Underwater remotely operated

vehicles ROV s

- Introduction
- Deep Sea Concept
- Offshore Infrastructure.
- Underwater inspection
- Remotely operated vehicles ROV

Introduction
The oil and gas industry is expanding into
deeper and more difficult locations
Number of subsea developments is growing
Despite continuing work on design and
manufacture of more reliable hardware, failures
and wear and tear persist
Need to carry out remotely a number of tasks
relevant to installation, inspection,
maintenance, workover and recovery
Focus on safe and cost-effective techniques

infrastructures
TheOffshore
concept
of deep sea
Industry community
point of view
definition Deep sea means 1000 to
2000 m (3000 to 6000
ft)Ultra-deep sea means
2000 to 3000 m
motivations Deep sea activitiesare driven
by economical factors (oil
price, political and trategical
factors)
fields of Basically only oil industry and
interest cable communication
companies are involved in
deep sea activities.
Ocean mining and waste
disposal activities presently in
stand-by

Scientific community
point of view
Deep sea means up to 6000 m, in
order to cover the major area of
interest
study and comprehension of basic
local (regional scale) and global
phenomena (large/earth scale, such
as global change, earthquakes,
volcanoes, tsunamis )
Many disciplines interested in deep
sea (physical oceanography,
chemical oceanography, biology,
seismics, geophysics, etc.) each with
different approaches and
requirements relevant to observation
and acquisition methods.

What is a "ROV"
A Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV)
as an underwater robot that allows
the vehicle's operator to remain in a
comfortable environment while the
ROV performs the work underwater.
An umbilical, or tether, carries power
and command and control signals to
the vehicle and the status and
sensory data back to the operators
topside. In larger systems, a subsea
garage and tether management
system (TMS) are often included.

Underwater Vehicles
- Remotely operated vehicles ROVs
- Autonomous underwater vehicles AUVs
1- ROVs are for commercial use and communicate
with support ship via cable. The main function of
the cable is to transmit video picture and electricity
to power the ROV propellers and accessories.
2- AUVs communicate with support ship via
acoustics or underwater sound waves. AUVs are
primarily used for research and military applications.

What can ROVs do ?

Diver Observation ensure diver safety and provide assistance

Platform Inspection to monitor the effects of corrosion, fouling, locating cracks,
estimating biologic fouling, etc.
Pipeline Inspection follow underwater pipelines to check for leaks, determine overall
health of the pipeline and insure the installation is acceptable
Surveys both visual and acoustic surveys are necessary prior to installing pipelines,
cables and most offshore installations
Drilling Support everything from visual inspection, monitoring installation,
operational support and repair when necessary using multiple manipulators
Construction Support a natural follow-on to drilling support. Tasks can become more
complex with the use of manipulators, powered tools and cutters
Debris Removal offshore platforms can become a "trash dump" underwater. ROVs
provide a cost effective method of keeping the area clean and safe
Platform Cleaning one of the most sophisticated tasks using manipulators and
suction cups for positioning and 100-horsepower systems driving brushes, water jets
and other abrasive devices
Subsea Installations - support the construction, operation, inspection, maintenance
and repair of subsea installations, especially in deep water
Telecommunications Support (Inspection, Burial or Repair) from towed plows that
bury cables for protection from trawlers and anchors to sophisticated vehicles that can
locate, follow, retrieve and rebury subsea telecommunication cables
Object Location and Recovery - Search, location, and recovery of lost objects

ROVs for scientific use (ultra-deep)

Vehicle

Depth

Operating
institution

Builder

Support
vessel

Dolphin 3K

3000

JAMSTEC

JAMSTEC

Natsushima

Hyperdolphin

3000

JAMSTEC

ISE

Kaiyo

Quest

4000

MARUM

Shilling

opportunity

Tiburon

4000

MBARI

MBARI

West.Flyer

ROPOS

5000

CSSF

ISE

opportunity

Jason

6000

WHOI

WHOI

Atlantis II/
opportunity

Victor

6000

IFREMER

IFREMER

Atalante

ISIS

6500

SOC

UROV 7K

7000

JAMSTEC

JAMSTEC

Kaiko

11000

JAMSTEC

JAMSTEC

opportunity

Kairei

What is an ROV

ROV Camera

7 d.o.f Manipulator

Types of ROVs

Sonsub Innovator and Seabotix microclass ROV

ROVs can vary in size from small

vehicles fitted with one TV
camera (used for simple
observation), up to complex
work systems that can have
several dexterous manipulators,
video cameras, mechanical tools
and other equipment.
They are generally free flying,
but some are bottom-founded
on tracks
Towed bodies, such as those
used to deploy side scan sonar,
are not considered ROVs

