In what is being called a world first, Geo Oceans said it has carried out a diverless underwater inspection in lieu of dry docking (UWILD) using new subsea robotics technology.

A three-man ROV team carried out the survey work from a control room on an FPSO facility with mini-ROVs because the area being surveyed was deemed too dangerous for divers to access, GeoOceans said on its website.

The work included surveying nine mooring legs to a 100-m (328-ft) water depth, all of the vessel’s hull, 38 penetrations, two active caissons and a 500-sq-m (5,382-sq-ft) section of hull that had not been previously inspected, the company said, adding the diverless inspection resulting cost savings, reduced health and safety risk and less facility downtime.

Features of Geo Oceans’ Mini ROV Class Survey System include advanced nondestructive testing, sensors, cleaning and tooling technology that are controlled remotely.

For more technology news, read the Offshore Northern Seas Technology Showcase featured in the August edition of E&P.