Subsea

Remotely-operated Fugro USV inspects trunklines offshore Australia

July 30, 2021

Fugro has completed an entirely remote nearshore inspection of three gas trunklines for Woodside’s North West Shelf Project.

The Fugro Maali is the first Blue Essence USV in service anywhere in the world. The name Maali is a Noongar term for “black swan,” which is both the state bird and emblem of Western Australia, where the USV is based.

Offshore staff

PERTH, Australia – Fugro has completed an entirely remote nearshore inspection of three gas trunklines for Woodside’s North West Shelf Project offshore Australia.

The company’s first operational Blue Essence uncrewed surface vehicle (USV), the 12-m (39-ft) Fugro Maali, performed the inspection.

The USV remote inspection comprised a multibeam survey, visual inspection, and cathodic protection assessment of the gas trucklines to comply with Woodside and regulatory requirements.

Fitted with an electric remotely operated vehicle (eROV), the USV mobilized at the end of April and was controlled from the Woodside-operated King Bay supply facility and Fugro’s remote operations center in Perth, about 1,500 km (932 mi) south of the trunklines.

During the one-month project, Fugro’s remote operations team navigated about 1,300 nautical miles in the surrounds of Dampier Port without incident and consumed 3,300 liters (872 gallons) of diesel. This reduced CO₂ emissions by 97% compared to a traditional vessel, the company claimed.

Fugro said its bespoke remote operations and robotic control architecture allowed the USV and eROV to be operated over large distances with minimal latency and high reliability, ensuring the USV operators maintained control of the vehicles in real time.

07/30/2021