HydroSurv Unmanned Survey (UK) Ltd
Exeter builder of REAV-25 to REAV-60 battery-electric and hybrid survey USVs, sold, leased or co-owned, and licensed to Hike Metal in North America.
HydroSurv is a UK designer and builder of uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) for hydrographic, geophysical, environmental and subsea inspection survey. It trades as HydroSurv Unmanned Survey (UK) Ltd from Unit 5, Jardine Park, Bradman Way, Marsh Barton, Exeter. The company says its story began in a garage in 2018. At that time, it says, USV technology was concentrated among defence and industrial primes, and the founders set out to build affordable, high-quality USVs for commercial users by applying conventional workboat design standards to small uncrewed vessels. Its first platform was the REAV-10. Companies House shows the legal entity was incorporated on 14 April 2011 as Safeguard Marine Surveying Ltd and has carried the HydroSurv name since July 2019. Founder and CEO David Hull leads a team that includes a principal naval architect and specialists in mechanical, software, production and marine operations. Maritime industry executive Mark Burnett serves on the board as non-executive director.
HydroSurv's product family is the REAV (Rapid Environmental Assessment Vessel) range of aluminium catamarans built from 5083 marine-grade alloy:
- REAV-25, REAV-28 and REAV-35: battery-electric boats for inland and sheltered water. The REAV-28, launched in 2022, is a 2.85 m shallow-draft, modular vessel with a 50 kg payload and a 6-knot top speed, small enough to tow on a small trailer and launch from awkward worksites. The 3.5 m REAV-35 offers about 24 kWh of battery capacity and a 100 kg payload for zero-emission day work.
- REAV-45 and REAV-47: battery-hybrid nearshore boats. The 4.7 m REAV-47 has a 4 kW, 48 VDC generator, 12 kWh of batteries, twin 5 kW steerable rim-drive thrusters, 106 litres of fuel and a 200 kg payload for multi-day coastal survey. The REAV-45 is designed to align with the UK MCA's MGN 705 (M) code.
- REAV-60: the 5.7 m long-endurance flagship. It has demountable demi-hulls, interchangeable payload skids, dual 8 kW generators, 24 kWh of batteries, 380 litres of fuel and twin steerable pod drives. HydroSurv's 2026 update raised the drives to 11 kW rim-drive pods and is built to carry towed sensors and inspection-class ROVs.
All REAV vessels use 2.4/5 GHz radio, 4G/LTE and Starlink communications with a network management system. The larger boats are designed for beyond-visual-line-of-sight operation from shore stations or remote operations centres.
HydroSurv provides naval architecture, mechanical and electrical engineering, software development and payload integration. It integrates hydrographic and light geophysical survey sensors, oceanographic and environmental monitoring packages, and subsea inspection systems. Customers can buy vessels outright, co-own them with HydroSurv or lease them, and the company offers training, qualifications and technical support after delivery.
In August 2026 Italian survey contractor Subsea Fenix took delivery of USV Fenix 01, a REAV-60 and HydroSurv's first vessel for the Italian market. Its survey skid carries a Teledyne T51 multibeam, an Innomar sub-bottom profiler, an EdgeTech 4125i side-scan sonar and a Sonardyne Mini-Ranger 2 USBL. An alternative skid carries a Saab Seaeye Falcon ROV for inspection to 300 m. The vessel reached IMCA M257 Category A on commissioning, with Category B planned for the end of 2026 and Category C (ROV and ROTV deployment) for the first quarter of 2027. In July 2026 Canadian shipbuilder Hike Metal Products signed a technology licensing agreement to manufacture, market and support the full REAV range in Canada and the United States, starting with locally built REAV-28, REAV-47 and REAV-60 vessels. Organisations shown on HydroSurv's client wall include the Environment Agency, Dstl, Sonardyne, EIVA, ABPmer, UK Dredging, Ports of Jersey, Skanska, Sagar Defence Engineering, the University of Plymouth, the University of Southampton, the National University of Singapore and RWTH Aachen University.
Primary type & automation activities this supplier delivers:
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Contact HydroSurv Unmanned Survey (UK) Ltd
WEBSITE
https://www.hydro-surv.comPHONE
+44 333 772 9306HEADQUARTERS
United Kingdom
Company Facts
Founded
2018
Primary Role
Manufacturer
Company Size
-
Primary Region
Europe
Annual Sales
-
Funding Stage
-
Funding Total
-
Keywords
- HydroSurv Unmanned Survey (UK) Ltd
- REAV-60
- REAV-47
- REAV-28
- Rapid Environmental Assessment Vessel
- battery-hybrid USV
- hydrographic survey
- ROV deployment from USV
- BVLoS operations
- USV leasing
- MGN 705
- Manufacturer
- System Integrator
- Service Company
- Unmanned Marine Vehicle
- USV
- Construction
- Oil
- Gas & Energy
- Education & Research
