CLASS SOCIETIES AND REMOTE INSPECTION TECHNIQUES

Class societies’ steady march to Remote Inspection Technologies and Techniques

The demand for remote services is only going up.

Classification societies are moving steadily and increasing toward the use of Remote Inspection Technologies (RIT) for remote surveys and other remote services used in ship inspections. The developments around COVID-19 have only pushed this trend further.

DNV GL, for example, has reportedly completed 15,000 remote surveys since their launch in October 2018. One in five of Lloyd’s Register surveys are completed remotely. In March 2020, the number of complex remote surveys performed by LR increased by 25 percent. RINA began trialing remote inspections in May 2019 and has completed approximately 300 inspections between May 2019 and February 2020, and another 60 inspections in March 2020, according to Offshore Energy.

Firsts in the field of remote inspection appear with increasing frequency. In July 2020 the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) pioneered a remote survey for steel certification to enable work on two Lamprell’s self-elevating drilling rigs. RINA carried out the world’s first statutory and associated class intermediate surveys in June 2020, assigning to the bulk carrier Cielo di Gaspesie the new class notation “REMOTE”. Dutch offshore services provider Fugro announced Tuesday that it completed the “first fully remote inspection of an oil and gas platform in UK waters”.  KSM, in collaboration with DNV GL, completed the first ever approved remote initial Machinery Planned Maintenance System (MPMS) survey on the caustic bulk (CABU) vessel MV Ballard in June 2018.

“RIT” has been used to describe both Remote Inspection Techniques and Remote Inspection Technologies. To understand the use of remote services by class societies, it is helpful to differentiate the two terms.

Remote Inspection Techniques are a means of survey that enables examination of any part of a structure without the need for direct physical access of the surveyor, as defined by the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Guidelines for Use of Remote Inspection Techniques for surveys No. 42 revised June 2016.

Remote Inspection Techniques may involve the use of Remote Inspection Technologies, a collective term that encompasses pilot-operated unmanned aerial vehicles, underwater remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), climbing robots, and robotic crawlers, as defined by the ABS Guidance Notes on the Use of Remote Inspection Technologies published in February 2019.

Common Remote Inspection Technologies:

• Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs)

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

• Robotic crawler

• Climbing robots

• Fixed sensors

• Robotic arms

• Divers

Examples of Remote Inspection Techniques include DNV GL’s Veracity data platform and the LR Remote app, both of which may use data collected by Remote Inspection Technologies such as ROVs or aerial drones while completing surveys.

The industry push toward more RITs is motivated by a need to more efficiently conduct surveys. Remote surveys allow a surveyor with a virtual connection to sight, measure, help, or check the inspection process with collaborators in the field without being at the designated ship or site physically. A surveyor can be at his office in Singapore interacting via a digital platform with a colleague on a ship in San Diego to complete an inspection without ever setting foot on the ship. Remote surveys can lower costs, increase efficiency and safety, and better enable surveyors, inspectors, and ship operators in their decision-making.

Common inspection types that make use of RITs:

• Hull surveys

• Tank testing

• Overall and close-up surveys of cargo holds

• Overall and close-up surveys of enclosed spaces

• Enclosed and non-enclosed space thickness measurements

• Mooring chain visual inspections and thickness measurements

• General external surveys from the air

There are a wide range of survey, inspection, and audit types required by the more than 50 classification societies currently operating around the world. Thirteen of the largest class societies – including ABS, Bureau Veritas, and Lloyd’s Register – make up the members of IACS. The standards set by IACS cover more than 90% of the world’s cargo carrying ships.

Some of the largest classification societies, or class societies, include:

• ABS

• Bureau Veritas

• China Classification Society

• Croatian Register of Shipping

• DNV GL

• Dutch Lloyd

• International Register of Shipping

• Lloyd’s Register

• Maritime Bureau of Africa

• Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (Class NK)

• RINA

Different types of ships – container vessels, bulk carriers, tankers, naval ships, and special purpose ships – adhere to different rules, codes, and certifications such as the international ESP code, in line with and sometimes supplementing other international statutory regulations developed by the member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Some ships – such as High Risk Ships (HRS) as defined by the New Inspection regime of the Danish Maritime Authority – require more frequent inspections that other ships. The Paris MoU system for inspections has created the use of a “White, Greg and Black list” to indicate how often ships are inspected when in port.

SeaDrone’s Digital Solution to an Analog Problem

Class societies are leveraging digitalization to build more agile organizations. With this push to move analog problems to digital solutions, SeaDrone has developed a solution that bridges the communication gap between class societies, insurance carriers, ship operators and field teams. SeaDrone allows these stakeholders to connect on a common thrusted platform.

