The Marketplace: ROV Tooling

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ARTICLES FROM BACK ISSUES OF UNDERWATER MAGAZINE

Article reprint - May/June 2003

The Marketplace: ROV Tooling

By - Daron Jones

Without the right tooling package for a given subsea job, that shiny new $3 million dollar work class ROV is just a really expensive underwater camera. We rounded up the leaders in ROV tooling from around the world to detail their latest offerings, with an introduction by Steve Harbur of Kraft TeleRobotics. Remotely-operated vehicles (ROVs) come in all shapes and sizes. However, they all serve a single purpose - to provide a mobile platform that can transport the necessary tools to a subsea work site. All ROVs employ the same basic building blocks, namely a buoyancy package, thruster package, onboard hydraulic or electrical power unit, control and telemetry system, vehicle lighting, and a video camera. Although the size, shape, and complexity of ROV systems my vary greatly, with these basic building blocks in place, any ROV can to travel to a submerged work site, maneuver within the water column, and deliver live video to a remote operator. The difference between a low cost inspection ROV (often called a flying eyeball) and a large powerful work class vehicle lies in the ability of the larger vehicle to support manipulator arms, special tool packages, and other peripheral equipment that enables the vehicle to do more than just have a look around. However, without the integration of manipulator arms and special tooling, there is little difference between the work class vehicle and the low-cost inspection vehicle. A complete work class ROV system may represent a capital investment exceeding $3 million dollars, and over 90 percent of this can be attributed to the cost of the basic (ROV) vehicle, support equipment such as the tether management system, handling system, and operator control van. None of this expenditure, however, provides for manipulator arms or any tooling that would allow the vehicle to do real work. If one thinks of the ROV as a method of delivering manipulator arms and tools to a work site, then skimping on the manipulator package makes little sense. To put things in perspective, the difference in cost of providing a customer with the best manipulator technology available, as opposed to offering him a low-end rate arm, could represent less than three percent of your total investment. Kraft Telerobotics manipulator arms provide force feedback, which improves operator awareness and greatly reduces the risk of doing damage to the work site or the manipulator arm itself. Its line of manipulator arms includes the Predator-7, and the innovative Mini-Master is a six-degree-of-freedom, miniature force feedback master controller designed for the confined operating environment in an ROV operator control van. To accommodate operator preference, type of task, and a variety of mounting options, the Mini-Master's multi-position hand grip allows the ROV pilot to choose the most suitable configuration for any given situation. Fingertip controls on the

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hand grip provide the operator with direct access to core manipulator functions for fast, precise positioning of the manipulator arm.arm allows the operator to control complex manipulator motions in a comfortable and intuitive manner. The bottom line is that the manipulator arms on the front of a work class ROV may ultimately define the usefulness of the whole system, and the cost to provide a customer with the best manipulator technology available can be very small in comparison to the overall cost of fielding the complete system. Sonsub Sonsub has an extensive background in providing oil and gas operators, installation contractors, and service companies with day-to-day tooling aimed at reducing the time and high costs associated with offshore operations. Torque tools, metrology tools, seal removal and replacement tools, and work skids are only a few of the many offerings in Sonsub's extensive line of tools. Based on future planned deepwater activities and the idea that ROVs will advance into high horsepower, ultra-deepwater, construction-based systems, Sonsub has been working with several major Gulf of Mexico operators to manufacture pipeline repair tooling packages. Sonsub's "value added" systems are the first packages of the current tooling evolution. Some components of these advanced pipeline repair tooling packages are the company's Diamond Wire Cutting Module, End Preparation and Deburring Tool, FBE and Weld Seam Removal Tool, and the similar Concrete and FBE Removal Tool. The Diamond Wire Cutting Module (DWCM) was designed to perform deepwater cutting operations. A heavy work-class ROV mechanically and hydraulically mates with the tool, providing power, control, and means of maneuvering the unit underwater. The system then attaches to the damaged pipe by a set of hydraulic clamp arms. The cutting element is a special diamond-coated wire, formed into a closed loop. This is kept under tension and rotated at high speed by pulleys arranged on a pivoting frame, which traverses an arc driving the wire through the pipe as it cuts. A key feature of the tool is its ability to cut pipelines under any combination of tensile compressive and torsional loads without jamming. Pipelines with or without concrete weight coat or corrosion protection coatings such as FBE can be cut, as well as pipe-in-pipe configurations. The DWCM was recently used to successfully cut a 12-inch pipeline in the Gulf of Mexico at a depth of 4,573 feet (1,387m). Sonsub's End Preparation and Deburring Tool is used to clean burrs and ragged edges from the end of subsea pipelines after they've been cut with the DWCM. This ensures that there are no rough edges that may cause damage to either the connector seals or any future pigs running through the pipeline. It is a "one size fits all" tool than can be used on any size pipe. The tool grips the wall of the pipe with three rollers - two drive rollers on the outside of the pipe, the clamping roller on the inside of the pipe. The tool rotates around the pipe, keeping the grinder head pressed against the end of the pipe. The pipe will quickly wear a groove in the grinder such that the sides of the groove cut against the inside and outside corners of the end of the pipe, allowing the End Preparation & Deburring Tool to clean burrs from both the inside and outside edge of the pipe simultaneously. The new FBE and Weld Seam Removal Tool incorporates both the anti-corrosion coating (FBE) removal and raised weld seam removal features into a single tool. It is operated via ROV on pipelines from 16 inches to 28 inches in diameter, incorporating proven carbide-tipped brushes for coating removal and a milling

