the publication of the marine equipment industry

TRAIN, BUILD, DIVE:

The safety and training of
divers and engineers is
coming under close scrutiny
UNDERWATER IN HD:
High-definition video sweeps
aside the competition
MICRO ROVS ON THE
RISE: Buccaneer Ltd MD
Ian MacDonald heralds this
versatile offshore innovation
ONLINE E-EDITION &
IN PRINT Autumn 2008
EXCLUSIVE: IMCAS ROV
& AUV ROLE: Chief Executive
Hugh Williams details the
organisations vital industry work
www.energy-profile.com
energy
profile
FMC TECHNOLOGIES
ROV &
SUBSEA
energy-profile.com
ROV & SUBSEA SUPPLEMENT
2
I am delighted to see so many members
of the International Marine Contractors
Association (IMCA) represented within
the pages of this timely and interesting
supplement with news and features on
recent developments in remotely
operated vehicle (ROV) and autonomous underwater vehicle
(AUV) technology.
IMCA, with its 500+ member companies in over 50
countries, represents marine, offshore and underwater
companies, and is a respected voice around the world
promoting good practice, particularly in the areas of health,
safety and environmental standards, quality and efficiency and
technical standards. Two core activities relate to all members
Safety, Environment & Legislation (SEL) and Training,
Certification & Personnel Competence (TCPC). Each member
company also joins one or more of IMCAs four technical
divisions, each covering a specific area Marine, Diving,
Offshore Survey, and Remote Systems and ROVs.
ROVs are increasingly in demand around the globe as more
and more of the worlds mineral resources are extracted in
harsh environments, in water depths beyond the reach of
divers (sometimes as far as 3,000 metres below sea level) or
with equipment already designed to interface with ROVs. As
the workload undertaken by ROVs has increased, so has that
of the relevant IMCA division which focuses on all aspects of
equipment, operations and personnel related to remotely
operated systems used offshore.
Members of IMCAs Remote Systems and ROV Division
www.imca-int.com/divisions/rov/ use ROVs and related
systems to perform tasks such as drill support; inspection of
pipelines, subsea structures and cables; operating and
maintaining valves and other moving parts on subsea
manifolds; and enabling video observation of both divers and
underwater equipment or operations. ROVs are also used to
survey the seabed before and during the installation of
production facilities, to monitor pipeline touchdown and to
perform many other subsea installation tasks. During the
production phase ROVs have further applications in both
inspection and maintenance tasks.
As well as the contractors who own and operate ROVs,
IMCA members include system manufacturers, those involved
in production and maintenance of launch systems and support
vessels, those providing consultancy, training and freelance
personnel services and also oil company clients
The World ROV Report 2008-12 recently published by
Douglas-Westwood puts oil and gas industry expenditure on
work-class ROV operations at US$1.6bn in 2008 and the
publishers believe the market is set to reach $2.4bn by 2012,
with lead analyst Lucy Miller explaining: Both offshore
utilisation and ROV day rates have increased dramatically over
the past five years and stand at an all-time high. In the past
year, ROV day rates for Africa, Middle East and the Caspian
have increased by 42%, overtaking Norway which was until
recently the most expensive region. Also shortages of skilled
operators have caused personnel day rates to grow by 47-
50% in those regions. This growth pattern is certainly
reflected in membership numbers and the workload of IMCAs
Remote Systems and ROV Division, both of which have grown
phenomenally in recent years.

Written by HUGH WILLIAMS, chief executive, International Marine

Contractors Association
IMCAs ROV &
AUV role
3 2008 issue one
ENERGY PROFILE
The IMCA role
Through the development of codes of practice and guidance,
provision of briefing, and organisation of seminars (particularly
its peripatetic Annual Seminar and Safety Seminar) and other
events, IMCA helps members of its Remote Systems and ROV
Division stay up-to-date with developments, share safety-
related information (via safety flashes, safety statistics and
safety promotion material) and represents the sector to a
variety of third parties.
IMCAs Code of Practice for the safe and efficient operation
of remotely operated vehicles plays a vital role in providing the
international community with a common set of guidelines and
recommendations, helping ROV operators achieve high levels
of safety and efficiency. Safety is of paramount importance,
with the zero incidents goal a constant target. A wealth of
technical guidance covering topics such as equipment
specification, maintenance and testing; ROV system audits;
personnel training and competence and a variety of
operational/good practice issues support the ROV Code of
Practice these are available as individual publications, a
printed collection or on CD.