Custom collaboration

SeaDrone has developed a custom collaboration tool that is Paper-less. Not only are trees safe but SeaDrone’s process is faster, more scalable, and more reliable. (Learn more about SeaDrone’s 1 Hour Ship Hull Inspection).

Workflow automation

SeaDrone designed a frictionless workflow from piloting the vehicle to setting-up the acoustic-based positioning system to annotating real-time data compiled into PDF reports. SeaDrone’s end-to-end system allows you to painlessly collect more accurate data.

Augmented Data

Visual data is aggregated and automatically parsed into reports using meta data. Visual data not only meets class society standards but can be easily annotated on-site.

Superhumans

Humans are great at many things, but not at diving below a ship hull or parsing and tagging data.  A system like SeaDrone that allows you to easily and consistently collect higher quality data will open up opportunities to run image classifiers to train deep learning algorithms, ultimately giving decision makers Super-Super-Human ability!

The movement to RITs has been motivated by class societies’ need for transformative digitalization, a trend that has been sweeping the corporate landscape for more than a decade. Underwater vehicles and workflow optimization tools that lower the cost of data will play a growing part in this digital transformation.

For more information on how SeaDrone is navigating the RIT space, visit https://seadronepro.com.

“One in five of Lloyd’s Register surveys are completed remotely. In March 2020, the number of complex remote surveys performed by LR increased by 25 percent”

ABS Chairman, President and CEO, Christopher J. Wiernicki on board a vessel with ABS surveyors. / ABS Marks Record-Setting Three Years Without a Work-Related Lost Time Injury

Examples / Remote Inspection Techniques

“Remote surveys allow a surveyor with a virtual connection to sight, measure, help, or check the inspection process with collaborators in the field”

RIT - Class Societies

Custom Collaboration / Paper Less

“The movement to RITs has also been motivated by class societies’ need for transformative digitalization”

SHIP HULL INSPECTIONS IN ONE HOUR

SHIP HULL INSPECTIONS IN ONE HOUR

August 18, 2020

The biggest superhighway in the world is not made of concrete and dominated by freight trucks; it covers 70 percent of the globe and is plied by container ships. The antibiotics that form penicillin. The corn in breakfast cereal. The woodchips used to make your favorite book. Many of our daily essentials and conveniences depend on the shipping industry. But for all the attention given to the products transported above the water, what keeps the ship functioning efficiently is beneath the surface: the ship’s hull.

Today the company launches its latest underwater drone: the SeaDrone PRO and The Certified 1 Hour Ship Hull Inspection Solution. In this article and the below illustration, we break down the main differences that set SeaDrone apart from human diver inspections and other underwater Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) ship hull inspection methods.

Classification societies, or class societies, such as the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) review essential ship services through the development and application of industry standards. Surveyors are employed by class societies to certify compliance with these standards. Efficient ship hull inspections make a surveyor’s job much easier and ensure the entire compliance process goes more smoothly. By maximizing uptime and ensuring their vessels are always functioning well out at sea, cutting inspection time from ten hours to one hour can be of huge benefit to ship operators. (Read more about the general benefits of ROV ship hull inspections before diving into the benefits of the new SeaDrone PRO.)

SeaDrone PRO 2020

“ An inspection process that used to take ten hours now only takes one. “

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Time and Cost Savings / Comparison Table

How does SeaDrone cut inspection times to one hour? Put simply: a faster, safer, more accurate process. The secret is a fast and frictionless workflow that begins with setting the acoustic-based positioning system and ends with annotated real-time data compiled into PDF reports. The sensors on the vehicle are tightly integrated and the output data is formatted to best suit the surveyor reviewing the report.

In the past, surveyors mostly conducted ship inspections onsite. Now remote surveys – or Remote Inspection Techniques (RIT) - are gaining popularity, notably with industry leaders Remote Steaming and Recording, DNV GL, RINA, Lloyds Register, and the Bureau Veritas. Imagine automating routine hull inspections so your field teams can focus on putting their expertise to work and enabling coordinators to take quicker decisive action. With SeaDrone , the inspector can stream live video from the underwater vehicle to a surveyor, who logins remotely via the “SeaDrone LIVE” feature to supervise and ensure the inspection is performed according to class standards. This cuts travel costs, travel time, and waiting time.

Ship hull inspections can be broken down into three stages: the inspection experience, data collection, and decision-making. Below we take a closer look at each stage. These are also depicted in the illustration below.

THE INSPECTION EXPERIENCE

Scheduling and mobilizing divers, obtaining permits from a port authority, and scheduling a class society surveyor can all be time-limiting factors when it comes to ship inspection preparation. SeaDrone removes all of these limiting factors by streamlining inspections to surveyors and other engineers. No need to schedule a specially trained ROV pilot when SeaDrone is ready-to-use right out of the box. The intuitive SeaDrone Software design crucially lowers the point of entry for ROV piloting.