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head for seam removal. Sonsub also developed a comparable tool wherein concrete and FBE were the preferred coating materials. This Concrete and FBE Removal Tool is operated in a similar fashion to the weld seam application. To save clients additional time and money in the early planning stages of field development, as well as complement the pipeline repair packages, Sonsub has also developed several tie-in systems such as the Diverless Flowline Connection System (DFCS) and Brutus. The DFCS is designed to perform pre-laid flowline pull-ins and does not require surface winches or guide wires. Pull-in operations are therefore practically unaffected by surface wave motion. Additionally, because the pull-in is performed against the flowline dead weight and seabed friction, the operation can be suspended at any time, allowing the ROV to fly off the DFCS skid and inspect the alignment or perform interventions. Based on DFCS experience and architecture, Sonsub designed a fairly new horizontal tie-in system called Brutus to cope with the requirements of tie-ins to rigid spool pieces without diver assistance. Brutus is characterized by the capability to pull the two independent pipe sections to be connected with a large force, and then close the connection with dedicated tools, independently of the type of connector used. Brutus eliminates the need for vertical jumpers, potentially saving the client millions in early field development capital expenditures. More information is available at www.sonsub.com. Alstom Schilling Robotics With over 1,000 remote manipulator systems currently operating around the world, Alstom Schilling Robotics (ASR) is a leading supplier of tooling for ROVs and cable trenching operations. ASR offers four standard manipulator systems with a wide range of functions, sizes, lift capacities, ranges of motion, control systems, and dexterity. The Titan 3 is a powerful, position-controlled manipulator with the dexterity and accuracy to perform fine movements needed for complex underwater tasks. It comes with an optional 21,320-foot (6,500m) depth rating, and is also available with a wrist-mounted camera that greatly improves the operator's view of the task being performed. The camera (monochrome or color) is contained in an integrated titanium housing for maximum protection. No external cabling is required since camera signals and power are routed though the Titan 3 arm. Video signals can be in NTSC or PAL format, and are available at the slave bottle. The Conan is a rugged and powerful high-capacity manipulator available with either rate control or position control. The compact Orion is an economical manipulator that is available in positioncontrolled and rate-controlled models, as well as standard and extended lengths. The position-controlled Orion 7P system has a standard depth rating of 21,320 feet (6,500m), The RigMaster is a five-function, rate-controlled, heavy-lift grabber arm that can be mounted on a wide range of ROVs. ASR also produces the Remote Systems Engine (RSE), a simple, reliable, and powerful suite of equipment and control software that can be incorporated into ROVs or almost any remotely operated subsea system. Among the RSE components is an electric pan and tilt unit that provides precise control of camera velocity and position. When used with the standard RSE control system, the pan and tilt unit has an operator-programmable, three-position memory,

