M203-25 River Tamar – Beauty Point and West Arm – Autonomous Underwater Vehicle
Mariners are advised that an untethered autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) will be deployed in the Beauty Point and West Arm Autonomous Operations Area from Thursday, 1 May 2025, to Thursday, 8 May 2025 (inclusive) between 0900 and 1700.
The AUV will conduct a series of manoeuvres below the water surface within the deployment area as part of a training exercise. The AUV will surface for brief periods (< 10 minutes) every 30 minutes during deployment to acquire a GPS fix. The standby vessel Tapilti will be onsite during any planned surfacing and will display flag ALPHA and make contact over VHF CH14/16 to any approaching surface vessels. It is possible the AUV will conduct unplanned surfacing, and any vessels coming into the current approximate location of the AUV will be contacted via VHF CH16 and requested to change course if there is a risk of collision.