VESSEL REVIEW | Hugin USV – Ørsted deploys data-gathering USV at offshore wind farms

Danish energy company Ørsted has begun operating a new unmanned surface vehicle (USV) designed for met-ocean measurement campaigns in support of the offshore wind industry.

Ørsted said the measurement data collected by the nine-metre, 6.8-tonne USV will help lower uncertainties in the expected annual energy production for new offshore wind farms. Although a prototype, the USV has proven its potential, leading to production of a series of similar craft.

The DNV-classed prototype, named Hugin USV, is designed for continuous operation in harsh offshore conditions for up to 365 days. The craft has a built-in navigation system, which enables it to transit from shore at various degrees of autonomy. It may also be controlled via either line-of-sight or from a beyond-line-of-sight remote control centre.

The USV is designed as a generic sensor platform and can collect large amounts of data on various parameters such as wind conditions, the state of the seabed, and biological and ecological measurements – including monitoring and observations of the movements of whales and other marine life – all dependent on the sensor instrumentation chosen for a given operation. Sensors include a Furuno radar, lidar, and equipment for wave and current monitoring. Ørsted said the broad range of measurements collected by the USV is essential for early-phase development activities prior to the construction of new wind farms.

Frederik Søndergaard Hansen, Programme Manager and co-inventor of the USV concept, said the USV concept allows measurement equipment to be brought to and from offshore sites without the need for large specialised support vessels. The craft can operate autonomously for extended periods of time, continuously measuring data to be sent onshore and processed in real time. The USV concept enables Ørsted to obtain a consistently high data availability, which the company claims is essential for achieving the highest possible certainty regarding the annual energy production for new offshore wind farms.

Also, the USV allows offshore measurement campaigns to be undertaken while incurring significantly lower costs due partly to the reduced manpower requirements.

The USV concept was developed by Ørsted's employees and has been patented. The Hugin USV prototype was built by a Danish firm while the control system is supplied by unmanned systems company Maritime Robotics. The craft has already been tested in Danish and Norwegian waters and has been operational even during North Sea hurricane conditions, being subjected to wave heights of up to nine metres.

Serial production of the USVs has already commenced with a total of five to be delivered by the end of this year. Ørsted said that the newer USVs will incorporate the learnings from the prototype as well as broaden operational capabilities to include deep-water operations for future floating wind farms.

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