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allowing the operator to return to three separate points of view at the touch of a button. The unit accommodates a wide variety of cameras and sensors. The RSE rotary actuator is a small, lightweight, servo-controlled electric device that pro-duces rotary motions with precisely controlled position, velocity, and torque. When it is fitted with a lead screw, the actuator can produce linear motions. The actuator has a high output-to-weight ratio. The small, lightweight RSE hydraulic compensator allows easy monitoring of compensated volumes for fluid levels and seawater contamination. Volume is monitored visually by reading the piston position against a scale on the transparent compensator housing, or by using an optional electronic sensor with RS-232 output to provide exact readings of fluid levels. The housing is made of a tough polyurethane resin for corrosion resistance and ruggedness. Oceaneering Intervention Engineering A key component to the growth of Oceaneering International's worldwide engineering capability has been the success attained by its Oceaneering Intervention Engineering (OIE) team, based in Houston, Texas, and Morgan City, Louisiana. The OIE Deepwater Intervention Systems Group, more commonly known in the industry as OIE ROV Tooling, has focused its business in three directions: 1. Engineering and fabrication of standard API and custom tooling suites to the industry, 2. Custom tooling in response to Gulf of Mexico IMR requirements, 3. Fast-track engineering, or "grenade jumping," in response to immediate and critical customer problems worldwide. OIE has been entrenched in the ROV tooling business for over a decade and has provided the industry with many components that have become industry standard (for example, male and female fluid couplings and tooling interfaces). OIE tools have outstanding track records, including the Pre-Measurement Tools (PMT), Torque Tools, Flying Lead Orientation Tools (FLOT), and numerous others. That operators call out the OIE tooling acronyms in Request For Quotations is ample evidence of the satisfied customers and market penetration these tools have garnered. OIE has outfitted more than half a dozen large tooling suites destined for the Gulf of Mexico, Singapore, West Africa, and Brazil. These suites encompass all standard ROV tools: subsea HPUs, injection systems, torque tools, and FLOTs, cutters capable of severing up to four inches of wire, and unique shipping and work containers for onsite operations. The packages have been provided to oil companies, subsea hardware manufacturers, Oceaneering's own ROV systems, and their competitors' ROV systems. Tooling packages include most electro-hydraulic and simple hydraulic tools that would be required during any developments installation, completion, or commissioning activities. Utilizing manufacturing facilities in the US, UK, and Norway, Oceaneering Intervention Engineering is able to provide cost-effective solutions and logistical support to the industry with a truly global network. The tools alone are not enough to complete the package - customers demand turnkey support in this competitive arena. Technicians experienced with Oceaneering ROV systems and OIE tools are based in Morgan City and Houston, and travel worldwide as necessary to integrate, operate, and maintain the tools. All Oceaneering ROV systems are equipped with satellite telephones and email, and assistance or direction from any facility to the support bases is available 24

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hours a day. OIE engineers say that the ROV tooling world as they understood it has changed - the cheese has moved and these engineers have been busy chasing it, and laying the traps to stay one step ahead. Although the core business of the organization is developing the large standard tooling suites and supporting customer needs through the life of a project, OIE engineering teams are constantly conceiving new custom tools and designs to compliment daily ROV operations and IMR businesses. The Gulf of Mexico is a proven hotbed for new ideas and directions in tooling. OIE engineers have worked feverishly to keep up with the pace. As fields have aged, the ability to provide solutions to customer problems has created a new business and acronym only recently accepted as the focus of operations for years to come: IMR, which stands for inspection, maintenance, and repair. The standard of safety, speed, and efficiency of a service provider will determine their success or failure in the burgeoning IMR business. One key to the success of the Oceaneering Projects Group has been the engineering and ROV tooling support provided by OIE personnel. When a customer requested the engineers further develop an idea to allow for high pressure (up to 17,000psi) testing of pipelines and jumpers, the solution was in the field and functioning within seven weeks.The OIE team determined that most off-the-shelf pump systems were inadequate in terms of reliability and maintainability, and designed a new system capable of operating up to and over the desired pressures in a safe and efficient manner. Another customer required a unique but complex pig receiver to complete his commissioning hardware suite. Several unusual parameters were requested but the team persevered and delivered the components on time and budget and the receiver worked as advertised. On another occasion OIE configured an ROV hydraulic package to provide power to a field when an existing control umbilical failed. A shut-in was avoided through creative thinking and tremendous internal support, while off-the-shelf components allowed for a quick response to the customer's problem. The OIE team prides itself on being made up of "grenade jumpers" - those who live for the Friday-night-at-five-o'clock call for assistance. The highlight of the year was a riser repair conducted in Southeast Asia. From first call to demobilization, which included an enormous logistics effort involving North Sea, US, and Asian personnel, vessels, and ROV systems, the timeframe was just 19 days. The solution was conceived, engineered and tested successfully with a pull of 700kips only three days after first call, culminating a huge engineering effort. ROV Tooling was only recently considered icing on the cake, gravy on the meat, or a loss leader to winning ROV or vessel contracts. However, with an enthusiastic and creative team, many solutions to yet-to-be discovered problems have already been developed. New solutions are allowing customers to remediate problems or achieve results previously unattainable. ROV tooling and engineering is now driving much of the IMR and new installation work and earning key utilization days for ROV vessels. The cheese moved, and to remain an industry leader, OIE's Tooling Group will continue to chase it. Visit

