PENSACOLA, FL, May 7, 2026 – Woolpert is running its first uncrewed offshore hydrographic survey for NOAA, sending Chance Maritime USVs into deep waters off Pensacola, Florida, to map seafloor conditions without crews onboard. The mission uses Woolpert multibeam sonar to collect high-resolution data on deep-sea corals, habitats, seafloor hazards and underwater environmental changes.
Woolpert will collect 1,391 square nautical miles of hydrographic survey data. NOAA will use the results to update nautical charting products and support maritime safety.
“This project will fill gaps in modern seafloor mapping data in the Gulf of America,” said Chris Taylor, Ph.D., ecologist with NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. “New maps of seafloor bathymetry and texture will be used by NOAA and our partners to develop new habitat maps and characterizations supporting the restoration of mesophotic and deep benthic communities in the region that were damaged during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.”
Chance Maritime deployed its new high-power, long-endurance 40-foot Chance MC40 vessel for the project. Woolpert also added Chance Maritime’s Chance MC29 USV to improve survey coverage and shorten data collection timelines.
The mission covers about 11,000 linear nautical miles. Woolpert hydrographers across multiple time zones will conduct remote hydrographic surveys around the clock. Survey data will get uploaded through Starlink satellite communications to a cloud server, where Woolpert’s Automatic Survey Production Environment (ASPEN) will ingest it for postprocessing.
According to Woolpert Program Director Dave Neff: “Uncrewed vessels allow us to collect high-quality hydrographic data more efficiently and safely, particularly in challenging deep-ocean environments.”. Neff continued: “This project demonstrates just how valuable USVs are in expanding our access to critical ocean data while reducing operational risk. We’re proud to support NOAA’s mission and to help set a new precedent for large-scale offshore marine mapping.”
The survey is underway and is expected to be completed later this year. It follows a hybrid crewed/uncrewed survey completed last year by Woolpert and Chance Maritime for the Florida Seafloor Mapping Initiative. That project used Chance MC29 and Woolpert’s R/V Thunder to collect more than 6,000 linear nautical miles of multibeam seafloor bathymetry.
Source: Woolpert
About Woolpert
Woolpert is an architecture, engineering and geospatial consulting firm founded in 1911 and headquartered in Dayton, OH. The company provides design, planning, surveying and geospatial data services to public, private and government clients. Its markets include aviation, transportation, water, energy and commercial infrastructure. Woolpert supports projects through engineering design, mapping, asset management and technology integration. The firm combines surveying and geospatial data with engineering to support construction and infrastructure programs. It operates more than 75 offices across five continents and serves local, national and international customers. Industry publications rank Woolpert among the Top 25 firms in Building Design+Construction, a Top 50 Engineering News-Record Design firm and a Global Top 100 Geospatial company. The company employs about 3,200 people worldwide.
About Chance Maritime Technologies
Chance Maritime Technologies designs, builds, operates and sells uncrewed surface vessels and boats for maritime operations. The company provides USV services, custom systems, training, consulting, leasing, operations and maintenance support. It serves commercial, scientific, government and defense customers in hydrography, geophysical survey, energy, marine construction, maritime domain awareness, emergency response, undersea infrastructure, mine countermeasures, unexploded ordnance disposal and contested logistics. Founded in 2022 by Stuart Chance, the company is headquartered in Lafayette, LA. Its vessels support multibeam and singlebeam survey, magnetometer work, sub-bottom profiling, CTD profiling, metocean data collection, water quality monitoring, offshore wind, oil and gas, emergency response and environmental conservation. Chance Maritime operates a 12,000-square-foot production facility and employs more than 20 engineers and marine technology professionals.