DEEP deploys underwater research habitat in Florida Keys

Vanguard is the first underwater ocean habitat deployed in US waters in 40 years (Photo: DEEP)

Ocean engineering company DEEP has deployed a new subsea habitat, Vanguard, at Tennessee Reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The new habitat, the first to be installed in US waters in 40 years, is a step towards the company’s long-term goal of establishing a permanent human presence beneath the sea.

The project first began in the UK in 2023 as ‘Sentinel’, a modular habitat system proposed by DEEP, after the company moved into its headquarters at the former National Diving and Activity Centre at Tidenham, Gloucestershire.

In 2025, DEEP announced a $100 million expansion into the United States, opening an engineering hub in Florida and moving the construction and deployment of Vanguard – a pilot project for the larger Sentinel – to Florida.

Vanguard as it is deployed on Tennessee Reef (Photo: DEEP)

The facility is intended to enable scientists and other specialists to live and work underwater for days at a time, extending the amount of research that can be carried out on coral reefs and other marine environments without the need for repeated dives.

The habitat was installed during a complex marine operation that involved placing a foundation on the seabed, securing Vanguard to it and tethering a surface support buoy nearby. The completed system now rests on a sandy seabed at a depth of 17 metres (56ft).

The liveable section measures 10.7 metres (35ft) long by 2.5 metres (8ft) wide and is designed to accommodate crews of up to four aquanauts on missions lasting five days or more.

The habitat is now undergoing final testing and certification by Norwegian engineering assurance and maritime classification organisation DNV before research operations begin. DEEP will also train habitat support crews ahead of the first missions.

The seating and bunking area (Photo: DEEP)

‘Installing Vanguard at Tennessee Reef was a carefully choreographed marine operation with a lot of moving parts, and the culmination of 18 months of intense design, build, and testing efforts. Today is a huge milestone and an experience I’ll never forget,’ said Norman Smith, Chief Technology Officer at DEEP.

‘Successful deployment gets us closer to enabling a continuous human presence in the ocean and is a major step forward in DEEP’s mission to make humans aquatic.

‘From Vanguard we can expand meaningful access to the underwater environment and unlock new possibilities in marine science, environmental monitoring, human performance and extreme environment training.’

Scientists using Vanguard will be able to remain at Tennessee Reef for several days at a time, increasing the continuity of research on coral health, ecosystem dynamics, and long-term environmental change.

Activities will also include research into human physiology, testing sensors and maritime sampling technologies, astronaut and extreme-environment training, and live educational broadcasts.

‘For decades, NOAA has supported using subsea habitats as a platform to reveal ground-breaking discoveries that inform the sanctuary’s management well into the future,’ said Eddie Kertis, superintendent of Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

‘The deployment of a new subsea habitat within the sanctuary creates additional opportunities for marine science and builds on research infrastructure, resource stewardship, and our long-standing collaboration with the scientific community.’