Mines don't need to hit a ship to disrupt global trade. The mere threat of mines in the Strait of Hormuz creates uncertainty in the maritime industry, leading to higher insurance costs and shipment delays on major route...
Mines don't need to hit a ship to disrupt global trade. The mere threat of mines in the Strait of Hormuz creates uncertainty in the maritime industry, leading to higher insurance costs and shipment delays on major routes. For shipowners, operators, and insurers, the main challenge isn't just the mines themselves but also figuring out if these important waterways are safe.
This issue starts at the seabed. Detecting mines in deep sea and coastal areas requires special technology, experience, and the ability to survey with precision.
For the past 20 years, Greensea IQ has been developing autonomous technology for complex maritime tasks. Since 2014, they have been working with the U.S. Navy to build, test, and implement solutions for Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD). Their Bayonet underwater crawler is currently the only commercially available robot that can perform mine countermeasure missions from the shore to the seafloor.
The problem is that mines are not always easy to spot. They can be activated by movement or detonated deliberately, and they might be buried or hidden in the ocean floor. Before any action can be taken, a mine must be found and precisely located.
This requires advanced sensors, specialized tools, and significant time for surveying. Once a threat is found, it has to be accurately located before neutralization operations can start or, if necessary, safely recovered for intelligence.
The Complexity of the Strait
It only takes a few strategically placed mines to disrupt global trade. A small number of these devices can create enough uncertainty to slow down shipping, raise the cost of goods, hike insurance rates, force changes in shipping routes, and use up naval resources.
At the same time, modern mines are getting smaller, more advanced, and harder to detect, making clearance operations more complicated and underscoring the need for advanced autonomous systems that can handle these challenges.
In crucial shipping lanes like the Strait of Hormuz, the economic and operational fallout from a minefield begins even before the first mine is retrieved. The situation is complicated by the local geography. The narrow shipping channel features a variety of underwater conditions. Strong shallow-water currents, sand waves, and rocky areas create a busy waterway filled with debris from heavy traffic, making it tricky to spot potential threats.
Autonomous systems like Greensea IQ’s Bayonet Underwater Ground Vehicle (AUGV) are starting to change the situation.
Traditionally, mine countermeasure operations have leaned heavily on divers. While divers are still a vital asset, they face limitations related to dive time, decompression, temperature, fatigue, visibility, and life support systems.
“Divers are an incredible capability, but they should be the last resource you send into a minefield, not the first. The Strait of Hormuz is among the most challenging areas for mine warfare. The combination of heavy commercial traffic, shallow waters, strong currents, poor visibility, and capable adversaries makes it a perfect place where autonomous systems provide significant advantages.”
- Dennis Doan, Product Manager for Greensea IQ EOD and retired U.S. Navy EOD Senior Chief
The Bayonet AUGV can operate for extended periods, collecting continuous survey data without the risks that divers face. This results in better coverage, quicker evaluations, and less risk for personnel.
Autonomous systems offer a level of consistency in data collection that is hard to reach through diving alone. Greensea IQ has developed open architecture software that integrates marine robotics, sensors, and mission tools in one platform designed for mine clearance operations. This operation interface has been familiar to the U.S. Navy for almost a decade and can be integrated into any unmanned system. The user-friendly interface creates high-resolution seabed maps, captures sonar images, saves video and sensor data, and enables data comparison over time.
In challenging environments like the Strait of Hormuz, where visibility is low and currents are unpredictable, the Bayonet AUGV relies primarily on sonar for detection, using sound which travels farther in water than light. Greensea IQ has created machine learning algorithms to aid in target detection, leveraging AI to recognize shapes that are manmade and suggestive of mines or mine-like objects.
With its intelligent software, the Bayonet AUGV enhances mission flexibility and simplifies operations. It can be launched from the shore or directly from a vessel, and once released, it can navigate from the shoreline into deep underwater areas. In a region where quick detection and clearance are crucial for global commerce, autonomous systems provide a safer and more efficient way to address and mitigate underwater threats.
Find out more about Greensea IQ’s Bayonet AUGV.