IMCAs Remote Systems & ROV Division has published a set
of contracting principles and generic contract templates that
contractors and their clients can use as a template. The
intention is to raise awareness of, and promote dialogue on,
contracting issues between all parties.
Of course the ROVs do not work in isolation. They are often
part of the spread on multi-purpose support vessels, mostly
DP (dynamically positioned). IMCA provides guidance for all
kinds of marine operations, especially DP, and across all the
activities of these vessels to offer an integrated support
package to the industry.
For example, ROV
operations require teams of
highly skilled and competent
personnel working in a variety
of roles. This is a highly topical
issue for the marine
contracting industry, which is
seeing dramatic growth, with
over $17bn-worth of new
vessels in yards or in planning
and engineering phases and,
in addition to these vessels,
some hundred new workclass
ROVs will be coming into
service in a relatively short
time. IMCA assists it members
at every stage from raising
the profile of the industry and
awareness of the career
opportunities available (and
here I would like to commend Andrew Beveridges Passionate
about.ROVs in the career section of the IMCA website at
www.imca-int.com/careers/ head to the In depth section)
through provision of guidance on entry-level requirements to
ongoing training and competence assessment.
The new kid on the subsea block
IMCA is currently preparing Considerations for the safe
operations of AUVs to brief readers on some of the basic
aspects of AUV operations in the oil and gas industry; and, like
all IMCA documents, to ensure that operations are safely and
efficiently completed. The document includes information on
launch and recovery; environmental considerations; power;
intervention and electrical work; emergencies; competence of
personnel; communications; and lifting and will be published
later this year.
Further information on all aspects of IMCAs work on behalf
of members is at www.imca-int.com ep
About the author Hugh Williams is chief executive of the International
Marine Contractors Association, which represents offshore marine and
underwater engineering companies worldwide. The association has
over 500 company members in more than 50 countries around the
globe. He is a chartered civil engineer with 34 years broad experience
including: commercial management and business development
for marine contractors Heerema; commercial and engineering
management with design work and marine warranty survey for
consultants Noble Denton and Global Maritime; ports and harbours
design office and site work with engineering consultants Rendel Palmer
and Tritton. During this time, his career gradually focussed on marine
operations, particularly heavy lifting and marine construction in the
offshore oil and gas industry
SAFETY IS OF
PARAMOUNT
IMPORTANCE,
WITH THE ZERO
INCIDENTS GOAL
A CONSTANT
TARGET

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ARM7
Underwater Systems
Advanced Remote Manipulator
Technology for Hostile Environments
Bespoke robotic technology for object retrieval and
articulation for deep sea projects.
For more information please contact:
t: +44 (0) 1305 779020 info@csip.co.uk
www.csip.co.uk
SPECIALISING IN
ROBOTIC SYSTEMS
FOR DEEP SEA
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Full 7 function capability
Can reach sea-depths
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Modular construction for
easy maintenance/repair
Rate/position feedback options
Gathering high-quality data from subsea
engineering operations was for years
dominated by adapted traditional wet-film
technology. Either diver-deployed or
mounted on an ROV and triggered remotely,
digital cameras swept aside the practical
drawbacks with startling clarity.
However, the latest advances in high
definition TV (HDTV) have considerably
advanced inspection and observation
capabilities and made significant
improvements on the quality and flexibility
of imagery available.
The obvious advantage of HDTV over
standard definition composite PAL or
NTSC video is that it offers significantly
better resolution or image definition than
conventional standard definition video
signals. HDTV can offer twice the horizontal
and twice the vertical resolution of
conventional SDTV (four times the picture
detail). This much increased resolution
means that high-quality video inspection
and survey tasks can be performed faster
and better. Full 1080i HDTV video offers the
equivalent of a 2MPixel stills image on
every single video frame. This allows video
inspections to be more detailed, and
potentially reduces the need for stills
photographic inspection. For remote
manipulator operations, the additional
image definition potentially allows complex
manipulative tasks to be completed faster
and more easily, with less operator fatigue.
The other significant advantage is the
improvement in colour fidelity, and the lack
of interference that is such a problem with
composite NTSC and PAL video images.
Because of the way that the colour
information is encoded into the signal, it
suffers from colour fringing and cross-
colour interference. HDTV avoids this by
separating the colour data from the
brightness data. This considerable increase
in colour definition is a major advantage in
underwater inspection tasks, improving the
ability to monitor damage, corrosion and
marine fouling.
