Cellula Robotics Ltd., Burnaby, British Columbia, and Industrias Ferri S.A., Pontevedra, Spain, have created an East Coast Canadian joint venture to design and build deck machinery for the launch and recovery of uncrewed surface and underwater vehicles.
The new company, Nautical Reach Systems Ltd., announced Sept. 16, will manufacture marine motion, lift, and handling systems for autonomous maritime operations, with a portfolio spanning smart launch and recovery and what the partners describe as complex payload handling. Systems will be engineered around the mission, host vessel, and operating environment, including remote, harsh, and Arctic conditions.
The venture is aimed at naval, coast guard, and offshore operators now fielding autonomous platforms that work over the horizon or far from conventional shoreside support, where recovering a vehicle in a seaway remains one of the harder unsolved problems in unmanned operations.
"This partnership is designed to help shape the future of marine operations by enabling smart, autonomous decision-making at the edge," said Neil Manning, CEO of Cellula Robotics, said in a statement. "Nautical Reach Systems gives customers one engineering team that understands what is happening below the surface and on deck. That shared view means the vehicle and its handling equipment can be designed together around how they will be used at sea. I am truly excited by this joint venture, and grateful for the commitment and trust Ferri has placed in us."
Ferri will make a multimillion-dollar investment in Canada through the venture, supporting skilled jobs and intellectual property in the country. No dollar figure, headcount target, facility location, or product timeline was disclosed. Cellula is contributing intellectual property in autonomous handling.
Cellula, founded in 2001, is headquartered in Burnaby, British Columbia, with additional offices on the East Coast of Canada and in the United States, and employs more than 80 engineers, designers, and technicians. The company builds the Solus family of autonomous underwater vehicles and hydrogen fuel cell-powered long-range AUVs, and counts BAE Systems, the Royal Canadian Navy, and the Schmidt Ocean Institute among its customers.
Ferri, a Galicia-based builder founded in 1964 by marine engineer and skipper Ricardo Fernández Villar, makes cranes, davits, launch and recovery systems, winches and custom handling systems for civil and naval vessels. Its equipment is installed on hundreds of vessels worldwide and used by international navies.
"Ferri has delivered advanced marine deck machinery and complex load-handling solutions for more than 60 years. With experience supplying the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard, we are committed to expanding our Canadian partnerships," Patricio Fernández, CEO of Ferri, said in a statement. "I am very pleased to be working with Cellula Robotics to bring Ferri's marine handling expertise together with Cellula's autonomous robotics capabilities and deliver practical solutions for customers."
The companies said Ferri's European footprint will also support growth for Cellula in that region.
