SEAMOR Mako — Heavy-Payload Open-Frame Inspection & Work ROV
Heavy-Payload Work ROV
SEAMOR's heavy-duty open-frame platform — eight thrusters, up to 22.5 kg of payload and tool-free mounting for the heaviest multibeam sonar and intervention tooling in the range. Built for the work where stability and capacity decide the mission.
One open frame for the heaviest subsea work
The Mako is the heavy lifter of the SEAMOR fleet. Its open-frame architecture turns the whole vehicle into mounting real estate, so a single platform can carry imaging sonar, an INS, a multi-function manipulator and survey sensors at the same time — payloads that would swamp a smaller inspection-class ROV.
- 14 kg standard payload, upgradeable to 22.5 kg (50 lb)
- Eight thrusters — 4 horizontal + 4 vertical — for stability under load
- Tool-free, repositionable accessory mounting between missions
- 300 m standard hull or 600 m deep-water model
- Auto depth & heading hold, per-channel short-circuit protection
- Up to 625 m fiber-optic tether for full-bandwidth HD at range
The constraints the Mako was built to remove
Heavy-payload subsea inspection and intervention runs into the same hard limits again and again. The Mako was engineered specifically to push past them.
⚖️ Payload Ceilings
Inspection-class ROVs run out of lift and stability the moment you add real sonar or tooling. The Mako carries up to 22.5 kg without losing trim.
🌊 Working in Current
Light vehicles drift off target under load. Eight thrusters plus auto depth and heading hold keep the Mako planted while it works.
🔁 Slow Reconfiguration
Re-rigging between jobs costs deck time. Tool-free, repositionable mounts let crews swap payloads on the quayside in minutes.
👷 Diver Exposure
Intervention in current, depth or zero-visibility water is high-risk for divers. The Mako does the manipulation and survey with the crew topside.
Eight Thrusters. Stable Under Load.
Four horizontal and four vertical thrusters give the Mako the thrust and balance to fly a heavy, off-centre payload with confidence — and to hold station while it does precision work.
Thrust where heavy payloads need it
A balanced eight-thruster layout delivers responsive, stable flight in every axis — critical when a multibeam sonar head or manipulator moves the centre of gravity. Each thruster channel is individually short-circuit protected, so a single fault is isolated automatically without taking down the rest of the drive.
- Per-channel short-circuit protection isolates faults automatically
- Auto depth hold and auto heading hold free the pilot to work the payload
- Tool-free, repositionable mounting across the full open frame
4 + 4 Layout
Balanced horizontal and vertical thrust for stable flight even with an off-centre payload.
Channel Protection
Each thruster channel is individually short-circuit protected and isolated on fault.
Auto Depth & Heading
Pressure and compass hold lock the vehicle so the pilot can focus on the task.
Tool-Free Mounting
Reconfigure payload and tooling on the quayside without tools or downtime.
Sonar-Ready. INS-Ready. Intervention-Ready.
The Mako's payload capacity and open frame support the widest range of sensors and tooling in the SEAMOR lineup — with direct mounting positions that give acoustic and optical instruments clear lines of sight.
Carry the instruments that close the job
Standard 14 kg payload upgrades to 22.5 kg (50 lb) — enough for heavy multibeam imaging sonar that would overload smaller platforms, paired with an inertial navigation system and a manipulator on the same dive. The open frame provides direct sonar mounting positions with optimal acoustic clearance.
- 7-function hydraulic arm for valve actuation, sampling & light construction
- USBL acoustic positioning for tracking in zero-visibility water
- Parallel green lasers on a 150 mm baseline for measurement from video
- Inertial navigation (INS) integration for repeatable survey lines
Tested sonar & positioning compatibility
The Mako has confirmed integration with leading acoustic systems — its 22.5 kg payload supports even the heaviest sonar heads.
Imagenex (852, 881A, 965A), Blueview M900, Soundmetrics ARIS 3000, Tritech Gemini & Micron DST
Coda Octopus Echoscope C500 real-time 3D imaging sonar
LinkQuest TrackLink 1500LC, Tritech MicronNav
HD Colour Zoom. Full Sensor Overlay.
Inspection-grade optics back the Mako's heavy-payload muscle — broadcast-quality colour video, 3,000 lumens of dimmable light and audit-ready overlay on every recording.
HD Colour Zoom Camera
3× optical / 32× total zoom with ±90° tilt. Optional HD-SDI gives uncompressed 1080p. Manual and automatic focus for crisp close-ups without repositioning.
Dual 1,500-Lumen LEDs
3,000 lumens of stepless, dimmable forward lighting. Optional auxiliary camera and light extend coverage into shadowed and complex geometry.
Digital Video Recorder
Onboard DVR records continuously with depth, heading, pitch/roll and timestamp overlay — ready-to-use documentation with no post-processing.
Parallel Laser Scale
Optional green lasers on a 150 mm baseline project a known reference for accurate size measurement directly from video footage.
Leak & Temperature Sensing
Built-in leak detection with audible alarm and temperature monitoring protect the vehicle and warn the operator before damage occurs.
Altimeter Option
Optional altimeter adds automatic altitude control for consistent, repeatable passes over the seabed or a structure.
Build the Mako for Your Operation
The Mako supports every SEAMOR accessory plus advanced sonar, navigation and intervention systems — making it one of the most configurable ROVs in its class.
