Technology


Drones herald in new era of inspections


Photo Credit: Mickael Brock AMI Studio


Visual inspections and steel thickness measurements are key elements of renewal surveys. Preparing ships for these activities is time-consuming and costly. DNV GL has been pioneering using drone solutions to assist in and speed up the process for several years.


DNV GL has been using camera-equipped drones in surveys since 2016. The concept, the technique and the equipment were developed by the surveyor team in Gdansk in response to customer enquiries. A traditional survey requires rafting, roping or staging so the inspection personnel can reach all relevant structural elements. Rafting takes additional time to ballast and de-ballast the vessel; both roping and rafting often require voyage surveying. Setting up staging can even take days.


74 | The Report • September 2019 • Issue 89


NEW TOOLS FOR REMOTE SURVEYS This disproportionate effort caused owners to inquire about alternative methods. In addition, staging often damages surfaces and coatings that must be repaired. In certain situations owners have to hire subcontractors providing rope access techniques, an especially hazardous type of work.


These conventional inspection methods put ships off-hire for weeks, which means lost income. Logically owners have an interest in keeping these times as short as possible. This led to the idea of using drones. “We started the drone project in 2015 to make


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