M231-25 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 area shown below, in the vicinity of Beauty Point and West Arm from Monday, 16 June 2025, to Friday, 20 June 2025, and from Monday, 23 June 2025 to Thursday, 26 June 2025 between 0900 hours and 1700 hours on each day.

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 (<10mins) every 30mins during deployment to acquire a GPS fix. The standby vessel Tapilti will be onsite during these planned surfacing’s 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, as such 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 risk of collision.

Mariners should navigate the area with caution.