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www.oceaneering.com. Thales GeoSolutions For more than 20 years, Thales GeoSolutions has delivered a wide range of ROV support services, including drill support. In addition, Thales regularly performs a variety of planned and unplanned contingency intervention tasks that are carried out by the company's ROV support team on subsea production systems and associated equipment. In 1995, as part of a service contract for a major petrochemical company, Thales GeoSolutions acquired possession of two ROV tooling packages. Thus began a steep learning curve for the company and its personnel in planned ROV tooling and associated intervention tasks, with the responsibility for both the maintenance and offshore operation of these tooling suites on the Alwyn offshore production facility in the North Sea, a contract the company holds to this day. The ROV support services team has come a long way since those first ROV tooling units were built, while international standards have been written and rewritten several times. Thales GeoSolution's newest tooling system is currently at work in South Africa on the Sokar Sable field. Working with other tooling supply companies, Thales GeoSolutions has produced some of today's very best in new and innovative tooling systems to suit its customers. In the Far East, Thales' factory in Singapore manufactures a full range of ROVdeployed, ISO-compliant tools. In America, Thales experts have collaborated closely with local suppliers, helping produce some of the world's best "smart" ROV tooling. These were specially designed for use in the Gulf of Mexico and other areas where the preference is for this tooling convention, like West Africa and Norway. "Smart" tools have a built-in intelligence (a program or device to limit, record, and control some or all of the functions available on the tool), torque linear force, socket turn counting, latch, and unlatch functions. This same collaboration of expertise has helped Thales GeoSolutions supply ROV tools to client specifications in South America (Brazil in particular). According to David Nicol, one of Thales GeoSolutions' experts in ROV tooling, "Over the years we have built up a safe, solid, and reliable set of ROV tools available on standard load-out, without too much fuss or drama, always equalling and mostly exceeding client expectations." Thales GeoSolutions offers a comprehensive range of custom remote systems, including control, manifold valve operation, and component replacement, as well as planned and emergency intervention systems. The company also designs, manufactures, operates and provides for third party hire, industry standard (ISO 13628-8 Draft 2001) ROV tooling equipment and associated tools, supporting a dedicated client owned tooling maintenance and offshore operation. The company boasts some of the best equipped and managed ROV and diving support bases around the world. With machine and work shops for steel and aluminum welding and fabrication as well as hydraulics, Thales' comprehensive facilities enable effective and efficient production of standard and customised systems. Thales also has a full range of test facilities including high-pressure test chambers and outdoor ROV swim tanks. Nicol concluded, "So what do we know about ROV tooling? Well, not everything, that's for sure. But, one thing we have learned is, if we listen carefully to our

