorbs over 90% of the excess heat resulting from greenhouse gases... and, most importantly we humans, get between 50% and 80% of the oxygen we breathe from the ocean.  

It is vital now, more than ever, to improve our understanding of the ocean and the changes taking place within it - the ocean is facing huge challenges and it’s vital we have as much evidence as possible to support decisions on how to protect and manage it sustainably.” 

You can help build Oceanus... 

Oceanus has been initially supported by seed funding from the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC). However, we are currently exploring opportunities for further support and funding in order to progress to the build phase, which would take around two years to complete. 

If you are interested in supporting the build phase of Oceanus, please leave your details with Fundraising Officer James Lord, who will gladly get in touch.  

Email: jal@pml.ac.uk   

Related information

We have partnered with MSubs and ProMare to build the Oceanus - both organisations have extensive experience in marine autonomous technology and developed and built the Mayflower 400 Autonomous Ship. We have also partnered with Marine AI Ltd, a software engineering firm specialising in edge-based sensor-driven cognitive artificial intelligence to deliver safety-critical marine autonomy, who will support with the autonomous control system.