Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research orders advanced ROV from Norway

Norway’s technology firm Kystdesign has signed a contract with the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) for the construction of an advanced remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that will serve the Dutch marine research community.

According to Kystdesign, the Supporter 6000 ROV is designed for ultra-deepwater operations, capable of reaching depths of up to 6,000 meters, and is equipped with six high-resolution cameras and 41 electrical connectors for interfacing external equipment such as tooling, survey sensors, and cameras.

“We currently don’t have anything like it available for the Dutch scientific community,” said Gert-Jan Reichart, Head of the NIOZ Ocean Systems department. “The robot is equipped to take over the work of humans at great water depths. With its six high-resolution cameras and strong gripping arms, it forms our eyes and arms underwater. One of them can rotate along seven different axes. That’s more than a human arm can move.”

Set for delivery in June 2026, the ROV accommodates 24 hydraulic functions, all proportionally controlled, and its control system is prepared for a variety of auto functions like AutoPOS and AutoTRACK capabilities, in addition to over-the-horizon control from a remote operation center (ROC) onshore.

The vehicle will be three meters long and will weigh 4.5 tonnes.

“The ROV offers us researchers helping hands on the ocean floor. It can blow away sediment to improve visibility, it has a vacuum tube to suck up small sea creatures, it can make 3D scans, it has Multi Beam instruments for mapping the sea bed, and it will be able to not only take the temperature of deep-sea hydrothermal vents, but also take samples to determine which metals are present,” said Reichart.

The ROV will be positioned aboard the research vessel Anna Weber-van Bosse, the future flagship of the Dutch research fleet.