Kongsberg to Supply Subsea AUV Docking System for New Inkfish Research Vessel

Kongsberg Maritime has secured a contract to supply an autonomous underwater vehicle hangar and subsea docking system for a new large research vessel being built by VARD for Inkfish. The system is intended to support HUGIN AUV operations through a protected moonpool arrangement, with equipment delivery planned toward the end of 2027.

A purpose-built AUV hangar

The package centres on a dedicated hangar that manages the movement, storage and launch preparation of autonomous underwater vehicles inside the vessel. Kongsberg describes an integrated arrangement with skidding equipment, vehicle logistics and an overhead crane serving the moonpool area.

Keeping more of the handling process inside the hull can protect equipment and personnel from open-deck weather exposure. It also gives designers more control over maintenance access and workflow when expensive subsea vehicles are being prepared for repeated scientific missions.

Docking below the sea surface

The launch and recovery concept allows HUGIN AUVs to dock below the surface rather than relying exclusively on recovery at an exposed side or stern station. Kongsberg says this reduces the effect of waves during the critical phase when the vehicle transfers between the sea and the ship.

A wider operational weather window can increase the useful time available for research, especially on voyages where the vessel cannot simply wait indefinitely for ideal conditions. The exact limits will depend on final system certification, vessel motion and the operating procedures adopted by the owner.

Built for an Inkfish research programme

The equipment is destined for a new VARD research vessel commissioned for Inkfish, an organisation developing advanced ocean-research capability. Although the ship is not being presented as a conventional leisure superyacht, its specialist systems sit within the same high-end marine engineering ecosystem used by expedition yachts.

Research-oriented private vessels increasingly combine yacht-level accommodation with laboratories, dive systems, submersibles and autonomous vehicles. Technologies proven on dedicated research ships can therefore influence future explorer-yacht projects where owners want genuine scientific capability rather than purely recreational equipment.

Delivery planned for 2027

Kongsberg says assembly and testing of the system will take place at Brattvåg, with delivery planned for the end of 2027. That schedule refers to the equipment package rather than the final commissioning date of the complete research vessel.

Superyacht Guide is recording the contract because subsea handling, autonomous vehicles and moonpool systems are becoming increasingly relevant to expedition-yacht design. Future vessel milestones should remain tied to VARD, Inkfish and the project's authorised suppliers as construction progresses.

Official sources: www.mynewsdesk.com.