Autonomous USV completes 38‑day offshore current monitoring campaign in US Gulf
Woods Hole Group and Chance Maritime Technologies have completed a 38‑day autonomous ocean current monitoring campaign in the US Gulf of Mexico, which the partners confirmed with Offshore was for an unnamed offshore energy operator.
The partners say this marks a new benchmark for long‑duration unmanned surface vessel operations in open offshore conditions.
The project deployed a 40‑ft uncrewed surface vessel (USV) equipped with Woods Hole Group’s FAST Eddy ocean current monitoring system to operate more than 200 nautical miles offshore without refueling, crew support or physical intervention. Over the 38‑day period, the vessel transited more than 4,000 nautical miles while collecting and transmitting near‑real‑time subsurface current data to shore.
The mission was designed to support offshore operational planning in an area known for strong and highly variable loop current dynamics. Data were streamed via satellite to shore‑based analysts using Woods Hole Group’s Metocean Mapper platform, providing continuous situational awareness for project stakeholders.
In addition to current measurements, the USV deployed eight drifting buoys at pre‑defined locations during the survey.
Despite encountering gale‑force winds and sea states exceeding 12 ft, the diesel‑powered USV maintained consistent speed and maneuverability, operating under 24/7 remote oversight from shore.
In addition, Woods Hole Group’s EddyWatch delivers real‑time ocean current intelligence using satellite‑tracked drifting buoys, remote sensing, in-situ data and expert analysis.
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With more than a decade of copy editing, project management and journalism experience, Ariana Hurtado is a seasoned managing editor born and raised in the energy capital of the world—Houston, Texas. She currently serves as editor-in-chief of Offshore, overseeing the editorial team, its content and the brand's growth from a digital perspective.
Utilizing her editorial expertise, she manages digital media for the Offshore team. She also helps create and oversee new special industry reports and revolutionizes existing supplements, while also contributing content to Offshore's magazine, newsletters and website as a copy editor and writer.
Prior to her current role, she served as Offshore's editor and director of special reports from April 2022 to December 2024. Before joining Offshore, she served as senior managing editor of publications with Hart Energy. Prior to her nearly nine years with Hart, she worked on the copy desk as a news editor at the Houston Chronicle.
She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Houston.