UK-controlled robot ship surveys Pacific Ocean volcano

STORY: This robotic boat is gathering data on an underwater volcano in Tonga…

while operators sit almost 10,000 miles away in southeast England.

Sea-Kit International CEO Ben Simpson:

“We've collected a huge amount of data to help the scientists understand more about it. Our third mission, which we're going out now is to understand a little bit more about outside the volcano.”

The underwater Hunga Tonga–Hunga Ha'apai volcano erupted in January, sending tsunami waves across the Pacific Ocean.

Data collected here will help scientists understand why the eruption had such a huge and violent impact, as well as help predict the nature of future eruptions.

With no crew, the USV Maxlimer is a fraction of the size of a normal survey ship that would carry 50 people and uses a tiny fraction of the fuel.

“The beauty of unmanned surface vessels though is that this bridge that I'm sitting in in Essex can be anywhere. So we can actually hand over the control the vessel from this office to anywhere else in the world to control that vessel, which also can be anywhere in the world.”

The nearly 40-foot ship has completed two survey missions and will soon start a third off Tonga.