Victor 6000

Victor 6000 is a deep-water remotely operated vehicle (ROV) operated by the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER). In service since 1999, it can reach depths up to 6,000 m.

Design
Victor 6000 is a remotely operated underwater vehicle (ROV) that weighs 4.6 t and measures 3.07 m long, 2.77 m high, and 2.14 m wide. It is capable of reaching depths of 6,000 m. Victor 6000 is controlled and powered via a 8.5 km cable that connects it to its host ship, but can operate autonomously for 100 hours.

Operational history
From 30 April to 3 June 2002, Victor 6000, aboard the IFREMER research ship French ship Atalante (1989), participated in the PHARE (Peuplements hydrothermaux, leurs associations et relations avec l'environnement) oceanographic campaign and featured in a documentary about the expedition by Jean-François Ternay.

The fauna on display in the Abyss Box pressurised deep sea tank were collected by Victor 6000.

During a scientific expedition with the IFREMER research ship FRENCH SHIP Pourquoi Pas? in November 2020, Victor 6000 was used to discover a SNCASE Aquilon jet fighter-bomber, missing since 1960, at a depth of 2400 m to the south of Porquerolles, France.

2023 Titan submersible incident
In 2023, Victor 6000 and Atalante were used in a rescue attempt in the search for the Titan submersible.