OMS Group has opened a new Remote Operations Centre (ROC) in Singapore to support its long-range unmanned surface vessel (USV) survey work and full ocean-depth cable route surveys, the company said.
The facility is operated by OMS Geometra, OMS Group’s marine survey business unit, and is intended to bring USV pilots, marine survey specialists and project teams together to remotely supervise missions, monitor operations in real time and validate survey data across projects globally.
According to OMS, the ROC is designed to enable coordinated multi-vehicle operations across geographically dispersed projects and reduce offshore personnel exposure by shifting supervision and oversight to a shore-based model.
OMS said the opening was attended by more than 60 representatives from the technology, telecommunications and subsea cable sector, along with government agencies, partners and industry bodies. OMS Geometra demonstrated the ROC’s capabilities during the event.
The company said regulatory compliance and operational assurance were built into the ROC’s governance and operating framework. OMS said it employs certified Master Mariners as USV pilots, with STCW qualifications aligned with STCW II/2 Master 500 GT or above, and that operations are conducted with continuous professional watchkeeping and oversight rather than unsupervised autonomy.
OMS said the Singapore ROC has completed an inspection against IMCA M272, an International Marine Contractors Association recommended practice for USV Remote Operation Centre inspections, and was developed with consideration for evolving international frameworks for remotely operated and autonomous vessels.
“Unmanned survey is not a concept project for OMS. We have invested in the vessels, technology and people required to build a capability that can be deployed and scaled,” said Ronnie Lim, Group CEO of OMS Group.
“The ROC is designed as an extension of our survey division, not a separate technology silo,” said Maxime Even, Director, Marine Survey Integration and Operations.
OMS said it plans to continue expanding its unmanned survey capability through further vessel deployments, specialist training and strategic partnerships.
