SEAMOR Marine was established in 2006 in Nanaimo on Vancouver Island on Canada’s west coast. In the spring of the following year, the adventure leapt forward with the purchase of intellectual property rights from a local Nanaimo tech company, Inuktun Services Ltd., where Robin Li, President, previously worked.
Founded by Inja Ma and Robin Li, a wife and husband team, SEAMOR represents the entrepreneurial spirit of intrepid immigrants, dedicated to creating a successful venture in their new country. Inja transitioned her managerial skills drawn from a background in the education field, with a focus on overseeing finance and accounting, and leading SEAMOR’s team to ensure team members are motivated, productive, and engaged. Robin drew from his previous experience in technical sales to create the overall business strategy, set goals for growth, and realize the potential in global markets.
The original SEAMOR ROV was a retirement project for the co-founders of Inuktun Services Ltd., Terry Knight and Al Robinson; these two innovators designed and manufactured the first underwater swimming vehicle in 1989 and Al’s spouse back then named it “SEAMOR” – which means See More – inspired by Mt. Seymour in North Vancouver, BC, where they started their dream. At that time, it was an expensive toy for private boat owners, a gizmo for chasing crabs and fish. When it was first developed, this underwater technology was ground-breaking. We are proud and grateful to take over ownership and further development of this state-of-the-art technology.
Since 2006, SEAMOR Marine has made tremendous progress, evolving the technology, focusing on growth, forward momentum, and commitment to providing solutions to underwater needs. In 2015, the company developed two flagship ROV models based on the original SEAMOR design under the new Engineering team led by Dr. Chris Parker. The new hydrodynamic, intuitive design featured all electrical components inside the electrical canister using the newest technology available. Each SEAMOR model has been named to reflect where we are: Canada’s west coast. Both the Chinook and Steelhead are named after fishes that are found on the west coast. In 2018, SEAMOR’s Engineering team developed the Mako model which gives more payload that can offer more solutions for users. The development of the next generation of the SEAMOR ROV is currently underway.
SEAMOR Marine is one of just a few subsea ROV companies in Canada that exports products all over the world. SEAMOR ROVs can now be found on every continent and in every major body of water. SEAMOR’s brand is gaining a strong reputation as a global leader providing powerful, reliable, versatile, quality technology and outstanding customer service. With over a decade of experience developing and manufacturing underwater Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs), our team is very proud to promote our unique underwater ROVs in global markets and continue to grow as an innovative leader in our industry.
Come See the Deep
We are good and creative people who help inspire the world to discover the deep.
We aim to bring the newest underwater technology to the world that can ultimately discover and support where humans have never touched. We give people the eye to uncover the deep.
Collaboration – We work together, listen to each other, value our differences while taking on challenges and solving problems that create results for our customers, employees, suppliers, global partners and the communities that we serve.
Family – We are committed to building an encouraging, caring, and supportive environment. We share a responsibility to support our team members and enrich their lives.
Adventure – We are adventurous, creative and open minded in the type of work we do and the projects we take on and our creativity in finding solutions with new technology development.
Act with Integrity – We are honest and forthright in our dealings. Building trust builds a better product and in turn, a better company.
Growth – We are constantly aiming to grow both as individuals and as a company. We structure our work environment, so each person is enabled to create their best work and achieve their maximum potential. As each individual grows, so does the whole organisation, as well as the community in which we work.
SEAMOR ROVs have been designed with an engineering philosophy of modularity. This allows customers to select from a wide range of accessories and upgrades that can be added on to any of SEAMOR’s three flagship vehicles:
SEAMOR also offers a wide range of in-house designed and built accessories such as auxiliary cameras, lights, handheld control pendant, and grippers. A cutting-edge 7-funtion hydraulic arm is also being developed for complex manipulation/sample retrieval.
“We have completed many inspections so far. The video is incredible, especially in the potable water conduits we were inspecting! The Chinook system works great, very impressed with the fit and finish of the system. Our clients and the consulting engineers were very impressed, too. SEAMOR is first rate in communications, all the staff, including the owner, Director & President, Robin, makes time for you to answer any questions you have no matter when you inquire.”
Andy Croy
Owner
General Diving
Canada
“We drive the SEAMOR ROVs pretty hard – hundreds of hours per year – and they have performed well for us over a long period of time. They can handle all types of marine and freshwater environments and have the added benefit of high resolution imagery, intuitive control and great portability.”
Lance Stewardson
Co-Founder
Mainstream Biological Consulting
Canada
“The SEAMOR Steelhead ROV has performed beyond our expectations. The power and stability of the vehicle allows for a very precise and fluid inspection. The video camera is high quality with a very good field of view and the rear camera is invaluable when performing tunnel inspections. During our recent project the Steelhead pulled its 1,640’ tether easily with no operational effects to the vehicle”.
Richard L. Glenn
CEO/Chairman
Glenn Industrial Group, LLC
SEAMOR Marine has been designing and developing ROVs for a decade. Over this time, we have prototyped and successfully launched several different models and iterations of our ROVs. We are proud to showcase our previous designs to demonstrate what we’ve done and how our ROVs have evolved over the years.
The Mako is SEAMOR Marine’s newest ROV. With a large open frame design and versatile mounting options, this vehicle can carry a variety of accessories and has the power capacity to run them all at once. The Mako’s payload (14 kg standard, upgradable to 22.5 kg) allows users to install heavy instrumentation, including multi-beam imaging sonars.
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Our deep-water ROV, the Chinook is a true workhorse. This ROV offers a stable platform yet remains compact and easy to use. The Chinook has a wide range of capabilities, including extra thrusters, navigational and searching aids, manipulators, tool skids and more.
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The first fully redesigned ROV at SEAMOR; the Steelhead is a portable, lightweight and stable underwater system that is easily operated through intuitive flight controls. Its small profile allows this vehicle to inspect confined spaces and be easily stowed.
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This ROV incorporates 1080p high definition video and a custom float paint scheme to match the colours of the client’s existing equipment as it is being used in public educational display.
This design was a proof-of-concept miniature ROV system employing electronics that were the precursors to the newly-revised electronics currently used in the Steelhead and Chinook models
This ROV was a custom system built using side frames machined out of single pieces of marine-grade plastic. This system also had Ethernet on board for an imaging sonar.
This unique system was developed to be towed behind a boat, while retaining vertical/lateral thrusters for maneuvering at the end of its towline.
Miniature ROV designed with titanium parts and all-metal body construction as a prototype for corrosive environments.