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Photo Credit: Jeff Milisen us to make vehicles more effcient and effective focuses on will also allow a broader user group composed of operators, getting more value from our operators,” said Kinnaman. “Our who do not have specifc training as pilots and technicians, to traditional model of working with vehicles was based on a adopt subsea vehicles as tools to do work in and on the ocean.” vehicle operations team, pilots and technicians, and subject matter experts (SMEs). As we look to control costs, we are considering reducing the amount of personnel required for ve- hicle operations and getting more out of a smaller team. So, do we train ROV pilots and technicians to be SMEs or do we train SMEs to be ROV pilots? Or, do we build better vehicles that do not require on-site technicians and that can fy them- selves with high-level, task-based, instruction from SMEs? “ “I think ultimate effciency and effectiveness is offered in the latter, with autonomous technologies playing a more vital role in ROV operations. Having greater autonomy within ROVs

Saab Seaeye Case Study

Millions of dollars were reportedly saved for their oil and gas client by Australia’s subsea services company, Dive Works, through the imaginative deployment of its Saab Seaeye Leopard electric robotic vehicle. Dive Works conceived a way for the Leopard to undertake a seemingly impossible IRM work scope that previously could only be achieved by larger hydraulic systems or divers.

In what is considered a world’s frst undertaking, Dive Works maneuvered the Leopard and a 1.25 ton diamond wire cutter, supported by a lift bag, deep inside a platform structure to slice through a meter- diameter steel pipe and remove it from the site. “Our Leopard has completed over 750 dives, it is the most powerful ROV of its size in the world and we continue to maximize its capacity in extreme condi- tions and on extreme tasks with on-going success,” said Andrew Ford Dive Works’ managing director www.marinetechnologynews.com

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