Products such as Kongsberg Maritimes
OE14-502A underwater HDTV colour
inspection camera with 10:1 optical zoom
is designed for all general ROV inspection
tasks. Component video output keeps the
camera small and allows simple conversion
to other alternative digital formats in an
ROV pod or the main electronics module of
the vehicle. This provides for a range of
transmission preferences to suit particular
designs or existing multiplexers, umbilicals
and slip-rings. Formats for transmission
can include analogue, straightforward
digital encoding, compressed digital or full
bandwidth HD-SDI.
The OE14-502A is a multi-standard
camera with the ability to change video
formats by IR Remote Control (RC) or by
Graphical User Interface (GUI).
Long line drive can be set by RC or GUI
and allows the component signal to drive
three matched coax cables with no
degradation over 200m. Colour balance
can also be set to indoor, outdoor or Auto
Tracking White (ATW).
A domed water compensated port and
optical zoom provides a close-up
inspection capability combined with the
flexibility of a 10x magnification for powerful
stand off inspections. The unique
Kongsberg Maritime IR Remote Control
also allows camera control set-up. Camera
control can be single wire (tri-state), two
wire (bi-polar), USB and RS485. RS232 is
available as a factory-set option. The
inclusive Kongsberg Maritime GUI provides
control functionality via the digital link. ep
ENERGY PROFILE
Kongsberg Maritime Ltd is the leader in providing underwater cameras,
imaging technology and products to the Offshore Oilfield, Scientific and
Maritime sectors and has over 20 years involvement in developing
systems for Defence markets. A recognised global innovator,
Kongsberg designs and engineers quality camera systems covering
the spectrum of available technologies for a diverse range of
markets.
THE FULL PICTURE
Kongsberg Maritime Ltd
Campus 1, Aberdeen Science & Technology Park, Balgownie Road, Bridge of Don,
Aberdeen AB22 8GT
telephone: +44 (0)1224 226500 fax: +44 (0)1224 226501
email: km.camsales.uk@kongsberg.com http://www.kongsbergmaritime.com
Offshore Oil Exploration & Production Scientific Research Marine CCTV
UNDERWATER IN HD
energy-profile.com
ROV & SUBSEA SUPPLEMENT
6
ivers and engineers working
under the cold, dangerous
waters of the North Sea face
danger every day and night that
they turn up for work. They have done so
since oil and gas exploration started in the
mid-1960s, clocking on for a well-paid but
hazardous job. But today training and
health and safety improvements have
transformed the industrys approach to
working underwater. Their future depends
on playing a key part of a dynamic industry
thats future is woven into the construction
of new-build offshore support vessels.
Over the past year orders for diving
support vessels built for offshore subsea
contractors have boomed as the
exploration and production (E&P)
operations move into ever-deeper waters
and harsher environments. Major European
subsea contractors such as Acergy,
Technip and Subsea 7 are either ordering
new diving support vessels (DSV) or
have promised very long-term charters to
Norwegian companies that want more of
the vessels built.
Shipowners such as Norways DOF,
Havila and Olympic Offshore and
companies like Toisa have been actively
ordering new DSVs as they expand into the
thriving subsea construction markets. As
more oil and gas field developments in the
worlds seas now involve subsea
production systems and in water depths
from shallows to up to 300 metres, divers
need to work on seabed systems.
The latest DSVs are more advanced and
can cope with greater water depths than
ever. Diving systems can be lowered to
water depths of around 300 metres and
divers will be able to work in the cold
waters of the further reaches of the North
Sea and into the Barents Sea, for example.
The new generation of diving chambers will
need to accommodate 24 divers to
increase the amount of work that can be
completed by a diving team.
UK-based subsea construction and
engineering company Subsea 7 has also
ordered what it claims will be the largest
and most capable diving support vessel in
the market when delivered in 2009. The
The safety and training of divers and engineers is coming under close scrutiny
by the industry. Report by BRUCE MCMICHAEL
D
TRAIN, BUILD,
Seven Atlantic (pictured above) is being
built at the Netherlands-based Merwede
shipyard and will be able to deploy four
remotely operated vessels (ROVs) and two
24-man saturation diving systems,
specifically designed to operate in 350
metres of water in the North Sea.
