I’m Chad Bonin, the AUV Supervisor responsible for leading autonomous underwater vehicle operations in complex deep-sea search and exploration missions.
The search for the Argentine submarine ARA San Juan is a project I will carry with me for the rest of my life. When we arrived to begin the search, it had been almost exactly a year since the submarine went missing, and for many people, it felt like no time had passed at all. On board with us were members of the Argentine Navy, and also family members of the sailors who had been on the submarine. From the very beginning, we knew this search was different.
From the start, everyone involved took extra care. We understood that our work wasn’t only about finding something on the seabed, but it was also about helping families find closure after a long period of uncertainty.
Searching the Deep Ocean
Underwater search is slow and methodical. The ocean is vast, deep, and dark, and you can’t see what’s happening in real time. We used autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to scan the seabed, following carefully planned routes.