Dual Function Gripper
360° wrist rotation, 90 mm jaw capacity, optional cutter. Anodized 6061-T6 aluminium, 300 m rated. Sample collection, debris removal and light manipulation.
7-Function Hydraulic Arm
Full intervention-class arm with seven degrees of freedom — valve turning, switch operation, sampling and construction assistance, sized for the Mako's heavy-payload frame.
Multi-Beam Imaging Sonar
Imagenex, Tritech Gemini, Blueview and Soundmetrics heads supported. The 22.5 kg payload carries even the heaviest sonar with acoustic clearance.
USBL Positioning
Ultra-short-baseline acoustic navigation (LinkQuest, Tritech MicronNav) for real-time position tracking in zero-visibility pipeline, cable and search work.
Auxiliary Camera & Light
Repositionable 40 mm auxiliary camera (colour or B&W, 600 m rated) plus 1,000-lumen auxiliary light. Adds viewing angles and eliminates shadows in complex structures.
Sea Otter Reel + Fiber Tether
The Sea Otter 100 reel handles up to 625 m of fiber-optic tether — full HD video and data bandwidth at maximum range. Waterproof hub, Pelican-case option.
Where the Mako Excels
From pipeline survey and offshore structures to intervention and multibeam sonar work, the Mako is built for the heaviest, most instrument-laden missions in the fleet.
Pipeline & Cable Survey
USBL-tracked survey lines with sonar and INS payloads for inspecting and following subsea pipelines and cables.
Offshore Structure Inspection
Platform, jacket and subsea-asset survey where payload and station-holding in current decide whether the job gets done.
Hull & Keel Survey
Class and condition inspection of large hulls with HD imaging, laser scaling and audit-ready overlay documentation.
Intervention & Light Construction
7-function arm work — valve actuation, sampling and recovery — keeping divers out of high-risk water.
Multibeam Sonar Survey
Heavy imaging and 3D sonar heads carried with acoustic clearance for search, mapping and zero-visibility work.
Harbour & Mooring Inspection
Anchor, mooring and harbour-infrastructure survey, plus port-security search with sonar and positioning.
Mako — Full Specs
General ▾
| Max depth | 300 m (1,000 ft) standard; 600 m (2,000 ft) deep model |
| Weight in air | ~72 kg (160 lbs) |
| Dimensions (L×W×H) | 840 × 635 × 674 mm (33" × 25" × 26.5") |
| Diagonal | 890 mm (35") |
| Construction | Anodized aluminium, stainless steel, syntactic foam, marine-grade polymers |
Propulsion ▾
| Thrusters | 8 total (4 horizontal + 4 vertical/lateral) |
| Max speed | 2 knots (configuration dependent) |
| Protection | Per-channel short-circuit protection |
| Auto functions | Auto depth hold, auto heading hold |
| Accessory mounting | Tool-free, repositionable |
Payload ▾
| Standard payload | 14 kg (30 lbs) |
| Upgraded payload | 22.5 kg (50 lbs) |
Camera & Lighting ▾
| Type | HD colour zoom (HD-SDI 1080p uncompressed option) |
| Zoom | 3× optical / up to 32× total |
| Tilt | ±90° |
| Focus | Manual and automatic |
| Lights | 2 × 1,500 lm (3,000 lm) dimmable LED |
| Lasers | Optional parallel green lasers, 150 mm baseline |
| Overlay | Depth, heading, pitch/roll, timestamp |
| Recording | Digital video recorder included |
Tether & Communication ▾
| Standard tether | 335 m (1,100 ft) |
| Twisted pair (max) | 500 m (1,640 ft) |
| Fiber optic (max) | 625 m (2,050 ft) |
| Breaking strength | 700 kgf, Kevlar reinforced |
| Buoyancy | Neutrally buoyant in fresh water |
Sensors, Sonar & Safety ▾
| Depth/pressure sensor | Yes |
| Compass | Yes |
| Pitch & roll sensors | Yes |
| Leak detection | Yes — audible alarm |
| Temperature monitoring | Yes |
| Altimeter option | Yes — auto-altitude control available |
| Sonar integration | Imagenex, Blueview, Soundmetrics, Tritech, Coda Octopus |
| USBL options | LinkQuest TrackLink 1500LC, Tritech MicronNav |
Mako vs. the SEAMOR Range
The Mako leads the current SEAMOR generation on payload — and the new ORCA adds vectored thrust and 6 DOF to comparable capacity.
| Specification | Steelhead | Chinook | Mako | ORCA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max depth | 300m | 300 / 600m | 300 / 600m | 300 / 600 / 1,000m |
| Weight | 21 kg | 33 kg | 72 kg | 60 kg |
| Max speed | 1.75 knots | 2 knots | 2 knots | 3 knots |
| Thrusters | 4 | 2–6 | 8 | 8 (vectored) |
| Payload | — | — | 14–22.5 kg | Up to 20 kg |
| 6 DOF vectored thrust | — | Configurable | Yes | Yes (vectored) |
| Tether (standard) | 165–335m | 335–625m | 335–625m | TBC |
| Best for | Lightweight inspection | Versatile workhorse | Heavy tooling & sonar | Utility / all-mission |
Request a Mako Quote
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