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EGS Australia and Greenroom Robotics are expanding Australia’s autonomous maritime capability, with the launch of Fremantle 02 set to demonstrate how optionally crewed vessels can deliver faster, lower-cost hydrographic survey operations for Defence and commercial customers.
Australia’s push to turn maritime autonomy from an emerging technology into an operational capability has taken another step forward, with EGS Australia naming its second optionally crewed surface vessel.
Fremantle 02, powered by Australian-developed Greenroom Robotics GAMA maritime autonomy system, will now head north for its maiden mission in the Kimberley, where it will undertake hydrographic survey work as part of the Royal Australian Navy’s HydroScheme Industry Partnership Program.
The deployment marks an important shift for the two companies, moving beyond the demonstration of a single autonomous vessel towards a fleet-based model capable of generating greater operational output without a corresponding increase in crews at sea.
Fremantle 02 follows Fremantle 01, which has already demonstrated the potential of autonomous survey operations during a 42-day offshore deployment.
According to EGS Australia, the first vessel achieved a 94 per cent reduction in diesel consumption, while operating costs were up to 75 per cent lower than conventional crewed survey operations. The deployment also avoided an estimated 135 tonnes of carbon emissions.
The economics of autonomy are only part of the equation.
By reducing the requirement for large crews, autonomous vessels can also eliminate much of the accommodation, catering and other onboard infrastructure traditionally required to sustain personnel at sea.
That allows the Fremantle vessels to remain relatively compact, fuel-efficient and, critically, transportable by road.
Fremantle 02 will travel from Fremantle to the Kimberley in approximately two days by road, rather than spending around seven days travelling by sea like a conventional survey vessel. EGS Australia estimated that the journey will save approximately 2,000 litres of fuel before the vessel even begins its survey mission.
The ability to move autonomous vessels rapidly between operating areas could become increasingly valuable for both Defence and commercial operators, particularly as demand for persistent maritime surveillance and hydrographic data grows.
With Fremantle 01 and Fremantle 02 operating together, the companies believe the fleet can deliver a force-multiplier effect, potentially completing missions in around half the time while avoiding the need to put additional personnel to sea.
Charles Collins, chief surveyor at EGS Australia, said the second vessel represented the next stage in the company’s adoption of autonomous survey technology.
“The operation of Fremantle 01, equipped with Greenroom’s GAMA autonomy, has proven the effectiveness, commercial viability and environmental benefits of uncrewed surface vessels,” Collins said.
“Fremantle 02 builds on those results and marks the beginning of an optionally crewed fleet.”
The vessels are not entirely dependent on autonomy, however.
As optionally crewed platforms, the Fremantle vessels can operate autonomously for the majority of missions while retaining the ability to carry personnel when required by the mission, customer or regulatory environment.
That flexibility could prove particularly important as autonomous maritime systems move from controlled demonstrations into more complex operational environments.
Greenroom Robotics co-founder and chief operating officer Harry Hubbert said the emerging fleet demonstrated how Australian-developed autonomy could be scaled into a practical operational capability.
“The maritime industry, across both commercial and Defence sectors, is under real pressure to find people willing to spend weeks at sea,” Hubbert said.
Rather than eliminating people from maritime operations, he argued, autonomy provides operators with greater choice over when vessels need to be crewed.
That philosophy sits at the heart of the Fremantle program: using autonomy not simply to replace crewed vessels but to expand the amount of work that can be accomplished with existing personnel.
For the Australian maritime sector, the significance could extend well beyond hydrographic surveying. The combination of compact vessels, autonomous navigation and remote operations offers a potential pathway towards larger distributed fleets capable of delivering persistent maritime effects without the personnel burden associated with conventional platforms.
With Fremantle 02 now heading north, EGS Australia and Greenroom Robotics are putting that proposition to the test, moving Australia’s autonomous maritime sector another step from an individual vessel towards a scalable fleet.
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