Remote offshore inspections not just a vision, but very achievable

The future of offshore inspections lays in remotely operated vehicles and drones, with the end goal of minimizing the crews’ exposure to dangerous environments, making the operations safer, more efficient and sustainable, Lex Veerhuis, Fugro’s development manager for new business, said at OEEC 2021.

According to Veerhuis, the Dutch company believes that offshore inspections need to stop being carried out by heavy-duty vessels and the industry needs to think of how this can change and how the operations can be made more efficient, more sustainable and safer.

“Working around the clock offshore, in a very dangerous, risky environment, we would like to position the crew preferably in an onshore environment,” Veerhuis stated at the Game Changers session.

Veerhuis states that this is not just a vision and Fugro is working towards achieving this. The goal is to digitize the workflow, control all possible operations remotely, as well as work longer without human intervention.