A remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROUV) or remotely operated vehicle (ROV) is a free-swimming submersible craft used to perform underwater observation, inspection and physical tasks such as valve operations, hydraulic functions and other general tasks within the subsea oil and gas industry, military, scientific and other applications. ROVs can also carry tooling packages for undertaking specific tasks such as pull-in and connection of flexible flowlines and umbilicals, and component replacement. They are often used to visit wrecks at great depths beyond the capacities of submersibles for research purposes, such as the Titanic, amongst others.
A minehunter is a naval vessel that seeks, detects, and destroys individual naval mines. Minesweepers, on the other hand, clear mined areas as a whole, without prior detection of mines. A vessel that combines both of these roles is known as a mine countermeasures vessel (MCMV).
USS Avenger (MCM-1) was the lead ship of her class of mine countermeasures ship, and the third U.S. Navy ship of that name.
The Sandown class is a class of fifteen minehunters built primarily for the Royal Navy by Vosper Thornycroft. The Sandown class also serve with the Royal Saudi Navy, the Estonian Navy, and the Ukrainian Navy. The first vessel was commissioned into Royal Navy service on 9 June 1989 and all the British ships were named after coastal towns and cities. Although the class had a primary mine countermeasures role, they have had a secondary role as offshore patrol vessels. As of early 2024, only one vessel of the class remains in active service with the Royal Navy.
The AN/SQQ-32 minehunting sonar set (MSS) is a variable-depth mine-hunting sonar system originally developed by Raytheon and Thales Underwater Systems for the United States Navy. It includes two separate active sonar systems to detect and classify mine-like objects on the surface, in the volume, or on the bottom of the sea. The sonar systems are packaged in a single towed body tethered to the ship through a cable providing power and data transmission, with the cable length variable via an electric winch. A hole in the ship extending from the sonar maintenance room (SMR) to the hull allows movement of the towed body in different configurations for maintenance, stowage at sea, and minehunting operations. The towed body can be configured for minehunting by either locking to the bottom of the ship's hull for shallow water operations, or by extending and retracting the tow cable to allow for variable depth sonar (VDS) operations. VDS operations are necessary in deep water due to refraction of the sonar from the various temperature layers present in the ocean; with the sonar positioned in the same thermal layer as the suspected mines the error induced by refraction is minimized. The detect and classify sonar subsystems are independently monitored and controlled by two operators at independent panels working together to find and characterize underwater objects as mine or non-mine like objects.
HMAS Huon, named for the Huon River, was lead ship of the Huon class of minehunters operated by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The first of six ships built by a joint partnership of Australian Defence Industries (ADI) and Intermarine SpA, Huon's hull was fabricated at Intermarine's Italian shipyard, then freighted to ADI facilities at Newcastle for completion. She entered service in 1999, and was decommissioned on 30 May 2024.
The Osprey class are a series of coastal minehunters designed to find, classify, and destroy moored and bottom naval mines from vital waterways.
The Tripartite class is a class of minehunters developed from an agreement between the navies of Belgium, France and the Netherlands. A total of 35 ships were constructed for the three navies. The class was constructed in the 1980s–1990s in all three countries, using a mix of minehunting, electrical and propulsion systems from the three member nations. In France, where they are known as the Éridan class they are primarily used as minehunters, but have been used for minesweeping and ammunition transport in Belgium and the Netherlands, where the Tripartites are known as the Alkmaar class.
HMS Pembroke was a Sandown-class minehunter of the Royal Navy (RN), the second ship launched from the class' second batch, with several improvements over the first five built.
HMS Shoreham was a Sandown-class minehunter of the British Royal Navy. She was the fifth vessel to bear the name. From 2018 to 2021, Shoreham was deployed at UKNSF Bahrain together with three other mine countermeasures ships as part of 9 Mine Countermeasures Squadron on Operation Kipion. In 2022 she was decommissioned and was transferred to Ukraine.
HMS Brocklesby is a Hunt-class mine countermeasures vessel of the British Royal Navy, her primary purpose is to find and neutralise sea mines using a combination of; Sonar, Mine Clearance Divers and the Seafox remotely operated vehicle (ROV). The class are the largest warships of glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) construction, which gives the vessels a low magnetic signature. In addition to her mine countermeasures activities, Brocklesby acts as an offshore patrol vessel, undertaking coastal patrol and fisheries protection duties.
USS Defender (MCM-2) was an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship in the service of the United States Navy. She entered service in September 1989 and was decommissioned in October 2014.
USS Champion (MCM-4), an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship, is the fourth U.S. Navy ship of that name.
USS Leader (AM-490/MSO-490) was an Agile-class minesweeper acquired by the U.S. Navy for the task of removing mines that had been placed in the water to prevent the safe passage of ships.
The fourth USS Scout (MCM-8) is an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship of the United States Navy.
USS Warrior (MCM-10) is an Avenger-class mine countermeasures ship of the United States Navy.
The Lerici class is a class of minehunters constructed by Intermarine SpA and owned and operated by the Italian Navy. The class incorporates two subclasses: the first four ships are referred to specifically as the first series of the Lerici class, while eight more ships produced to a slightly modified design are known as "second series Lericis" or as the Gaeta class.
The Fleet-class unmanned surface vessel, also called the Common Unmanned Surface Vessel (CUSV) and later the Mine Countermeasures Unmanned Surface Vehicle, is an unmanned surface vessel designed for the United States Navy to be deployed from Freedom and Independence-class littoral combat ships and intended to conduct mine and anti-submarine warfare missions. As of 2012 four units of the class have been built; the first was delivered to the U.S. Navy in 2008.
Alpino was a Alpino-class frigate operated by the Italian Navy during the Cold War. Launched in 1967, the vessel was optimised for anti-submarine warfare based on two Agusta-Bell AB.204 helicopters protected by a telescopic hangar and a variable-depth sonar (VDS). It was also the first frigate to use gas turbines, in a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) arrangement. In 1973, the frigate undertook the longest continuous voyage of an Italian naval ship, covering over 7,000 nautical miles, and continued to serve in the anti-submarine role until 1996, by which time the helicopters had been replaced by the more capable Agusta-Bell AB-212ASW and the VDS taken out of service. In 1997, the ship was recommissioned as a support ship for mine warfare, at the same time as the ability to operate one of the helicopters was removed. The frigate was decommissioned in 2006.
