ROV Service

Since January 2023 EMSA has been offering a Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) service to EU Member States. The main purpose of the service is to provide underwater surveys through observation-class ROVs to the EU-EEA Accident Investigative Bodies and to the other national authorities in the context of Coast Guard functions, for instance marine safety and counter-pollution.

The EMSA ROV service is available within the EU, EFTA territorial waters and beyond, up on request by EU Member States and EFTA Member States under the next technical boundaries:

• Service is composed by a fleet of Observation Class ROVs
• In principle, the service is offered for interventions at a maximum depth of 150 m. Nevertheless, operations in deeper water would have to be evaluated case by case

Sonar Service

The sonar survey is a complementary service supporting the ROV interventions. It intends to collect data to detect wrecks or other objects laying on the sea bottom.  Depending on the mission’s characteristics and environmental constraints, the service can be performed either through a Multibeam Echosounder (MBES) designed to gather bathymetric survey and mapping or a Side Scan Sonar (SSS), which is used to inspect the sea bottom.