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customers' needs we can help them select what's best for them, even if what they need does not yet exist. Together with our customers we can set new standards and produce ROV tools that are something special and innovative." Visit www.thalesgeosolutions.com. Bennex The Bennex Group has specialized in a range of subsea products and services for nearly 30 years. The company has offices in Bergen, Konsberg, Houston, and Aberdeen. Their equipment range includes umbilical terminations, oil-filled cable assemblies, ROV manipulators, streamer cables, electrical and fibre optic penetrators and connectors, underwater lights and cameras, and more. The Bennex Group's engineering and project management capabilities ensure the solution matches the requirement. Bennex Aberdeen is responsible for the supply and service of ROV-mountable equipment (sales and rental). Bennex's latest piece of tooling is the M5 Manipulator, engineered to allow greater capability than presently available on standard ROV grabber arms. The M5 underwent extensive trials to ensure that it met specified performance levels, offering ROV operators a stronger and more capable manipulator with functions such as 180-degree slew, high-pressure water jetting, and auxiliary hydraulic lines built internally to ensure full movement even when operating manipulator-held tooling. The Bennex M5 features a shoulder pitch of +75 degrees to -35 degrees, 350mm arm extension in construction mode, 400mm extension in tooling mode, 360 degree continuous wrist rotation, 160mm opening on parallel jaw and 290mm with intermeshing jaw, and compensated case drain at 25 bar with continuous rotation. Perry Slingsby Systems Around 20 years ago the ROV started to replace the diver, first for observation and then for work tasks. These early ROV applications were essentially emulating manned tasks, so the ROV tools were developed from diver tools. One of the first work manipulators, the Slingsby TA9, had a horizontal shoulder-elbow curve similar to a human arm. In the early 1990s, the ROV came of age. Many subsea developments have now become totally diverless, both in shallow and deep waters. However, although the work class ROV itself has become more and more capable, the tooling development has not always kept up. One example is the grabber arm. In the past 20 years, vehicle power has gone up from 25hp to 100hp or even 200hp, with a consequent increase in mass. As a result, the momentum and impact loads on the grabber have increased significantly. This led Perry Slingsby Systems Ltd. (PSSL) to develop a heavy-duty grabber, the TA60, with much higher grip and strength than any previous arm on the market. It is now a familiar sight on many large work class ROVs around the world. Subsea construction tasks are becoming ever more demanding in terms of weight to be carried. A particular challenge is the umbilical jumper flying leads on many current West African projects. The leads are usually deployed with a latching Class 1-4 torque tool fitted to the front frame of the ROV. These tools take incredible abuse (some projects have jumper heads with wet weights of 100kg and up to 1,000kg of hose bundle to drag along the seabed).

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PSSL developed a robust but precise tool for this purpose, and has already delivered eight of these systems this year. The tool nose is machined from a solid block of aluminium for maximum strength, the latches are rated to 4-tons holding (but with spring release), and the body has a precision integral torque sensor and turns counter. The gearbox oil is shared with the motor, so it is constantly flushed and clean. Because of the weight of the jumper heads, the torque tool has to be fitted to a work skid with extension slide and buoyancy. To offset the heavy jumper heads, the skid is trimmed over-buoyant at the front. Thus, when the ROV collects the jumper heads, the net nose-down effect is reduced or cancelled. Variable buoyancy systems are another solution. These systems were common on trenching ROVs from a generation ago and are now coming back into their own for handling umbilical jumper heads. By using pressure chambers and positive displacement pumps, this application can be extended to 10,000-foot (3,000m) depths. Torque tool operations are the most common construction ROV task after survey and rigging operations. On many projects, the torque tool is fitted directly to the ROV system hydraulics and operated from one pressure setting. While this is inexpensive in terms of equipment, it often results in expensive lost vessel time for readjustment of settings. When operating at 10,000 feet (3,000m), even fast winches cannot deploy and retrieve in less than two hours, round trip. The latest PSSL TMRV and Triton XLS ROVs have isolated hydraulic circuits for tooling and proportional controlled pressure regulation valves with instrumentation options for torque and pressure feedback. For older and lower specification ROVs, PSSL supplies a two- or three-stage piloted manifold for two or three torque settings, or a full-blown torque tool control manifold with software. Increasingly, deepwater projects are seeking to minimize ROV trips to the seabed and back. When the water depth is less that 1,000 feet (300m), it is generally effective to bring the ROV to the surface to change tooling packages. Beyond this depth, the round trip time is significant, especially for an expensive construction vessel. Whenever the seabed conditions permit, it is best to put several tools down in a basket at once and let the ROV collect and use each one as required. A basket might have two different torque tools, a hub cleaning tool, a seal change tool and a cutter. This means the ROV has to make hydraulic hot stab connections. Few ROVs work well with water in the primary oil circuit, so an isolated circuit is used and the oil is regularly flushed. For basket type operations, PSSL supplies the standard ISO type A dual port hydraulic stabs. To meet the requirements of some torque tools that have A, B and Drain lines, a triple port stab was developed. A quad port stab is available for operating double function devices such as torque tools with latches or cutters with anvils. Both the triple and quad stabs maintain 100 percent interface capability with the standard dual port, thus the one stab can be used with several types of tools in the basket. When operating tools on hydraulic hot stabs, torque can be derived from pressure but the turns counter sensor is not available. PSSL torque tools are often equipped with rear-mounted turns indicators, which show the true socket rotation direction and position (not motor speed). This also helps where valve stem indicators on the subsea structure are obscured by marine growth.

