Why Teledyne Technologies' SeaRAY Side Scan Sonar quietly stands out offshore

Reviewed: ad hoc news B2B & Pro desk. Edited and checked on 2026-06-20, 07:38. Details in the imprint.

With the SeaRAY Side Scan Sonar, Teledyne Technologies puts a yellow torpedo-shaped towfish behind the survey boat that quietly paints the seafloor in crisp grayscale. Crews see wrecks, pipelines, and ripples appear live on their screens while spray, cable tension, and engine noise frame the workday.

What SeaRAY is built to do

The SeaRAY Side Scan Sonar is a towed system aimed at hydrographic survey, pipeline inspection, wreck search, and coastal engineering projects. Survey teams drag it behind small vessels to rapidly image wide swaths of seafloor in shallow and intermediate water.

Teledyne markets SeaRAY as a compact, high-resolution side scan for professional users who need repeatable data more than flashy marketing. The towfish is designed to be rugged, with a streamlined body that stays stable in choppy seas and resists abuse on busy decks.

Imaging performance under the surface

The defining feature of the SeaRAY Side Scan Sonar is its ability to deliver detailed seafloor imagery across a wide range of depths and ranges, helping operators distinguish rocks, debris, and man-made objects at a glance. That cuts interpretation time when daylight and fuel are limited.

Operators can typically choose different operating frequencies to trade range for detail, using higher frequencies for fine structure and lower frequencies for broader area coverage as conditions demand. Paired with Teledyne software, the system supports mosaicking, target marking, and export for GIS workflows.

Handling on deck and in the water

On deck, the SeaRAY towfish is small enough that two people can usually handle it without a full A-frame, which matters on crowded coastal survey boats. Eye bolts and grab points make it easier to control when the hull rolls and the cable tugs unexpectedly.

Once in the water, the hydrodynamic shape helps the towfish track smoothly behind the vessel instead of swinging wildly in turns. That stability translates directly into cleaner sonar lines and fewer noisy returns, especially in cross seas or when the skipper must maneuver around traffic.

How it fits into Teledyne's sonar family

SeaRAY sits in Teledyne Marine's broader side scan and synthetic aperture sonar portfolio, which spans compact systems for coastal work to heavier, deeper-rated gear for offshore energy and defense. This gives survey companies an upgrade path as projects get more demanding.

Teledyne also pairs side scan hardware with navigation tools, sound velocity sensors, and multibeam echosounders, allowing integrators to build turnkey survey spreads around a single vendor. For many B2B customers, that single point of responsibility weighs more than any one spec line.

Where the limits show up

Despite its strengths, the SeaRAY Side Scan Sonar is still a towed body, so it needs a vessel with enough deck space, winch capacity, and crew to launch and recover safely. Tiny open boats or very tight harbors remain challenging territory for this type of system.

Compared with ultra-high-end synthetic aperture sonar, SeaRAY will not match the finest resolution or range combinations. For many coastal mapping, cable route, and harbor inspection jobs, though, the simpler architecture and lower cost of ownership win the argument.

Market context and stock reference

Teledyne Technologies has quietly built a dense marine sensor ecosystem that sells less on hype and more on long-term contracts with surveyors, energy companies, and government agencies. Offshore gear like the SeaRAY Side Scan Sonar is a niche product, but one that tends to generate recurring service and replacement business.

Shares of Teledyne Technologies (US8793601050) trade on the New York Stock Exchange in US dollars.

This article was AI-assisted and editorially reviewed. Product information without guarantee; prices and availability may change at short notice. No investment advice, no buy or sell recommendation. Stock-market transactions involve risks up to total loss.