Meanwhile, Frances Acergy DSV
Acergy Havila (see overleaf) will be one of
the most capable vessels of its kind when
it is delivered in 2010 its 24-man
saturation diving system will be rated to
operate in 400 metres of seawater.
Also, competitor company Technip is
hoping to get a new DSV into its fleet
before the end of 2008. The vessels will be
working offshore Norway on a frame
agreement with StatoilHydro and will also
have a 24-man saturation diving system.
However, the industrys troubled past still
serves to remind us all of the hazards
involved in the industry. Earlier this year, 19
North Sea divers lost a court case lodged
against the Norwegian state, after the
judge ruled the government wasnt liable
for the ill-effects of hurried diving in support
of Norways offshore build-up of the 1970s
and 1980s.
The group of divers had brought the suit
hoping a compensation claim for lost
earnings and medical bills worth some
Kroner280m (US$49m) might be extended
to the government. Many have already
received some compensation from
the parastatal oil company
StatoilHydro.
It is now commonly
believed that North Sea
saturation divers operating
out of bells and often forced into
decompression were carrying
an abnormally high workload in the
heyday of the business, particularly
through the 1960s and into the early
1980s.
Many of the divers making the
compensation claim are afflicted with long-
term decompression sickness or the
bends, where ordinary bodily functions
shut-off after being damaged by what are
believed to be slowly releasing gas bubbles
coming out of solution in the blood.
For these and many other reasons the
international community has taken steps to
improve the training and working lives of
divers. Taking a leading role to improve
safety performance is the UK-based
maritime contractors group, International
Maritime Contractors Association (IMCA).
IMCA takes the training and welfare of
divers very seriously, and takes a broad
view of its vital place in the industry.
IMCA maintains some 200 guideline
documents relating to international good
practice, mostly about diving and dynamic
positioning. A short while ago, for example,
the IMCA Remote Systems and ROV
Division Management Committee and the
Contracts Workgroup of the association, in
consultation with Stronachs Solicitors of
Aberdeen, published the Contract for the
Provision of ROV, Support Vessel and
Associated Work.
The association also issues safety
flashes to the industry. A recent case, for
example, occurred when a screw failed in a
divers helmet, immediately filling it with
water. The diver was unharmed, but an
IMCA safety flash, helped with a recall of
masks, and the manufacturer was able to
check and fix them all.
Hugh Williams, chief executive of IMCA,
says, The annual $20bn offshore marine
contracting industry is responsible for
construction work on major oil and gas field
developments globally as well as
undertaking specific contract work for field
improvements and extensions.
Sophisticated vessels are vital for the
safe and efficient support of underwater
and surface construction, so many would
expect the industry to be overjoyed by the
knowledge that over $17bn-worth of new
7 2008 issue one
ENERGY PROFILE
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Seven Atlantic
Diving Support/ROV Support Vessel
Yard number 713
Delivery year 2009
Purchaser Subsea 7
Built by Merwede Shipyard
LOA 144.85 metres
Lpp 128.96 metres
Breadth 26.00 metres
Depth 12.00 metres
Design draught 7.00 metres
Scantling draught 8.00 metres
Speed 13.60 knots
Deadweight 11,885 tonnes
DP Class 3
Main crane 150 tonnes
capacity
Operating depth 2,500 metres
Pipe Capacity 3,000 tonnes
Max diameter 16inch
No divers 24
No dive bells 2
Operating depth 350 metres
Workclass ROVs 2
Observation ROVs 1
Total inst power 21,700kW
DIVE
energy-profile.com
ROV & SUBSEA SUPPLEMENT
8
vessels are in yards or in planning and
engineering phases. However, there are
very strong concerns.
In a relatively short time some 50 new
marine construction vessels and 600
offshore support vessels will be in service
around the world; in addition to 40 floating
drilling rigs, 100 new workclass ROVs;
10 new portable or modular saturation
diving systems; and a new generation of
dredgers and seismic vessels.
An item topping the IMCA agenda on
behalf of its 500-plus member companies is
concern about skills shortages. To operate
just these new construction vessels, we
need some 2,000 additional watch-keepers
across the bridge, deck and engine room;
800 personnel in saturation diving and
related positions; 1,000 additional survey
and inspection personnel; 1,200 ROV
personnel and many other diving, support,
project and engineering personnel, says
Williams.
Zero injuries is the holy grail of the
offshore industry. Therefore, all these
people, new recruits to the industry must
be capable of absorbing the available
knowledge and taking on board industry
safety objectives. Training must continue
across the board to keep them safe
training establishments and trainers will be
in high demand, says IMCA.
