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Uncrewed Survey Solutions (USS) has received Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) acknowledgement against Marine Guidance Notice (MGN) 705 general exemption for remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) safe operations.
USS received official acknowledgement that its Accession Class USV (uncrewed surface vessel) can be operated to support users in UK waters, after the MCA released MGN 705 for Mini-MASS craft.
ROUVs between 2.5 meters and under 4.5 meters in length overall may comply with the general exemption set out in MGN 705, permitting eligible vessels to operate without certification issued by the MCA or its delegates.
Vessels subject to this general exemption are expected to be under the constant supervision of a human operator, with the means to take control at any time.
USS delivers customized marine data collection projects and missions primarily across the hydrographic and geophysical domains. Utilizing MGN 705, the company can now conduct its specialist hydrographic surveying work within UK waters.
Operating under the general exemption allows USS to further assist users in their transition from traditional crewed surveying operations to using compact, uncrewed craft. These can provide turnkey, 24/7 hydrographic surveying and marine data acquisition solutions for both line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) over-the-horizon projects.
USS’ CEO, James Williams, commented, “As a pioneering business, we are delighted that USS is at the forefront of supporting the UK as a leader in upholding ROUV safe operations. The MCA’s new general exemption regulations enable smaller uncrewed vessels to be remotely operated in UK waters, in line and hand-in-hand with other stringent regulations including SOLAS and COLREGS.
“Being one of the first to embrace the new Marine Guidance Note mirrors USS’ ethos in focusing on greener, safer, and efficient seagoing operations, together with helping to drive MASS industry innovation, and also supporting the success of UK PLC.”
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