Wreck diver orders Hydroid submarine

A company headed by a hunter of sunken World War II U-boats has awarded a contract to Hydroid LLC for a two-person submarine, Bourne-based Hydroid said today.

Hydroid makes a line of products called Remus, which it describes as low-cost autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs.

Hydroid said that the contract is from Underwater Archaeology and Exploration Corp., and that the contract with UAEC calls for a Remus 100 AUV; plans call for this Remus to be fitted with an Edge Tech 2200S Side Scan Sonar System to enhance its functionality for underwater exploration missions.

UAEC's president is wreck-diver John Chatterton, whose six-year search to identify a sunken U-boat off the coast of New Jersey was chronicled in a book titled "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson, Hydroid noted.

Hydroid added that Chatterton's company is currently investigating the possibility of purchasing a second Remus 100 unit.
(By Chris Reidy, Globe staff)