August 2025
Pioneering Heritage Survey at Buckler’s Hard: Bridging Industry, Academia, and Technology
Spectrum is proud to be working in partnership with the Centre for Maritime Archaeology at the University of Southampton and the Buckler’s Hard Shipyard Trust on a groundbreaking archaeological and geophysical survey of Buckler’s Hard, one of the most historically significant naval shipyards in the UK.
Located on the Beaulieu River in the New Forest, Buckler’s Hard is renowned for building many of the Royal Navy’s 18th-century ships of the line, including several that fought at the Battle of Trafalgar alongside HMS Victory. Some were even said to be favourites of Admiral Lord Nelson.
This project marks the first time the site has been mapped using high-resolution remote sensing technologies in parallel with live archaeological excavations. By deploying a combination of multibeam sonar, high-resolution UAV LiDAR, and Spectrum’s proprietary AeroMAG® Unmanned Aerial Magnetometer System, we are contributing to the creation of a unified, high-resolution 3D reconstruction of the historic shipyard and its surrounding environment.
This initiative not only advances understanding of Buckler’s Hard’s archaeological and historical significance but also highlights a rare and valuable collaboration between academia and the offshore industry.
It also showcases the breadth of Spectrum’s expertise — spanning from commercial offshore and infrastructure surveys to scientific research in maritime archaeology and geotechnical innovation. We’re proud to be at the forefront of applying industry-leading technology to help reveal and preserve the UK’s maritime heritage.
Read more about the slipway’s uncovering in the BBC article:
https://lnkd.in/d_3NUfK3
July 2025
Supporting The Next Generation of Surveyors!
We're excited to welcome Caitlin and Nicole, who have joined us as Hydrographic Surveyors for their university placement year! Caitlin is currently studying BSc Marine Geography at Cardiff University, and Nicole is pursuing MSci Oceanography at the University of Southampton. Both discovered Spectrum through university careers fairs and LinkedIn, and we’re thrilled to have them on board. We’re looking forward to supporting their growth and seeing the impact they’ll make during their time with us!
June 2025
Sonar’s in the water, and the data’s coming in.
Out here offshore, our team is supporting the operations and maintenance of offshore wind infrastructure, collecting high-quality hydrographic data to monitor seabed conditions around critical assets.
Whether it’s ensuring cables are buried, checking for scour around foundations, or validating safe access for crew transfer vessels, this data plays a key role in keeping turbines spinning and energy flowing.
Regular O&M monitoring surveys are key to extending the life cycle of these critical assets. This all starts with an accurate, timely insight below the water - one ping at a time.
May 2025New Facility Alert! Our survey department has come a long way from the humble beginnings where we stored survey kit and spares in the meeting room (it had to go somewhere, right?).
Since then, we’ve called a variety of places ‘storage’, including a local self-store locker room and even the freezer of an old ice cream factory. (Unfortunately, no ice cream was left behind.)
Now, we’ve levelled. We’ve recently moved into a larger facility that gives us space for growth. It’s got storage space for all the essential survey kit, the spares, and even the slightly more unusual items we’ve picked up along the way - looking at you, lobster pot.
?? We also have plenty of workshop space for equipment development, testing and organising before it heads out onto projects.??
Plus, we’ve added some real lifting power to the team - say hello to ForkyMcForkFace - our new electric counterbalance forklift truck.
A small milestone for us, but one we’re proud of, and one that puts us in a stronger position to support the work we love doing.
May 2025
AeroMAG® Unmanned Aerial Magnetometer System (UAMS
We’re excited to share a data example from a recent aerial magnetometer survey, showcasing the data quality of our AeroMAG® Unmanned Aerial Magnetometer System (UAMS).
This example highlights a mix of magnetic anomalies from subtle geological features to buried utilities and buried ferrous objects that may be flagged for further investigation.
The 30+ hectare site was surveyed over two days at a speed of 6 m/s, 1 metre off the ground.
This dataset complements the success of our ongoing development to support high-quality magnetic mapping for UXO detection and archaeological applications which can be acquired quickly and efficiently by our capable team.
We’re looking forward to discussing these capabilities further with those interested in modern magnetometer survey solutions.
May 2025
We’re Hiring!
Are you a passionate marine professional looking for your next opportunity?
We are expanding our team and looking for talented individuals who are ready to make an impact in the world of marine geophysical surveys.
If you have experience working offshore, a commitment to quality, and a drive to be part of innovative and challenging projects, we want to hear from you!
- Positions available across vessel operations and geophysical services
- Opportunities for career growth and development
- Join a dynamic, supportive team that values expertise and collaboration
Interested or know someone who might be? Get in touch or send your CV to
cv@spectrum-offshore.com
December 2024
Purchase of the Kongsberg 2042 Sonar
We are pleased to share that we've just added a Kongsberg 2042 Sonar to our toolkit! This state-of-the-art technology will significantly enhance our capabilities in high-resolution underwater mapping, remote sensing, and data collection.
We look forward to seeing the incredible insights it will unlock and how it will elevate our work in marine technology and geospatial intelligence.
July 2024
Launch of the Spectrum 5
We are proud to announce the launch of the Spectrum 5 Crew Transfer Vessel (CTV)!
This vessel has undergone extensive upgrades to meet our high standards of safety, efficiency, and comfort, ensuring it delivers top-notch performance in our crew transfer operations for offshore wind farms, and maritime projects.
The addition of the Spectrum 5 demonstrates our dedication to maintaining high standards while expanding our service offering.
We are excited to see this vessel in action, serving our clients with renewed efficiency and reliability.
April 2024
Isle of Wight MASW Trials
The Spectrum team have continued to build on their MASW capabilities by completing an intertidal survey to determine the depth to a prominent Marl layer.
The survey was completed with both land streamer and ground coupled geophone configurations, and used the industry standard Geometrics Inc. Geode seismograph supplied by Geomatrix Ltd. Despite windy conditions, the data proved to be of good quality with clearly defined dispersion curves and strong correlation between data set.
Data was processed using hashtag RadExPro Seismic Processing Software
April 2024
South Fork Wind Construction Complete!
Ørsted have announced that South Fork Wind, New York’s first offshore wind farm and America’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm, is officially complete.
Once completely up and running, the wind farm will generate enough clean energy to power ~70,000 Long Island homes.
We are proud to have supported Ørsted with construction support services over the last year on America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm.
Keep a lookout for more upcoming exciting news from the next step in our U.S. operations.
November 2023
AeroMAG® Unmanned Aerial Magnetometer (UAMS) system
A sneak peek of some data collected with our AeroMAG® Unmanned Aerial Magnetometer (UAMS) system over two test objects.
This residual total field example shows the results from only a single magnetometer flown at an altitude of 8 metres above ground @ 5 m/s survey speed and a 6 metre sensor spacing.
The data shows the ability for the system to detect potential UXO at considerable distances, enabling the platform to fly higher, or the water to be deeper.
July 2023
Hornsea Projects
Ørsted 's Hornsea projects are record-breaking offshore wind farms off the East Coast of the North Sea.
A new generation of offshore power stations, Hornsea is part of the future and the Spectrum team provided support on projects one and two:
Construction support hydrographic and geophysical surveys, boulder identification and clearance campaign support
These wind farms are further from the coastline than ever before, and at a scale which is a step-change in size from current offshore power stations.
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