Ship inspection

In 2020, Maersk approached EyeROV looking for a holistic inspection solution for their ship Maersk Avon. The ship was anchored in a high turbid environment with poor visibility that limited close inspection of the hull. To meet the unique challenges of this project, EyeROV developed a Visibility Enhancement Module for ROV’s in turbid water and provided a report of high quality utilizing EyeROVs’s project management experience, responsive technical resources, and advanced ROV technology.

Issues

- The dock had very high turbid water causing very low visibility through underwater cameras

- Only 4-6 hours of the total port stay was available for EyeROV to conduct the operation

- Operational time lost due to port clearance procedures and safety checks

In underwater cameras, the quality of visuals depends on the clarity of the water it is exposed to. In high turbid conditions, it is very difficult to obtain clear visuals irrespective of the camera capacity. Hence, by using the clear water visibility tube, we introduce a temporal medium in between the camera and the object in context. Usually, the box is filled with clear water and the camera is attached to the backside of the box. The front side of the box is then placed against the object to be viewed. This provides a clear path of vision for the camera as the turbid water is displaced temporarily by the clear water inside the box in front of the camera.

Execution Plan

The initial setup consisted of setting the control base station and all the additional support systems such as the generator, reel, and dry check of the TUNA ROV. Thereafter, the Visibility Enhancement Module was attached to the ROV in front-facing orientation. Clearwater resources from the site were carefully filled into the module. Bubbles formed were removed and the seal check was performed. With adequate manpower, the ROV attached to the module was lowered to the water from the berth. The pilot then navigated and inspected the areas as per client requirements.

Challenges

EyeROV faced a number of challenges during the execution of the newly developed system.

- Extremely tight schedule to conduct the operation

- Development of the system in a short period of time

- Inadequate supporting systems at the berth for lowering the ROV

- Installing the visibility enhancement module to TUNA ROV

Results

The areas that were inspected included:-

- Bulbous Bow

- Bow thrusters on both starboard and port sides

- Propellers

- Rudders

EyeROV was able to successfully execute the pilot inspection and was able to identify potential anomalies on the ship’s hull such as paint loss and marine growth at different parts of the hull.

The report for the same was submitted which received appreciable feedback from the client.