Many people new to the industry will
have transferred from other sectors of the
civil or defence marine industries, but
whatever their background and wherever
they are from, training to the high levels
required by the offshore oil and gas
industry, and adopting the ethos of the
industry is vital.
IMCAs offshore diving supervisor
certification scheme was set up in 1987.
It involves attendance at an approved
training course, logged experience as a
trainee diving supervisor and then a written
examination. Around 1,500 certificates
have been issued to date. IMCA certificates
have long been recognised around the
world as an important qualification and a
vital aid when companies are seeking to
employ new supervisors for their
operations. They also assist the free
movement of personnel, enhancing
flexibility for both employers and
supervisors alike.
A reviewed and updated edition of the
IMCA International Code of Practice for
offshore diving that includes reference to
new and updated IMCA guidance
published since the code was originally
produced in 1998, has been published by
IMCA. It reflects developments over the
past nine years in good practice and
technology.
While offshore diving in some areas is
heavily regulated, there are other areas
where there may be little or no outside
control of diving activities. In such areas the
diving contractors themselves are left to
establish their own internal controls by
means of their company manuals and
procedures.
In the absence of local regulations there
can be instances where some clients
attempt to impose the regulatory standards
of another area. This can cause confusion
as many national regulations are based on
local environmental and social conditions
which simply may not apply in other parts
of the world, says IMCAs Williams.
The much-used IMCA International
Code of Practice for offshore diving
provides a level playing field for diving
contractors by laying down good practice
guidelines which all IMCA members world-
wide should comply, adds Williams.
Increasingly clients around the world are
selecting IMCA member companies in
the knowledge that they follow the code
of practice.
This new edition incorporates much
valuable feedback provided by members
when the draft was out for consultation. Its
very much a publication produced by the
industry for the industry with safe and
efficient operations lying at the heart of all
diving operations.
IMCA has included recommendations in
areas where there is a difficult balance
between commercial considerations and
safety implications. It is recognised,
however that safety must never be
compromised for any reason. In particular,
explains IMCAs chief executive. There is a
need for clients and contractors to
recognise and accept the importance of
providing sufficient and appropriately
qualified and competent personnel to
conduct operations safely at all times; safe,
fit-for-purpose and properly maintained
equipment; and adequate time for routine
preventative maintenance. We can never
stress these points enough, they lie at the
heart of successful and safe diving
operations, he adds. ep
Diving Support Vessel Acergy Havila
The Acergy Havila will be a state-of-the-
art DSV specifically designed for efficient
diving operations in the harshest
environments.
The new vessel will be 120 metres in
length with a 23-metre beam and will be
fitted with a 250-tonne crane. The Acergy
Havila will have high transit speed, an ice
class hull, Class 3 Dynamic Positioning
and be in compliance with the most
demanding maritime and environmental
regulations worldwide.
The 24-man, twin-bell saturation diving
system will be certified for Norwegian
regulations and will utilise the latest
technology. The ship will offer a very high
standard of accommodation for 120
personnel. The design will reflect Acergys
30 years experience of diving operations
in harsh environments.
The ship will be owned 50/50 by
Acergy and Havila and will be operated
by Acergy for a firm period of 10 years.
Acergy will have options to purchase or
extend the charter
SOPHISTICATED VESSELS ARE VITAL FOR THE SAFE AND
EFFICIENT SUPPORT OF UNDERWATER AND SURFACE
CONSTRUCTION

9 2008 issue one

ENERGY PROFILE
C-CESS Co UK Ltd, Britains
leading micro ROV manufacturer
has delivered an AC-ROV
Underwater Inspection System
to FMC Technologies Ltd.
FMC Technologies, the leading
manufacturer and supplier of subsea
production systems, had a requirement to
update and improve the visual inspection of
subsea equipment within its test tank.
Historically, a network of dropper cameras
has been used to monitor the testing of
equipment.
The biggest problem that FMC testers
had was differentiating between leaks and
air pockets, because dropper cameras
could not get in close enough and were
extremely difficult to manipulate. This and
the fact that many areas could not be
accessed with a dropper camera caused
major testing delays. A solution was
required to overcome these difficulties.
FMC decided to go ahead with the
purchase of the AC-ROV after a very
successful trial at its Dunfermline site.
