Underwater autonomous vessels making ocean floor seismic surveys for carbon capture and storage sites, offshore wind farms and oil and gas fields have completed sea trials in the North Sea.

Developed by Blue Ocean Seismic Services, the autonomous technology is designed to operate at a lower cost and have a lower carbon footprint compared to traditional energy-intensive vessels.

The company said the robots are forecast to reduce seismic survey costs by more than 50%.

Simon Illingworth, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Blue Ocean Seismic Services said: “We know now that our autonomous vehicles can withstand extremely challenging environments and continue to gather high-quality data from below the seabed which can identify carbon capture storage, renewable, and oil and gas sites.”