Oceaneering International, a prominent player in providing engineered services and products to the offshore energy sector, announced its latest stride in subsea robotics at Offshore Europe. The company's Subsea Robotics group is introducing a cutting-edge Uncrewed Surface Vessel (USV) service to support remote survey work scopes.
In a strategic collaboration with Exail, Oceaneering is set to acquire its first DriX USV, primarily to enhance deepwater geophysical and asset inspection operations. This includes facilitating autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) positioning and conducting offshore and nearshore surveys. By integrating the DriX USV into offshore survey and inspection work scopes, Oceaneering aims to significantly improve operational efficiency, reduce vessel time-on-site, and make substantial strides in lowering carbon emissions.
Oceaneering's USV service offering will leverage dual independent positioning correction services from Oceaneering's C-NAV® group, ensuring uninterrupted operations and enhancing overall reliability. It's noteworthy that Oceaneering's service will be the sole USV equipped with true dual redundancy, guaranteeing continuous service.
Eric Smith, Senior Director of Survey Services at Oceaneering, expressed the significance of combining USVs with Oceaneering's existing remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and AUV fleets, as well as onshore remote operations centers. This integration opens up significant opportunities to scale operations and drive efficiencies, providing direct support for the growth of IMRGE™, Oceaneering's integrated and customizable Inspection, Maintenance, and Repair (IMR) strategy.
Martin McDonald, Senior Vice President of Subsea Robotics, emphasized the exciting prospects of incorporating the DriX USV into Oceaneering's integrated service offerings, particularly in conjunction with AUV systems like the Freedom™ vehicle. The DriX USV enables the collection of high-quality data with minimal operational impact, eliminating the need for an offshore-based crew. This not only reduces health, safety, and environmental risks but also optimizes the utilization of multi-service vessels for other tasks.
Olivier Cervantes, Vice President of Maritime Autonomy at Exail, highlighted the longstanding partnership between Oceaneering and Exail and their joint efforts to expand subsea exploration using automated systems like DriX and Freedom. This collaboration opens new horizons in subsea construction, inspection, and survey domains.
The DriX USV, in service since 2016 and equipped with A.I.-powered CortiX software and advanced sensors, has logged several thousand operational hours. It can conduct supervised autonomous operations over the horizon, thanks to its advanced technology.
The USV's unique design and stability enable it to operate alongside Oceaneering's AUVs even in challenging sea conditions offshore (up to sea state 5), without compromising data quality. Additionally, its speed and endurance reduce transit downtime and enable swift nearshore surveys, obtaining optimal data quality in significantly less time. Furthermore, the USV boasts an impressive environmental footprint, consuming just 2 liters of fuel per hour compared to a crewed vessel, resulting in significantly reduced carbon emissions.
Oceaneering has been a pioneer in remote operations, with its first dedicated onshore remote operations facility established in 2015 in Stavanger, Norway. The company has successfully achieved over 100,000 hours of shore-based piloting. Since 2016, Oceaneering has led the way in the Remotely Operated Survey, transitioning over 9,000 personnel days from field-based operations, showcasing its commitment to advancing the industry through innovative solutions.
https://www.oceaneering.com/oceaneering-acquires-exails-drix-usv-for-remote-survey-scopes/
