Offshore staff
PORTCHESTER, UK – L3 Technologies has demonstrated its C-Worker 7 autonomous surface vessel (ASV) deploying, operating, and recovering an inspection-class ROV for vertical and horizontal subsea inspection.
The trial was staged over two weeks in Cawsand Bay in Plymouth, southwest England.
The system was developed for offshore tasks such as jacket and hull inspections, and pipeline and cable surveys for oil and gas and renewable energy projects.
James Cowles, commercial technical sales manager for L3 Unmanned Maritime Systems UK, said the autonomous approach could provide significant reductions in the cost and time spent at sea for both operators and vessels.
It followed completion of phase one of an Innovate UK part-funded project – the Autonomous Robotic Intervention System for Extreme Maritime Environments (ARISE) – supported by BP and with the University of Exeter acting as an academic partner.
“BP continually looks at ways to take people out of hazardous environments, and the autonomous capability being developed by L3 Technologies can enable us to do that,” said Peter Collinson, senior subsea and environmental specialist at BP.
Phase two of the project will involve further development of the ROV launch and recovery capability, including additional proof of concept demonstrations.
The system will be demonstrated at Ocean Business in Southampton on the English south coast from April 9-11.
04/02/2019