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The need to hot stab tools underlines another aspect of good torque tool design. PSSL uses geroter motors to give minimum torque variation at the same pressure setting. When hot stabbing, pressure is the only direct measurement, so it must be a clear indicator. Torque settings are usually measured on deck with a torque calibration device before the ROV dives. Underwater, the torque applied should be the same, but there is frequently a need to prove it. The surface unit may be a two-hour round trip away, so a subsea torque calibration unit is used. This has a representative torque bucket with a precision sensor and matched to a bright LED display. The unit is always on, powered by battery, and the display wakes up whenever there is a change in reading and displays torque applied. This type of unit can be fitted to the tether management system, garage, or a work basket. The overall objective at increased depths is to keep the ROV down as long as possible doing more productive work. Much attention has been focussed on the ROV system, but the ROV is only as good as the tooling it is connected to. There is a need to invest in the right tools and to educate subsea designers in the most effective use of ROVs. At the end of the day, in construction ROV operations, using the right tools reduces vessel operation time and that saves the most money. OceanWorks International OceanWorks International supplies both standard and custom designed intervention tooling systems. Tooliong projects carried out by the company in the last year include a cable recovery device called DeepGrab, designed and built for installation on Global Maine Systems' fleet of Triton T200 trenching ROVs. DeepGrab provides the unique capability to recover cables that have been buried 10 feet (3m) below the seabed, using the water power from the trencher to jet an extending arm with a cable recovery mechanism into the seabed. The initial DeepGrab unit was successfully tested offshore, and a further two units were delivered to Global Marine later in the year. OceanWorks also developed the Tornado, an API 17D Class 1-4 torque tool that is light, simple, and reliable to use. This tool provides the ability to change between all four classes of torque without having to interfere with the tool's hydraulic system. There is also no requirement to interface the torque tool to the ROV's electrical system, since the tool incorporates its own battery powered turns counter display. The display numerals are large for easy viewing with a camera, and it incorporates power-saving features that conserve battery power when the tool is not being used. A total of five Tornado torque tools have been delivered to date. To complement the torque tool, OceanWorks designed a Flying Lead Orientation Tool (FLOT) that can accommodate a range of subsea torque tools, including the Tornado. When a torque tool is configured with the FLOT, it can be used to perform either vertical or horizontal flying lead connections. The FLOT has been designed to accommodate loads of up to 600 pounds and provides 180 degrees of pitch movement and 15 degrees of rotational alignment. Additional tools are constantly being added to the range of standard products offered by OceanWorks. A modular subsea control system called OceanView was recently launched, offering users the ability to develop their own customized control equipment for a variety of control applications, such as ROV tooling skids. A range of standard electronics modules are available, which can be mounted in an oil-filled housing. One of the key system advantages is that the electronics can be housed in valve packs to reduce system weight, number of components, and the quantity of cable/connector interfaces. The OceanView software is PC-based and automatically detects which electronic

