ROVs: Leading the Way Into the Future

IMCA held a free half-day seminar entitled "ROVs: Leading the Way into the Future" on 22 March 2006 alongside the popular Oceanology International (oi06) exhibition at ExCeL in London's Docklands - "The World's Largest Marine Science & Ocean Technology Meeting".

The event attracted over 70 delegates, including a range of individuals working in the offshore sector around the world plus potential new recruits to the industry. The half-day programme aimed to raise awareness of ROVs and the work they are used to carry out.

Following an introduction to IMCA and its Remote Systems & ROV Division from Chief Executive Hugh Williams, presentations were given on a range of topics.

Derek Cruickshank (Rovtech) began his presentation with a brief history of electric remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). He then set out a typical specification for a small electric work-class ROV and followed this up with examples of different models. He explained the advantages of small electric work-class ROVs, covering such issues as the installation, operability, cost and environment, and identified improvements in technology which have enabled electric work-class ROVs to be used for a wide range of activities, from structural inspection through drill support and some construction work.

Ray Morgan (Acergy) took this forward in his presentation, where he outlined the evolution of ROVs, resulting in ROVs with increased power, greater capability and vastly improved reliability. He explained the divergent requirements between survey/inspection and construction/intervention activities, identifying the different characteristics required of ROVs for such activities and offered suggestions on to future development.

Alf Kristian Aadland (Oceaneering) explained and demonstrated the development of an ROV simulator as a full, realistic training facility in terms of buoyancy, environmental effects and complex operations. He spoke on the benefits which come from using simulators in terms of safer operation, reduced hardware modification costs, optimised hardware and operation and increased efficiency.

The active panel discussion and question-and-answer session focused on a number of issues, including the use of simulators and the benefits of pre-planning of difficult tasks, the likely depth limitations of ROVs, the emergency and future use of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and the continued development of electric ROVs.