Unique Group, a global leader in subsea technologies and engineering, has partnered with DEEP to design and deliver key systems for Vanguard, the pilot model of DEEP’s subsea human habitat program. The project represents a major milestone in advancing safe, sustainable underwater living and scientific exploration.
An underwater rendering of the Vanguard subsea habitat.
As DEEP’s specialized technology partner, Unique Group is providing engineering design, project management, and fabrication of several mission-critical systems. These include foundation and geotechnical design, metocean data collection, and cyclonic survivability analysis supported by Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) modeling. The foundation base plate—currently under fabrication in the U.S.—weighs more than 300 tons and features multiple anchoring systems for subsea stability.
Unique Group also engineered the mooring spread for Vanguard’s support buoy and managed the internal fit-out of the habitat chamber, providing furniture, fixtures, and life-support gas systems tailored to operational and ergonomic requirements. Once complete, Vanguard will house a four-person crew for missions of up to seven days at depths reaching 200 meters. The habitat will be the first of its kind to be classified under DNV’s subsea ruleset, setting a new benchmark for safety and performance.
“Collaborating with DEEP on the Vanguard project marks a defining milestone in subsea living and engineering,” said Dave Thompson, Group Engineering Director at Unique Group. “Our partnership highlights our in-house capabilities and commitment to developing sustainable subsea technologies that will expand human access to the ocean.”
Vanguard is currently under construction in Sebastian, Florida, and will pave the way for Sentinel—a larger, next-generation subsea habitat capable of supporting longer-duration scientific missions. DEEP’s long-term vision aims to enable researchers and scientists to live and operate underwater, expanding the frontiers of ocean research, marine conservation, and offshore innovation.
