Video: DNV GL Conducts 1st Offshore Drone Survey

Classification society DNV GL has carried out its first offshore drone survey on the semi-submersible vessel Safe Scandinavia in the North Sea.

This 25,383 gross ton tender support vessel (TSV) is owned and operated by Prosafe, supporting Statoil’s drilling operations off the coast of Norway.

Using camera-equipped drones, DNV GL’s drone pilots checked the TSV’s fairleads and their connection with the vessel’s two columns as part of the intermediate survey.

“The drone survey … helped us optimize our survey requirements and allowed us to save significant amounts of time and money. Normally, this kind of operation would cause disruption to our client for several days. The drone survey took only a few hours and was just as effective,” Ian Young, Chief Operating Officer at Prosafe, commented.

“This was a great opportunity for us to demonstrate our drones’ abilities to check the condition of remote external components in challenging offshore conditions. The inspection only required the semi-submersible to de-ballast, then we flew the drone approximately 25 metres below the main deck to check the condition of the fairleads and their connections to the columns that hold up the TSV. With wind speeds of approximately 15 knots, this went very well and the survey showed that the fairleads and their connections were in a good condition,” Cezary Galinski, Project Manager Classification Poland at DNV GL, explained.

The inspection of spaces on ships and offshore units can be both costly and time-consuming and even in some instances potentially dangerous. Using drones to visually check the condition of remote structural components can significantly reduce survey times and staging costs, while at the same time improving surveyor safety, according to DNV GL.

Video Courtesy: DNV GL