Existing approaches of tele-operation of underwater robots using a video camera are very inefficient due to poor visibility around the worksite and limited camera field of view. This paper describes research work which attempts to overcome the problem by introducing a virtual telepresence operation approach. This virtual telepresence interface takes the robot's position and orientation data from a sonar navigation system, and generates 3D synthetic images of the worksite based on its CAD model using virtual reality technology. It provides the robot operators with a full perception of its spatial location, flexible options of viewpoints and functions for tele-operation of underwater robots. The interface can also be used for training of the robot operators. The main conclusion is that virtual telepresence incorporated with a robot safety domain concept not only can improve the efficiency of operation of underwater robots, but also forms the basis for supervisory control and fully automated control of the robots.