M358-25 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 autonomous operations area at  Beauty Point and West Arm from Monday, 24 November 2025, to Thursday, 27 November 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 (< 10 minutes) every 30 minutes during deployment to acquire a GPS fix. The standby vessel Tapilti will be on-site during these planned surfacings 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.