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Panther Prowls Pipelines
01 Feb 2004
Fareham UK based Seaeye Marine has disproved the common assumption that underwater pipeline surveys can only be carried out by large work class ROVs. One of Seaeye 's Panther models has been fully fitted out for the task by CCC Underwater Engineering in Abu Dhabi.
The CCC Panther has been fitted with camera booms on the front of the vehicle to video either side of the pipe, with the vehicle's main camera viewing from above. Dual head profiling sonars are fitted on the stern to provide a profile of the pipe and seabed while a bathymetric system delivers an accurate datum depth and altitude of the vehicle, corrected for seawater temperature and barometric pressure. All this information, together with the ROV's position, is fed into their survey computer to generate the client's report.
The Panther is also fitted with obstacle avoidance sonar and a five function manipulator as well as wheels mounted on the frame to allow the vehicle to drive along and follow the top of the pipe.
CCC also use their Panther for touch down monitoring, for which they have developed a technique of cross-hauling their TMS and deploying it from the end of the stinger to about 10m above the seabed. This helps get the extra excursion to allow the touch downs to be monitored from the laying vessel.
MJ Information No: 19117
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