U.S.-based marine power, data, and services company Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) and UAE’s subsea technology and engineering services firm Unique Group have partnered up to offer unmanned surface vehicle (USV) services in the Middle East.
Unique Group and OPT will collaborate to deploy OPT’s existing WAM-V USV in the UAE and other countries in the Gulf Collaboration Council (GCC) region.
By integrating OPT’s commercially available vehicles with Unique’s position in the offshore energy industry in the UAE, the companies expect the accelerated adoption of USVs in the region.
"Working with Unique Group will further accelerate our efforts to deploy USVs globally. We are very excited about the prospects of expanding into the UAE and applaud the local industry’s forward thinking in adopting autonomous technologies,” said Philipp Stratmann, OPT’s CEO.
“By leveraging our extensive regional experience and advanced engineering capabilities, we are committed to helping OPT develop a GCC-specific WAM-V 22. This next generation vessel will be designed to meet the regions stringent safety regulations while ensuring environmentally conscious and efficient operations,” added Jack Dougherty, Global Head of USV at Unique Group.