Terradepth successfully completed an IHO S-44 Special Order survey with an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). This achievement meets one of the most stringent international standards for hydrographic accuracy. Using advanced AUV technology, Terradepth demonstrated that high-specification surveys no longer require costly, high-footprint operations.
The survey took place in approximately 80 meters of water, 60 miles offshore in the Gulf of Mexico, a region affected by hurricanes and subsea infrastructure development. Despite the absence of local tide stations or buoys, European Remote Sensing (ERS) satellite radar was used to correct for tidal variations, demonstrating a fully autonomous and low-logistics survey approach.
The IHO S-44 Special Order standard relates to areas where underkeel clearance is critical. Therefore, 100% feature search and 100% bathymetric coverage are required, and the size of the features to be detected by this search is more demanding than lower IHO orders.
