Belgian group Jan De Nul has ordered a groundbreaking unmanned vessel to transform its offshore survey work.

The company said it will be the first dredging contractor to use such a ship at sea.

The Beluga 01 has been designed by Norway’s Maritime Robotics.

It is described as a hybrid-propulsion mariner unmanned surface vehicle (USV) and is the first step towards autonomous offshore survey operations, Jan De Nul added.