Unmanned vehicle control and operation in a marine environment

An unmanned vehicle for a marine environment, wherein the unmanned vehicle is controllable by a marine electronic device of a marine vessel traveling on a surface of a body of water, the unmanned vehicle comprising:

• a location sensor configured to gather location data corresponding to the unmanned vehicle;
• a propulsion system configured to propel the unmanned vehicle;
• at least one operational component configured to gather operational data, wherein the operational component comprises at least one of a sensor configured to obtain sensor data or a camera configured to obtained camera data;
• a transmitter configured to transmit data to the marine electronic device;
• a receiver configured to receive instructions from the marine electronic device;
• a processor;
• and
• a memory including computer program product stored thereon, wherein the computer program product is configured, when executed by the processor, to:
• determine location data indicative of a current location of the unmanned vehicle;
• transmit the location data to the marine electronic device;
• receive a control signal from the marine electronic device, wherein the control signal includes instructions to travel to a desired location relative to the marine vessel and perform a search for one or more objects or hazards in the body of water by receiving operational data corresponding to the desired location;
• cause the propulsion system to propel the unmanned vehicle to the desired location;
• receive operational data from the at least one operational component, wherein the operational data comprises at least one of sensor data or camera data, wherein the operational data corresponds to the one or more objects or hazards in the body of water at the desired location;
• and
• transmit the operational data to the marine electronic device.