Page 59: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2024)

REMOTE INSPECTION

Marine is a long-tenured name DLS' digital inspection director. “To have a good deliv- in the U.S. maritime survey mar- erable is to be able to mobilize, capture and attack the

DLS ket, founded by Bob Stickney as job; but sometimes you may have to come back and con-

Stickney Marine Surveying in New Orleans in 1968, vert that to a CAD file for a customer,” so while piloting with a pivotal moment coming in 1977 when Stickney the drone is important, just as critical is the back-end hired Norman Dufour, future DLS Marine Partner, as knowledge of the software to control it, as well as the th an apprentice marine surveyor. Today, in its 56 year, the systems to help output the deliverable if needed.

company is 40-people strong and continues on the path set more than a half century ago, led by Harry Ward, Put to the [Military Sealift Command] Test who became the owner and president of the company in DLS Marine recently completed a tanker inspection 2017. While the maritime business is generally cast as job for Military Sealift Command, a confined space in- conservative and slow to change, DLS Marine is at the spection of ballast tanks, said Ward. “[Class] was on site tip of the spear in one respect: remote survey. and we were able to enter the tanks, which was ‘GPS

The business of inspecting the structural integrity in- denied’, meaning that the drone ‘paints’ the entire tank side any hull has long been a dirty, dangerous and some- with a LiDAR.” what arbitrary business. Today, DLS Marine is moving “We were able to go in, get a LIDAR navigation and forward fast with an investment in people and digital point cloud of the entire tank, and give very specific and technology, the latter being state-of-the-art drones and up close high-resolution digital video and images of the software which helps to not only make the survey pro- entire tank while the classification team was watching, cess more efficient and more safe; but it makes it more either inside or outside the tank, however they chose.” effective, too, providing the owner a better deliverable In addition to the LIDAR, the drone carried sensors with more explicit, digitized information on the health to measure more than 20 different gases, and the tech of a vessels innards. According to Ward, a pivotal part is able to provide a deliverable within 1 to 1.3 cm of of the DLS Marine journey into remote inspection via accuracy plus 4K video, said Sterling. “During the in- drone was the hiring of Charles Sterling – who previ- spection, while we're flying, you can take a [a photo at a ously ran his own consultancy and had done work for particular] point of interest. It puts it into the model, so

DLS Marine – in late 2023. when you're reviewing it in the portal you can see where “Charles had his own consultancy and was doing a lot that photo was taken in point of interest.” of work,” said Ward. “He has a really strong IT back- The class surveyors were in the tank a part of the time, ground, which has become important through this entire “but it was warm, and with our ability to broadcast it on process because we're evaluating software, we're helping deck up top, they opted to stay up on top deck after that to write software; so it's more than just flying a drone.” and watch it on TV. So they viewed it in real time while

While the Sterling hire was pivotal, DLS Marine has we were doing [the drone inspection] below deck.” been investing in and trialing remote survey effectively Important too is the fact that the drone used was teth- since Ward took the helm, or as he explains: “Putting ered for power and control, meaning there was no time a lot out and not getting much back … yet … like any limit or additional danger due to the use of lithium-ion early investment. We've been at this for six-plus years at batteries.

this point, trying out drone technology and other digital “With tethered power, there’s no need to stop: if the inspection technology, and playing around with differ- tank was 100 miles wide, we could fly it for 100 miles,” ent software,” said Ward. “But it's just in the last couple said Sterling. “We don't have to worry about batteries, years that those things have started to mature to the point which could be an issue in some tanks because lithium- where they're really truly useful and can put out a good ion is not a stable substance, and can be explosive. So product.” we're going in there with a grounded tether.”

To reiterate, conducting remote survey is more than Ultimately, the surveyors received a better deliver- simply flying a drone. Ward jokes that Sterling is start- able more efficiently, a real-time, high-res data feed that ing to earn the moniker “Maverick” premised on all of not only can be watched outside of the tank, it can be the tight spaces he’s able to fly the drones, but the busi- beamed via the internet anywhere in the world.

ness of remote inspection goes far beyond drone pilot- “So theoretically at some point, let's say [a class] in- ing. “The next generation will be more technology-cen- spector could be watching this live from [their office] tric. luckily for me I have an IT background so I know while we're doing the inspection somewhere in the

CAD, I know AutoCAD and CivilCAD,” said Sterling, world. It’s exciting technology,” Ward concluded.

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