Seaeye: 40 years below the surface
Celebrating innovation, ingenuity and the people behind Saab’s Seaeye underwater robotics.
By Jon Robertson, Seaeye Managing Director, Saab UK
Over the last four decades, we’ve seen underwater technology evolve beyond recognition, markets transform, and expectations around safety, reliability and sustainability steadily rise. Yet one thing has remained constant: our ambition to innovate in ways that help people work more safely below the surface.
This anniversary is not just about how long we’ve been around. It’s about how far we’ve come, the people who made it happen, and some extraordinary moments along the way.
Where it all began: Innovation born offshore
To understand Seaeye, you must return to the North Sea in the early 1980s. Offshore energy development was moving fast and pushing deeper, well beyond the reach of conventional divers. At the time, atmospheric diving suits were the industry’s solution – remarkable machines, but experimental and unforgiving.
Seaeye’s founder, Ian Blamire, was one of the pilots operating those atmospheric diving suits. Alone on the seabed, suspended in darkness and silence, he endured moments where system failures left him waiting for recovery or rescue. Those near‑death experiences didn’t just highlight the risks of the work; they fundamentally shaped his belief that better technology could make underwater operations safer for everyone involved.
That belief became action when Ian left his job with a promise from his then boss – build a robot that could do the work properly, and it would be bought.
From a garage to the North Sea
What followed has become part of Seaeye folklore. Two years of evenings and weekends spent tinkering in a garage. Test tanks created from a bath and a kitchen sink. Credit cards well and truly maxed out. Eventually, the first Seaeye ROV emerged, and was promptly deployed in the North Sea, where it proved itself in real‑world offshore conditions.
Word spread quickly. Orders followed and so did innovation. The bath gave way to a blue dustbin test tank, supplier swimming pools became makeshift proving grounds, and the business outgrew each space it occupied. One move even placed us conveniently close to the Castle in the Air pub, which served double duty as a boardroom where the concept of the Seaeye Falcon was infamously brainstormed. It was an era defined by practicality, persistence and no small amount of character.
Growing up, without growing away from our roots
As Seaeye grew, its reputation for dependable, practical engineering grew with it. A major milestone came in 2007 when the company became part of Saab. That move enabled long‑term investment, global reach and a wider role across both commercial and defence sectors. From here emerged increasingly capable systems such as Cougar‑XTi and Leopard, combining higher power, depth rating and intervention capability for more complex subsea tasks.
Further growth came through the acquisition of Hydro-lek, strengthening our robotic capability and expanding what we could offer customers. Today, we operate from the Fareham campus alongside our Sensor Systems colleagues. It’s a world away from a garage workshop – although some traditions endure. The test tank is no longer a bath or a blue bin, but a green one, reminding us of where our hands‑on engineering culture began.
What Seaeye looks like today
Four decades on, Saab produces the largest range of electric ROVs from a single manufacturer anywhere in the world. From Fareham, we’ve delivered over 1,100 systems to more than 300 customers in 74 countries.
We provide far more than vehicles. Our teams deliver fully integrated, rapidly deployable solutions, backed up by training, spares, upgrades and long‑term support. Our systems are used across offshore energy, telecommunications, environmental research, fish farming, salvage, law enforcement and defence – helping people perform complex underwater tasks with confidence.
Vehicles such as Sabertooth, designed for hybrid autonomous underwater vehicles and ROV operations, have supported some of the most iconic underwater missions in recent years, including the discovery and documentation of Shackleton’s Endurance.
Innovation today and what comes next
Today, safety looks a little different than it did 40 years ago. Saab systems are increasingly deployed from uncrewed surface vessels and operated remotely from onshore locations, changing both how and where underwater work is controlled and managed. At the same time, our all‑electric vehicle range is helping customers reduce emissions while improving performance – demonstrating how environmental responsibility and safe operations now go hand in hand.
The growing importance of critical undersea infrastructure has added a new dimension to that challenge. Energy networks, telecommunications cables and strategic seabed assets now underpin modern life, yet much of this infrastructure remains out of sight in some of the most demanding environments on the planet. Drawing on decades of experience in inspection, intervention and subsea operations, Seaeye ROVs are evolving to support the monitoring, maintenance and protection of these assets.
Our latest innovations reflect that direction. The Seaeye SR20, our newest all‑electric ROV, has been developed for rapid deployment, flexibility and efficiency, while the eM1‑7 electric manipulator brings greater dexterity and control to subsea intervention tasks.
This evolution isn’t about step‑change innovation in isolation, but about building intelligently on everything we’ve learned over the last four decades. Investment in next‑generation programmes, facilities and people ensures that advances in autonomy, manipulation and sensing translate directly into practical, reliable capability offshore – capability that enables safer, more informed operations in an increasingly complex subsea domain.
Ultimately, Seaeye’s story is a people story. Engineers, technicians, operators, partners and customers, past and present, who have solved problems, shared ideas and pushed boundaries together. From garages and pubs to global operations, that collective ingenuity has defined the last 40 years.
As we celebrate this anniversary, we’re proud of what’s been achieved and excited about what lies ahead. The oceans will always be demanding. Innovation will always be essential. And at Saab UK, our commitment to helping people work safely below the surface will continue to guide us through the next chapter.