ROV/AUV SMD wins consecutive Queen’s awards
SMD in the UK has been honoured with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the International Trade category for its growing presence and success in global markets. This is the second Queen’s Award the company has won in the last two years. In 2011, SMD was presented with the Queen’s Award for Innovation for its work-class remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The Wallsend-based company is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of remote intervention equipment, which is operated in hazardous environments across the globe. The company’s latest development, the Atom work-class ROV, has been exported to customers in Southeast Asia and the Mediterranean. The Atom is a compact, work- class ROV, which is suitable for subsea drill support, inspection, repair and maintenance, survey and light construction, and can be mobilised on vessels and rigs with limited deck space. Other significant international markets served by SMD include Brazil, China, Egypt, Japan and Singapore.
SMD has experienced continued growth
Fugro Subsea says its new FCV 600 ROV, which evolved from the field-proven deepwater FCV 3000 used on the company’s fleet of construction vessels, has arrived in Aberdeen. The FCV 600 utilises most of the main components from the FCV 3000, which are simply repackaged in a much more compact frame with a smaller buoyancy block, resulting in a reliable, easily maintained and powerful ROV with high thrust which can be deployed using a tether management system or free flown. The system has been specifically designed for underwater intervention tasks in support of oil, gas and renewable energy projects. While retaining the ability to operate in heavy weather, the lightweight modular launch and recovery system is designed to fit in areas where deck space and weight is at a premium. The whole system weighs less than half a standard ROV system and requires around a third less space.
The FCV 600 is able to operate in areas of high tidal current, with the reduce ‘sail area’ giving the FCV 600 a significant power-to-weight advantage. With the addition of the Fugro Tracked Skid, the FCV 600 is able to operate on
Kongsberg Evotec, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Kongsberg Maritime, has been selected to supply a launch and recovery system (LARS) for the ROVs operated from a new vessel under construction at Havyard
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across its five business streams (ROVs, trenching, renewables, nuclear, and mining), which saw its workforce increase from 275 in 2010 to 372 in 2011. The growth has also enabled the expansion of the company’s manufacturing facilities in north east England. The company recently opened its third production facility, Neptune Works, a 37,000ft2 facility dedicated to manufacturing launch and recovery systems (LARS).
A fourth facility is scheduled to be opened later this month at the Oceana Business Park, also close to SMD’s Turbinia Works head office and heavy production facility. The new facility has been specifically designed to house construction of the three Nautilus subsea mining vehicles for Nautilus Minerals and will create a further 12,000ft2 of workshop space. Andrew Hodgson, chief executive of SMD, said: “The Queen’s Award is fantastic recognition of SMD’s increasing presence in global markets. Our vehicles have been deployed in some of the world’s most extreme subsea locations, supporting operations
Fugro’s FCV 600 ROV arrives in Aberdeen
the seabed in up to 7 knots of current. High capacity multimode fibre-optics is used as the prime communications link for all video and data signals between the vehicle and the surface control console. This allows extremely high quality video technology as well as plug-and- play installation of all sensors and equipment. Alan Anderson, the company’s ROV technical manager, explained: “At the heart of the FCV 600 is Fugro’s well-proven control and communications system based on single-mode fibre optic technology giving an exceptionally high data throughput and which features automatic switching in the event of a fibre failure. “This is complemented by high-end
multiplexer capability that can handle up to three HD cameras and 12 conventional cameras (eight simultaneously) and provides a wide range of data communication protocols, facilitating the efficient integration of add-on tools and sensors.” A built-in, high-flow dirty-work pack saves space and ensures easy and reliable interface of proprietary tooling skids, with extra tools and equipment saving non-productive trips to the surface to change tools.
Kongsberg Evotec LARS for Forland ROV
Leirvik in Norway for Forland Shipping. The LARS for the vessel consists of ‘overboard’ and ‘moonpool’ systems designed to handle work-class ROVs with or without a tether management system (TMS),
The Atom, a work-class ROV, is one of the latest innovations from SMD
across a range of industries including the emerging marine renewables and nuclear decommissioning sectors.”
He added: “The last 12 months have been particularly exciting as we’ve dramatically increased the size of our facilities in north east England, which has enabled expansion of the workforce and the range of products and services we can offer to UK and international customers.”
UTEC acquires another AUV UTEC has completed factory acceptance tests and has taken delivery of another Teledyne Gavia autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The company’s fleet of 1,000m-rated AUVs are licensed for use in 67 countries.
“UTEC is committed to investing in the best equipment and the most recent technology to offer our international customers the highest level of service. We continue to work closely with Teledyne Gavia and others to develop new modules and enhance the capabilities of these class leading AUVs,” said Ken Adams, UTEC’s chief technology officer. Recently, UTEC formally extended its agreement with the University of Delaware, which provides access to the university’s Gavia AUV known as ‘Dora’. The parties intend to build upon the established relationship, now in its third year, to continue sharing knowledge and to benefit from increased asset availability. The AUVs incorporate many features including: a nosecone-mounted digital stills camera and Imagenex obstacle avoidance sonar; a T-24 IMU inertial navigation system from Kearfott DVL, aided by 1,200 kHz doppler velocity log from Teledyne RDI.
to depths exceeding 4,000m. Kongsberg Evotec designed the LARS in close co-operation with end users, umbilical manufacturers and vessel designers. It uses permanent magnet motor (PMM) technology. OSJ
Offshore Support Journal I June 2012 I 75
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