Page 33: of Offshore Engineer Magazine (May/Jun 2025)

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hen Seadrill wanted to relocate the

West Hercules from Norway to

Canada, some 2,200 nautical miles away, biofouling was a concern for

W fuel effciency and for the invasive species risk it posed. While in operation, the rig picked up seaweed and mussels that needed to be removed from its hull before moving the rig.

Kenneth Valen Ekløv, Marine Operations Manager at

Seadrill, wanted to remove and dispose of the biofouling while the rig was quay side: effciently and safely, without harming the local marine environment. He chose a robotic solution from ECOsubsea. “We did a pilot project with

Hercules for ECOsubsea which was cost effective in this particular case, but divers are a more cost-effective choice in normal cases. The challenge was to be able to collect all the biofouling when released from the hull.”

ECOSubsea’s heavy-duty ROV solution was able to do the job – removing over 78 tonnes of marine growth.

Ekløv is seeing increasing attention being paid to the invasive species risks of biofouling, but fnance is also a

ECOSubsea’s heavy-duty ROV solution removed over 78 tonnes of fouling from the West Hurcules.

Images courtesy Seadrill

MAY/JUNE 2025 OFFSHORE ENGINEER 33