It took approximately half an hour from
vehicle deployment for the FMC charge-
hands to give a resounding thumbs-up to
the AC-ROV. After witnessing the vehicles
amazing mobility, picture quality and easy
control, they realised how much test time
would be saved as a result of the AC-
ROVs ability to ingress all but the smallest
spaces in the fabric of the subsea tree used
for the purposes of the trial.
Two hours after deployment, three
charge-hands had enough piloting skill to
fly the AC-ROV under the tree and up the
bore (9.5-inch diameter) an area
previously out of reach for dropper
cameras and other underwater visual
inspection tools. The connectors housed
inside the bore were viewed with ease and
the vehicle was piloted back out each time
without incident. Managers at FMC were
impressed by the robustness of the vehicle,
the small area the system required for
deployment and the price of the system
against potential and significant time and
cost savings.
Callum Magee of AC-CESS points to this
sale as helping reinforce the AC-ROV as
the only serious micro ROV for confined
ingress inspection work. ep
www.fmctechnologies.com
www.ac-cess.com
FMC TECHNOLOGIES BUYS
AC-ROV UNDERWATER SYSTEM
A
AC-CESS
Remotely Operated Vision and Sense
7eI: +44 (0)1224 790100 - Fax: +44 (0)1224 790111 - www.ac-cess.com
AC-ROV Underwater
Inspection System
Hand carry
Rapid deployment
Single operator
Unequalled mobility
Equal forward and lateral thrust
Intuitive 3D control
Powerful flight assist functions
190mm pipe fly through
Centre-less thruster design
Robust and serviceable modular design
energy-profile.com
ROV & SUBSEA SUPPLEMENT
10
or a number of years there has
been growing interest within the
energy sector in the use of small to
micro Remotely Operated Vehicles
(ROVs) to assist in various tasks offshore.
Companies operating in this sector have
been familiar with the use of larger ROV
systems for inspection or work tasks for
many years. However, recently a number of
operators and contractors have realised
the benefits to be gained using the range of
smaller vehicles which are now a practical
reality for offshore operations.
Over the past five years there has been
excellent feedback from customers
operating these systems in many energy-
related arenas such as offshore Floating
Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO)
operations, operations on concrete gravity
base structures at depth, and more
recently, the renewable sector with wind
power, wave power and tidal power
innovators all making use of the systems in
the test and installation phases of their
systems and subsea structures.
This article aims to give the reader a
flavour of the situations in which these
systems have and are being used, and
hopefully to suggest a possible answer to
those asking themselves how they might
inspect that particularly difficult area where
it is either too dangerous for divers, or
physically just too small for the workclass
system to enter.
A major North Sea Oil company had an
interesting challenge recently how to
inspect underwater areas on one of its
assets offshore which could not be
inspected by traditional methods such as
divers or normal eyeball type ROVs due to
the extremely limited access. The areas in
question were the lower turret fender and
flooded spaces within the main turret on a
FPSO vessel. The vessel has been in
service for a few years and will continue on
station for many years yet. As part of the
certification process these areas need to
be inspected. The lower turret fender was
basically the gap between the central turret
around which the FPSO is moored and
moves, and the main vessel hull, a space
less than a metre wide. The free-flooding
spaces within the turret are tight spaces
each entered through a small opening and
all in the splash zone area. The size and
location of these areas meant a new
solution had to be found to achieve the
level of inspection required.
The solution to this was achieved by
using a micro ROV: a VideoRay Pro GTO.
The VideoRay system comes in two pelican
cases and was flown offshore as normal
luggage along with the ROV pilot, saving
any extra mobilisation and shipping costs
associated with traditional ROV systems.
The set-up of the system on the FPSO
was just as simple. A small covered area
was made using some scaffold and tarp, a
single power cable run for the system and
Author IAN MACDONALD, managing director, Buccaneer Limited
F
Micro ROVs on the rise
PICTURE CAPTION LEFT OpenHydros EMEC twin-piled test structure
CENTRE & RIGHT A VideoRay Pro 3 GTO aboard an FPSO vessel
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11 2008 issue one
ENERGY PROFILE
it was ready to go. The VideoRay was
simply hand-lowered down the centre of
the turret and into the moonpool area, from
where it was flown down to the bottom of
the turret and then up into the space
between turret and hull to inspect the
turret fender.
