GeoAcoustics Ltd
Great Yarmouth sonar maker since 1978: GeoSwath bathymetry, GeoMB multibeam, GeoScan side-scan and GeoPulse sub-bottom profilers, fitted to USVs and vessels.
GeoAcoustics Ltd is a British manufacturer of hydroacoustic survey equipment based at Shuttleworth Close, Gapton Hall Industrial Estate, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk. Its products measure water depth across a wide swath (bathymetry), map the seabed with multibeam and side-scan sonar, and profile the layers beneath it. They are used in hydrographic, dredging, geological, environmental, infrastructure-inspection and marine-research surveys. The equipment is deployed from crewed vessels and is integrated on uncrewed surface vessels, ROVs and AUVs.
The company dates back to 1978, when Dave Stone and Dick Strafford founded ORE Ltd to lease offshore research equipment such as side-scan sonar, profilers, SBL/LBL positioning and acoustic telemetry. Ferranti bought the business in 1982. It moved to its current Great Yarmouth site in 1983 and began manufacturing there in 1984. A management buyout from Ferranti in 1991 created GeoAcoustics Ltd. Kongsberg Maritime acquired the company in 2008 and renamed it Kongsberg GeoAcoustics Ltd, and from 2018 the site also built Kongsberg TOPAS systems. A second management buyout, in December 2020, made it independent again under the GeoAcoustics name.
GeoSwath, an interferometric bathymetric sonar, is the company's best-known product line. The first generation came out in 2000 and was followed by GeoSwath Plus in 2004, GeoSwath Compact in 2009, GeoSwath 4 in 2016 and the rugged GeoSwath 4R in 2017. A 2023 release of the GS4 software added real-time AI data processing, which grew out of an R&D project with the University of East Anglia that began in 2021.
In March 2026, at Oceanology International, GeoAcoustics launched GeoMB, its first multibeam echosounder. It is a 400 kHz system with 512 beams, a swath of more than 140 degrees and a depth range from 0.2 m to beyond 200 m. An Applanix AP+ GNSS/IMU and a sound-velocity sensor are built in, and the transducer weighs 7.5 kg. It is designed for small vessels and uncrewed surface platforms. Australian firm No Humes ordered the first unit at the same show.
For seabed imaging, the GeoScan side-scan sonars launched in 2025 come in two models: the long-range GeoScan 2361 and the high-resolution GeoScan 2491, which runs at 400 and 900 kHz at the same time with CW and chirp pulses. There are three sub-bottom profilers. GeoPulse Compact is made for small vessels. GeoPulse 2, launched in 2024, has up to 10 kW output, a 1.5-18 kHz frequency range, 6 cm resolution and up to 80 m penetration. GeoPulse LF is a low-voltage boomer launched in 2026. Accessories include the OTS over-the-side mount and powered cable reels. In 2025 the company bought a subsea cable moulding business, and it now also makes standard and custom moulded cable assemblies for other sonar makers, system integrators and offshore contractors.
Uncrewed platforms are a growing part of its integration work. GeoPulse 2 is the sub-bottom sensor in HydroSurv's USV-based 3D sub-bottom imaging system, which is funded by the Offshore Wind Growth Partnership. In 2026 GeoAcoustics and Ocean Floor Geophysics began developing a GeoScan towfish with OFG's self-compensating magnetometer, so that UXO surveys from small boats and USVs need only one towed body. Other published applications include bathymetric and side-scan surveys of Alpine reservoirs for the Swiss energy company Axpo.
Sales and support run through more than 50 channel partners in over 70 countries, among them Seafloor Systems in the US (appointed in February 2026), AlphaGeo UK and Celestial Tech in Bangladesh. GeoAcoustics also provides after-sales technical support and repairs for the equipment it makes. It received the King's Award for Enterprise in International Trade in 2023 and gained ISO 14001:2015 environmental certification the same year.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact GeoAcoustics Ltd
WEBSITE
https://geoacoustics.com/PHONE
+44 1493 600666HEADQUARTERS
United Kingdom
Company Facts
Founded
1978
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Europe
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
Certifications & Memberships
Keywords
- GeoAcoustics Ltd
- GeoSwath 4
- interferometric bathymetry
- GeoMB multibeam echosounder
- GeoScan side scan sonar
- GeoPulse sub-bottom profiler
- hydrographic survey
- dredging survey
- subsea cable moulding
- UXO survey
- Manufacturer
- Component Supplier
- Custom Manufacturer
- Service Company
- Exporter
- Perception & Vision
- Navigation & Positioning
- Construction
- Oil
- Gas & Energy
