ROV KIEL 6000


The ROV KIEL 6000 is a remotely operated vehicle built by Schilling Robotics, Davis, California. It's in the possession of the German GEOMAR - Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel. The ROV has been designed for certain scientific tasks with a max. operational depth of 6,000 m. The ROV is electrically powered and directly linked to the operating ship via a deep-sea glass fiber cable. It can be operated from ships of opportunity which fulfill certain requirements such as deck space and stability, power supply, dynamic positioning and crane/winch capacities.
ROV KIEL 6000 is used within multidisciplinary scientific projects such as the Cluster of Excellence "The Future Ocean" and for the installation and maintenance of ocean observatories.

Technical Specifications

vehicle typeQUEST 7, electrical "workclass" ROV
working depthup to 6000 m
dimensionslength 3.5 m, width 1.9 m, height 2.4 m
weightin air: ca. 3500 kg ; in water: neutral
speed3.0 kn ahead/astern ; 2.0 kn lateral and vertical
thrust530 kgf ahead/astern; 340 kgf lateral; 300/380 kgf vertical
propulsion system7 electric motors SPE-380 with 600 VDC @ 10 kW each
auto heading± 2°
station keep ± 0.3 m
electric power3800 - 4160 VAC/460 Hz; 60 kW on the vehicle
deep-sea cable6500 m @ 19 mm; 1.3 t/km in air = 8.45 t; 1 t/km in water = 6.2 t in max. water depth; 3 copper wires with 4 mm² diameter; 3 fibre optic cable SM
deep-sea winch2 electric motors @ 80 kW each; weight incl. cable: ca. 30 t
digital telemetry4 nodes with 16 ports each ; multiplexer for data transfer in the Gbit range
scientific payloadup to 100 kg on toolskid with 2 hydraulically driven drawers
hydraulic pump15 kW with 39 lpm @ 207 bar; supplies power for the manipulators and drawers; other hydraulically driven tools can be added via valvepacks
transport of the entire systemfive 20' ISO containers
system weight65 t
certificationGermanischer Lloyd, Hamburg