DeepOcean UK, a subsidiary of DeepOcean Group Holding BV, today announced that it has acquired a 50% interest in the leading 3D sonar visualisation company ADUS to form ADUS DeepOcean Ltd.

ADUS, originally a spin out from the University of St Andrews and Dundee University, has rapidly acquired a global reputation in the marine salvage market for its stunning subsea 3D visualisations.

The company is known for such high profile work as the survey of the wreck of the oil rig Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico, and more recently, the stricken cruise ship Costa Concordia in Italy and the cargo ship Rena which sunk off the coast of New Zealand.

Building on its success, ADUS has recently begun to successfully deploy its know-how and technologies in the offshore wind and oil & gas markets, where it can be used to provide high quality 3D images of subsea structures such as offshore facilities, wind turbine foundations and seabed architecture.

Bart Heijermans, DeepOcean Group Holding BV Chief Executive Officer stated “This acquisition enhances the quality of the services we offer to our customers in the oil & gas and renewables industries. As part of this acquisition ADUS will commit to a R&D programme to further develop the visualisation software used by ADUS."

The major R & D investment programme is with Dundee University, led by ADUS co-founder Dr. Chris Rowland who remains Director of the University's 3D Visualisation Research Lab.

ADUS Co-founder, Mark Lawrence said “The acquisition of ADUS by DeepOcean is an excellent opportunity for all concerned; ADUS’ data acquisition and visualisation technologies will add value to DeepOcean’s core services, whilst providing ADUS with global access and resources it needs to grow in the energy market.”

ADUS Chairman Aubrey Thompson will remain on the Board as a non-executive director while ADUS co-founder Martin Dean will become Special Projects Director and continue to oversee the company’s marine salvage and archaeological business.