Oceaneering International Inc., Houston, has secured a pair of offshore survey contracts for its vessel Ocean Intervention II, supporting major offshore development programs for an undisclosed "large international operator," the company announced June 30.
Under the two contracts with the same operator, the 254'x53'6" Ocean Intervention II will deliver integrated geophysical, geotechnical, and autonomous survey services offshore Trinidad and in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The program began in April 2026 and is expected to run for approximately six months, with options for additional work and extensions, Oceaneering said in a press release.
Offshore Trinidad, the work scope includes 2D and 3D seismic data acquisition, high-resolution and ultra-high-resolution seismic surveys, seabed mapping, and geotechnical investigations, with geotechnical activities including seabed sampling using box cores and piston cores. The scope also covers autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) surveys in deeperwater areas, along with shallow-water surveys using towed conventional geophysical systems. Operations in Trinidad are expected to last approximately four months.
In the U.S. Gulf, the DP2 Ocean Intervention II will perform geotechnical investigations, AUV-based block surveys, and pipeline inspection activities, with the pipeline inspections incorporating non-contact cathodic protection measurement technology integrated with the AUV. U.S. Gulf operations are expected to span approximately two months, with options for additional site and block surveys.
The campaign gives Oceaneering the opportunity to expand its track record in the Ocean Intervention II's operating model for offshore simultaneous operations, combining geophysical and geotechnical technologies with uncrewed surface vessel (USV)-supported AUV survey operations, the company said. The vessel is equipped with an Exail DriX USV and a Kongsberg Hugin Superior AUV.
Peter Buchanan, Oceaneering's senior director – survey, products and services, said, "We appreciate our customers' trust in our ability to deliver reliable, integrated survey operations tailored to their project needs. By consolidating multiple survey scopes onto a single vessel and crew, [the Ocean Intervention II] supports single-pass and simultaneous operations that reduce campaign duration, minimize mobilizations, and shorten offshore exposure — improving efficiency and lowering overall emissions compared to traditional multi-vessel survey programs."
The Ocean Intervention II, which is owned by Oceaneering, was built by Bollinger Shipyards, Lockport, La., in 2000 for geophysical and geotechnical surveys and underwent significant upgrades in early 2025 to support simultaneous, multi-discipline survey operations. Those enhancements included survey system upgrades, dedicated launch and recovery capability for autonomous systems, and modernized data infrastructure designed to enable efficient, integrated survey execution across complex offshore programs.