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modules are fitted to the system, allowing users to develop their own customized control screens via an intuitive point and click interface that does not require any experience in writing software code. CDL's MiniPlexer Aberdeen-based CDL has launched the MiniPlexer, a multiplexer/demultiplexer that combines small size, low price, and high performance. The CDL MiniPlexer is available in surface, subsea, and OEM versions and also in 4-channel or 8channel variations. RS485 or RS232 transmission formats are available with a maximum combined baud rate of 115kbaud. A special pre-emphasised RS485 circuit allows exceptionally long distances to be achieved. The board sets measure a tiny 70mm diameter, making the MiniPlexer ideal for tidying up the wiring in a typical ROV spread and fitting in almost any small space. The baud rates on each channel can be set up either using DIP switches or by serial communication. A proprietary CDL data compression algorithm can be switched on which will compress ASCII data up to 40 percent. Deepsea Power and Light DeepSea Power and Light specializes in manufacturing cameras and lights to perform under pressure in harsh environments. During 20 years of operation, DeepSea's products have become essential tools for ROV manufacturers around the world. The SeaArc 5000 is the latest addition to DeepSea Power and Light's line of underwater gas discharge lighting. Designed for demanding underwater durability and high efficiency, this 70-watt HID fixture offers an integrated ballast and is available in depth ratings of 3,300, 10,000, and 19,680 feet (1,000, 3,000, and 6,000m). A key feature is that the light utilizes an integrated ballast. This means that the ballast is enclosed in the light head assembly with the lamp and igniter, so only one interconnect cable is required. The SeaArc 5000 uses the same dome, cowl, and retaining rings as the Multi SeaLite and Deep Multi SeaLite. A pair of SeaArc 5000s were mounted on the US Navy's MR-2 ROV used during the USS Monitor turret recovery operation. The feedback from the ROV pilots was extremely positive after the mission. DeepSea Power & Light is also a pioneer in the design of underwater cameras for use on ROVs. The new Micro SeaCam 2002 high-resolution color camera is the successor to the popular Micro SeaCam 2000 ultra-small color camera, which was first offered in 1992. The rugged titanium housing is rated to 19,680 feet (6,000m) and measures just 1.24-inches in diameter by 8.25-inches in length. The Micro SeaCam 2002 has proven to be a real asset on ROV manipulator wrists and tether management systems. Visit www.deepsea.com. Gary Herman Companies The Wachs' Guillotine Saw, first used to cut ductile sewer pipes, has seen its applications grow steadily over the years. Now that it is used by both ROVs and divers for subsea cold cutting operations, customers are asking for better ways to clamp to the pipe. In response, Herman Companies has modified a series of Guillotine Saws with hydraulic clamping arms. This eliminated the chains that are hard for the divers to install, and even more difficult for the ROVs to handle. With the use of single

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or duel hydraulic systems, the tool can be clamped to the pipe with a single push of the control lever. The modified saws have been used on Oceaneering's ROVs and Wasp oneatmosphere suits without any problems. Although there are a number of new cutting systems on the market, there is still a place for this tried and proven saw with these new modifications. The modified models offered by Herman Companies are the Super C for pipe up to 12 inches, the Model D for pipe up to 18 inches, the Super D for pipe up to 24 inches, and the Goliath for pipe up to 32 inches. The Goliath has been used on a number of conductor removals, cutting multiple strings successfully. Being able to cut multiple strings that are cemented saves considerable time and money when compared to the old way of performing this task. Along with the clamp, Herman offers a single point pick-up for both vertical and horizontal cutting. Email garyjherman@earthlink.net. Fastorq Bolting Systems Fastorq Bolting Systems' new Auto-Zip products, with patented Double Zip technology, offers a new breakthrough in ROV operational efficiency. The pushon, pull-off segmented thread assembly provides more speed, accuracy, and safety than standard thread assemblies that must be rotated or turned to install and remove. Bottom time and operational costs are reduced and cross threading is eliminated. Fastorq's Auto-Tension Stud Tensioners are hydraulically powered to simultaneously tension multiple threaded fasteners to a permanent and accurate load in half the time required by conventional threaded stud tensioners, due to the elimination of manual rotation. The reliable, low-friction seals are selflubricating and provide unlimited shelf life. They are especially suited for subsea applications, due to their unique robotic adaptability. Models are available for stud diameters from .75-inch to 4.5-inches. Auto-Zip Nuts are push-on threaded nuts designed to replace heavy hex nuts that require tedious turning and can be cross-threaded. These nuts are ASTM A194 2H equivalent and fit standard bolts. The Zip-Lift Load Connector uses the Double Zip technology to allow an ROV to connect and disconnect heavy loads to lifting devices. Human intervention can be eliminated in unsafe environments. The connector is available in several models, with lifting capacities ranging from 35,000 pounds to 422,000 pounds. Fastorq's Auto-Zip Subsea Flange Puller is the largest load capacity pulling system in the industry. Its compact design allows the pullers to fit a wide range of flange sizes, and it can be used in multiple units with a single pump to provide uniform flange makeup. The tool is especially beneficial for subsea flange pulling and alignment, as well as heavy equipment positioning and maneuvering. UW

UnderWater Magazine is the quarterly journal of the Association of Diving Contractors International, Inc. It is published by Doyle Publishing Company for the commercial diving, ROV, and underwater industries. Entire contents 1993 - 2003 Doyle Publishing Company. Reproduction in whole or in part without express written permission is prohibited.

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11/07/2007