Page 31: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (July 2018)

Send in the Drones

Drones increasingly take on the dirty, dangerous jobs in maritime

We do not manufacturer the technology societies are upfront of the technology: Ship and rig owners are our biggest cli-

For our readers not aware, please dis- ourselves, but source it from a manufac- we have obtained class approvals as re- ents, as they will have the biggest ben- cuss the size and scope of RIMS BV.

RIMS is a global service provider turing company in Switzerland. Our ex- mote inspection specialist using drones e? ts by working safer and cost ef? cient to help revolutionize maintenance strat- pertise is not only ? ying the drone, but by Bureau Veritas, ABS, Lloyds, ABS, during surveys, vetting inspections, pre- egies with smart drones and robotic in- also having all systems and certi? cation RINA and KRS. The approval process docking inspection, brokerage inspec- spections. We offer expertise, as well as in place to support customers and clas- for ClassNK has started up. DNV-GL tions, in- and out surveys and so on. the market inspection of enclosed spaces si? cation surveyors by introducing safer does not approve us (yet) as they have We see an increase of shipyards which with your drone, (and we have) a lot of and cost ef? cient working practices. We their own drone teams in the market us- would like to try to use the technology, experience with inspection of differ- have hands-on experience in the industry ing the same technology. It is in the ben- but are still unsure of how to ? t the new ent assets (such as ships, storage tanks, we are working in, so we also have the e? ts of the surveyors to use this technol- technology into their business pro? le. chimneys). expertise with all requirements, either ogy so I think that they will be a major We support them with it.

https://youtu.be/o1izuv3bnYw from clients as from class. driver to bring it to the market. Another

Looking forward, where do you see fur- https://youtu.be/V018lUntvuc trend I see is that many youngsters do not want to go into tanks anymore. The

Is your company designed to sell prod- ther developments?

next generation is used to work with We have a roadmap of new technol-

Please discuss your tenure with RIMS. uct, sell service, or both?

My name is David Knukkel and I am Depending on the operation pro? le tablets and do things remotely; keeping ogy to be developed to make remote in- a Senior Maintenance Consultant/As- of the customer we can advise whether it them aligned with the required inspec- spections even more ef? cient and safer. set Manager in the Maritime industry makes sense to use our services or keep tions and the introduction of new tech- Technological partners are found, and (www.knukkel.com) and CEO of RIMS the knowledge in-house. In most circum- nology is a must. we are now in the process to attract in-

BV (www.rims-bv.com). I have 10 years stances I recommend to use a specialized vestors to step in and allow us to make

Looking at the maritime and offshore of sea experience as an of? cer on con- service provider, as operating and main- the next steps forward. Think about de- sectors, are there any speci? c niches tainer vessels of 2,000 to 8,700 TEU. taining expensive and high tech equip- velopments in the area of thickness mea- where business prospects look particu-

After coming ashore I spent two years as ment is part of their core business, and surements, ATEX, automated reporting, larly good?

superintendent for Reederei Blue Star. I they make sure they fully comply with autonomous ? ights and so on.

worked with Wärtsilä Switzerland as a all regulations. Many companies un- full maintenance Contract Manager, and derestimate what is required to keep a afterwards as a Senior Maintenance Con- professional team in place to do all the sultant for Boskalis and the last couple inspections. of years for Smit Lamnalco. In 2015, I

By industry, can you discuss the diver- founded RIMS, and started to scout new technologies to bring maintenance to sity of your business today?

the next level and replace high-risk and We are focusing on inspection of as- resource-intensive maintenance activi- sets in the oil and gas and the maritime ties with smarter drone and other robotic industry, as this is our background and technologies that are more sustainable. have large needs of internal remote in- spections from safety perspective. As these assets are usually inspected by

What is the scope of robotic products rope access, scaffolding and/or cherry and services offered?

At this stage we focus on the inter- pickers we can also reduce the costs by nal drone inspections, as we believe that not using these tools anymore. It is good in many cases ? ying inspection tools to realize that with rope access, ropes will win (business) from the crawlers, often damage the coating of the areas although the latest have certain advan- where they are attached, increasing the tages like carrying measurement tools. speed of corrosion. We see that now also

The challenge with crawlers is that the the insurance surveyors ashore for utili- magnetic wheels do not hold on rusty en- ties are showing more interest.

vironments, areas which we would like

Put in perspective your growth fore- to inspect in the ? rst place to ensure that the integrity is still okay. Nevertheless cast for robotic inspection services in we made an offer once to use combined the maritime sector.

inspection tools to inspect dredge piping I expect that the growth goes ex- on board of a vessel. ponential the coming years. As said the awareness is growing very fast and this

Do you manufacture your own drones? time the regulators like the classi? cation www.marinelink.com 31

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