There had been considerable scepticism
onboard the FPSO about the abilities of the
VideoRay when people saw its size only
4kg and picked up with one hand. But this
soon changed when it was seen launched
in conditions normally out of the range of
standard ROVs. This was due to the ability
to launch through the turret moonpool
area, and the system was found to be quite
able to go through the splash zone surge
area without any problem, dive to the
bottom of the turret and start inspection.
Almost simultaneously with these
operations in the UK, we find VideoRay
systems being deployed for similar tasks
on FPSOs around the world; in the South
China Sea and also offshore Sakhalin
Island, proving that the systems are gaining
international recognition and offshore
credibility wherever they are put to work.
On fixed platforms there can also be
inspection challenges which cannot easily
be met. Such a case was within the cells of
a concrete gravity base platform which
required inspection within each of the cells.
The access to the cells was through a very
small opening and each cell had very
limited interconnections. After some
discussion between the owners, the team
contracted to carry out the inspection and
ourselves, a plan was formulated to use a
VideoRay PRO 3, equipped with scanning
sonar and manipulator, to allow the
position within each cell to be established
and also any test instrument required to be
carried down to the operational area. Two
systems were purchased for the operation
as there was considered to be a significant
risk of loss in the confined space operation
within the deeper cells.
Due to the depth of operation and the
positioning of the entry point, it was
decided to use the small ROV as a fly out
from a workclass system which would
operate as a mother ship for the VideoRay
and post it into the structure where it
would operate independently, with the
workclass system then providing the
support functions such as umbilical
management.
The system was successfully deployed
and carried out the inspection and a further
number of tasks over the following years.
All of these missions were successful in
providing information not readily available
by other means. The systems are still in
regular use to this day, having regular trips
offshore after which they receive a full
service and return to the shelf until the
next requirement.
In the recent growing interest in
renewable power, the offshore arena has
lagged somewhat behind its onshore
cousin, however, a number of forward-
thinking innovators are making significant
steps forward in order to redress the
balance and we are finding great interest in
the physically smaller class of ROV from
these firms.
Recent successful installation and
testing work by two of the UKs leading
firms in the renewable technology sector
have seen extensive benefits being gained
by the use of their ROV systems. A leading
wave power generation firm, and subsea
turbine installation, have both gained
much-needed information about the
behaviour characteristics, their systems
moorings and operational parameters by
use of their micro ROVs.
We fully expect the range of operations
carried out by these small ROV systems to
increase as operators and contractors
come to realise the abilities of the system.
With continuing innovation in the
technology behind the micro ROV we see
new possibilities opening up for the
systems to carry out work previously
considered to be either too expensive, too
dangerous or just in too restricted a space.
The array of instruments carried by these
ROVs now range from sonar, both
scanning and multibeam, through a myriad
of customer-designed special tools to the
exciting developments in high-definition
cameras, significant power increases
with intelligent attitude control and tethers
that can provide the operator with a
defined ROV position.
All in all the user of the micro ROV within
the energy sector finds he has a highly
flexible tool, which in may cases is making
life easier for the owner of the offshore
asset, the operator and also the contractor
tasked with the various inspections; all at
significantly less cost than they had
previously considered possible. ep
CONTACT DETAILS VideoRay LLC, 580 Wall Street, Phoenixville, PA 19460, USA | +1 (610) 458 3000 | info@videoray.com | www.videoray.com
Buccaneer Limited, Ian MacDonald, Managing Director, Unit 26 Murcar Commercial Park, Denmore Road, Bridge of Don, Aberdeen AB23 8JW, United Kingdom |
ian@buccaneer-ltd.co.uk | www.buccaneer-ltd.co.uk
w w w . v i d e o r a y . c o m
w w w . v i d e o r a y . c o m
580 Wall Street Phoenixville, PA 19460 USA
phone: +1 (610) 458-3000 fax: +1 (610) 458-3010 e-mail: info@videoray.com
2008 VideoRay LLC. VideoRay is a Registered trademark of VideoRay LLC
With more than 1000 micro-ROVs in action around the globe, the
8-pound VideoRay is the choice of professionals performing
mission-critical underwater operations. VideoRay performs in
extreme conditions and is the underwater robot more professionals
choose for Homeland Security, Port & Ship Inspections, Offshore &
Inland Surveys, Search and Recovery, and Research Operations.
VideoRay comes with a two-year warranty and a
7-day Satisfaction Money-Back Guarantee. Ask about our
unparalleled Advantage! program providing operational and
accident coverage.
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