Mini/micro class ROVs

very small in size and weight
suitable for observation (represent a good
alternative to divers)
one person could manage the complete
ROV system (including deployment and
operation) from a small boat

Deep Ocean Phantom

Seabotix LBV600

ROVs on the market

Number
of
models

Max water depth

[m]

Max weight
[kg]

Micro

300

Mini

20

1500 (most 300)

20

General

43

4000 (one model)

<2000 (all the other)
one to be extended
to 6000

500

Work class

29

5000 (2 models)
4000 (1); 3500 (1)
3000 (11)

4500

Trenching /
burial ROV

11

3500 (1); 3000 (2)

2500

38000

Work Class ROVs operating worldwide

Oceaneering International, Inc.
Subsea 7 (Halliburton/Subsea)
Sonsub (Saipem)
Fugro (ex Racal/Thales)
Stolt (Stolt/Comex/Seaway)
Canyon (Cal Dive)
Technip-Coflexip
Others (specialty systems, plus
systems operated by smaller
companies)
TOTAL

152
78
59
36
35
23
22
30

435

ROVs for scientific use

These ROVs have lower power (to keep umbilical size small)
Typical missions include
Instrument placement, retrieval and support.
In situ experimentation.
Ecological studies and observations (midwater and benthic).
Sampling and light coring.
Surveys of environmental parameters

UROV7K (Jamstec); Tiburon (MBARI), Kaiko (JAMSTEC)

ROV status and perspectives

Mature technology
Suitable to meet all IRM needs of the oil & gas
industry (up to 6000 mwd)
New developments in deepwater ROVs include
- all electric deepwater WorkClass ROV
reduce inefficiencies (30% and more)
smaller and lighter
more reliable (less parts)
smaller umbilicals
- more sophisticated tooling
- advancement in launch and recovery systems

Problems with deepwater ROVs

Cost increase (need of DP vessels)
Availability becomes limited
Long tether management may become
a major problem in large and complex
structures

AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicles)

AUVs are free-swimming,
unmanned submersible
vehicles, independent of
outside facilities or operators
Present applications include

Subsea Survey
Subsea Inspection
Pipeline Inspection
Cable Inspection
Oceanographic Sampling
Environmental Monitoring
Iceberg Profiling
Under-ice Surveys
Mine Detection and Countermeasures
Diver Delivery / Supply Vehicles
Downed Airplane / Shipwreck Searches
Underwater Photography

AUV current status

AUV industry has begun to emerge from the R&D and prototype
phase to small production runs
Over the past decade, nearly 200 AUV have been built (mostly
experimental)
about 20 programs presently active
Scientific community and military were the early adopters
For the oil&gas industry AUV are now an efficient tool for
seafloor survey and mapping, especially in deepwater (up to
3000 m)
Cost reduction of up to 30% and better data quality with respect
to traditional tools (towfish)
Commercial AUV services are now offered (in 2004 C&C logged
more than 25.000 km of AUV survey lines for the oil industry)
Costs of AUV operations are still significant

Survey AUVs

THE OFFSHORE CONSTRUCTION MARKET

Offshore Structures
Underwater Inspection

AUV- Conceptual Drawing

AUV Layout

AUV Layout

Remotely Operated Vehicles ROVs

Advantages of ROV Compared to a Diver:
- Unlimited depth , up to 6500 meters
- Provides Stable Camera Platform
- Automatic Inspection
- Inspection of long pipelines
Components of an ROV System
- Control Unit
- Cable
- Launch & Recovery Unit (winch)
- Garage or Top Hat
- ROV
- camera + lights + propulsors + manipulators & other
tools

ROV Control Unit

ROV Umbilical

Components of an ROV System

Control Unit
Winch

ROV

cable

Garage

ROV System vs. diver for underwater operations

ROV Classification by Water Depth

ROV electric thruster

Cleaning Manipulator Skid

ROV monitoring installation of riser

Section to platform

Side Scan Sonar System

Side Scan Sonar System

Side Scan Sonar System

Side Scan Sonar System

ROV with a TMS - Garage

Top Hat

Garage

ROV Launch & Recovery System

ROV System with Top Hat

Work class ROV System

Workclass ROV fleet worldwide

Work class ROVs

Bottom Trencher

Inspection of Cathodic Protection

System using CP Probe

ROV Design