With the delivery of the final glider, ALSEAMAR has completed Voice of the Ocean’s first order of five SEAEXPLORER 200 gliders, a shallow-water model developed in close collaboration between the two organisations. It marks the next step in a partnership built on ocean technology, oceanographic research and a shared commitment to making ocean data more accessible.
Gothenburg, 13 October 2026 – The ALSEAMAR team joined Voice of the Ocean (VOTO) in Gothenburg to hand over the final glider, completing the order. The first glider was delivered in November 2025.
The SEAEXPLORER 200 is built for coastal and shallow seas and is designed for waters between 5 and 200 metres deep. It is the result of about four years of close dialogue between VOTO’s operational teams and ALSEAMAR’s engineers, shaped by VOTO’s experience of flying gliders designed for the deep ocean in the shallow, strongly stratified waters of the Baltic. Compared with the 1000-metre rated gliders, it is more energy efficient in shallow waters. It has a rated endurance of up to 75 days on a single battery, or 135 days with the double-battery option, and it can be launched directly from shore. It is compatible with SEAEXPLORER 1000 payloads and with ALSEAMAR’s piloting and data collection interface, GLIMPSE. Gliders like these capture the ever-changing ‘weather’ of the ocean, sending back high-resolution data on conditions beneath the surface.
Since its delivery, the first glider has completed missions in four Baltic basins: the Bornholm Basin, the Eastern Gotland Basin, the Arkona Basin and the Northern Baltic Proper. When early signs of a rare major Baltic inflow emerged, VOTO worked with experts from the Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI), the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research (IOW) and the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI) to deploy a SEAEXPLORER 200 shallow glider and capture the event as it unfolded in the Arkona Basin. This time, the inflow did not become a major, but this showed what the new technology is capable of.
“Having a glider that is more efficient in the shallow stratified waters of the Baltic Sea, and also provides longer endurance, makes a huge difference in operational logistics and the science we are able to perform with them” says Olle Glader, Head of Ocean Tech, Voice of the Ocean.
With its existing fleet of 1,000-metre-rated gliders, VOTO collects about 100,000 vertical profiles of the water column each year. Each profile is a series of measurements through the water column, taken as the glider sinks and rises. With the new SEAEXPLORER 200, gliders need to be recovered and redeployed every two months instead of every three weeks. This saves time and resources for the operational team, both at sea and for the pilots flying the gliders.
The SEAEXPLORER 200 is available to the wider international scientific community, and the data collected by VOTO’s gliders are freely available through its Observations Portal. In November 2025, the two organisations signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) committing them to advance glider technology and support training across the world.
“Partnerships are essential to advancing ocean observation – by combining complementary expertise, we accelerate the development of innovative techniques that no single actor could achieve alone. Our trustful collaboration with VOTO exemplifies this spirit, bringing together science, technology and shared ambition to better understand and protect the ocean for the benefit of all. The future of innovation lies in the power of collective human intelligence, probably one of the keys to solving our global challenges” says Thibaud Bezacier, CEO, ALSEAMAR.
About the Voice of the Ocean Foundation
Voice of the Ocean envisions a world where the ocean is understood, respected, and protected. The Foundation dedicates itself to advancing marine research and enhancing knowledge. By uniting the power of storytelling with scientific integrity, Voice of the Ocean seeks to spark curiosity, deepen understanding, and inspire meaningful engagement with the ocean.
About ALSEAMAR
Founded in 2015, ALSEAMAR, a subsidiary of the ALCEN Group, develops, designs, operates and maintains high-performance underwater solutions that meet scientific exploration challenges. World leader in the production of buoyancy materials for underwater vehicles, ALSEAMAR is also known for its underwater autonomous gliders, its acoustic capabilities and its scientific department for underwater studies.
Media contacts
Robert Kautsky, Voice of the Ocean – [email protected]
Morgane Ruiz, ALSEAMAR – [email protected]