The first step once a diver or ROV is in the water is to orient themselves relative to the ship, which is often easier said than done.

The diver method: When divers are used for ship hull inspections, a ship operator must do the proper planning to schedule diver time. Permits must also be obtained from the port authority for docking, often for extended periods of time if the divers need more time in the water. A class society surveyor must also be scheduled ahead of time. This can be time-consuming and dependent on the various schedules of the divers, port authority, and surveyor.

During diver deployment, the ship engines must be disabled before a dive group can begin their work. The water current must be below one knot for the divers to conduct their work. A diver visually locates himself, but this can be difficult in bad sea conditions, and compass navigation is subject to human error. (Read more about why it is faster and cheaper to use ROVs rather than human divers).

Other ROV inspection: The planning required for most ROV inspections includes scheduling a class society surveyor and printing out a physical copy of the ship general arrangement diagram to mark the inspection route of the vehicle. This latter step in particular can be a hassle and add valuable time to the preparation process.

An ROV normally establishes a position system and is manually navigated by a pilot to the ship’s hull, but this can be a lengthy step depending on the speed of the position system calibration and the skill of the ROV pilot.

SeaDrone: A key to SeaDrone’s success is the shortened sensor set-up time. The SeaDrone app walks users through a setup all consolidated on the app, without a need to print a ship general arrangement diagram. Inspection is streamed to surveyors – who may login remotely – and other engineers. The SeaDrone method calibrates the SeaDrone PRO vehicle with a SeaDrone Sphere (learn more about the SeaDrone Sphere Locator) that quickly positions the vehicle relative to the ship. A pre-dive checklist is completed to ensure the inspection is safe and compliant.

DATA COLLECTION

Ship hull inspections consist of visually documenting various waypoints of the hull. How easily each waypoint is located and how quickly visual information can be collected from each waypoint determine the efficiency of the data collection.

The diver method: Divers take photos of the ship hull and note hull conditions manually. This depends on the dexterity of the divers and the visibility of the underwater conditions.

Other ROV inspections: Most ROV inspection methods involve a specially trained ROV pilot or multiple operators who direct the robot to collect photos and videos at waypoints. Photos and videos are visible in their final annotated format only after the robot has returned to the surface.

SeaDrone: The SeaDrone vehicle flies autonomously between waypoints, negating the need for a specially trained pilot who could delay the navigation process. Weighing in at less than 10kg, the SeaDrone vehicle is self-powered and easy to deploy by a single operator. Navigating around the ship is simplified by importing the map of the vessel. Before you had hands on a joystick; now the vehicle can be operated within the SeaDrone app which allows you to annotate visual data in real-time while the vehicle is still submerged and holding its position. The photos and videos are reviewed by the surveyor within the SeaDrone app running on the surface.

DECISION-MAKING

Ship hull inspection data is consolidated into a report that is reviewed by the surveyor to make sure the ship adheres to class society standards. This report can also be used by the ship owner or operator and by the inspector to make decisions about which areas on the ship hull require more attention. A faster decision-making process gives inspectors, surveyors, and ship operators the option to do more frequent and tailored inspections.

The diver method: Notes taken manually by divers must later be transferred to a report, which invites the possibility for human error and takes valuable time. The report takes longer to reach the hands of those who need to review it.

Other ROV inspections: Most ROV inspection methods copy and download photos, then manually process data once the ROV has returned to the surface to create a report. This data is shared with the ship operator and engineers. Later off-site decisions can be made, which adds time.

SeaDrone: Most inspection methods require the manual processing of data but SeaDrone removes that possibility for error to near zero. SeaDrone automatically generates PDF reports using the data you collected: such as photos, UT, CP, and laser measurements and augments the value of this data using your annotations and localization information. This provides a more holistic view of the inspection and facilitates on-site decisions.

The following table outlines the key performance qualities and outcomes of each of the three processes discusses. While using ROVs is significantly safer than using divers, only SeaDrone automated ship hull inspection system delivers consistent, high quality data without the need of a trained inspector.

“A faster, safer, more accurate process”

ABS

SeaDrone at Manzanillo / How do you perform your ship hull inspection?

“The intuitive SeaDrone Software design crucially lowers the point of entry of ROV piloting.”

Bureau Veritas / The ability to decide remotely

“Inspection is streamed to surveyors and your engineers who may login remotely.”

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Digitally imported blueprint of a ship into SeaDrone’s app map to create a more detailed report.

“Weighing in at less than 10kg, the SeaDrone vehicle is self-powered and easy to deploy by a single operator.”

SeaDrone Underwater Inspection

Performance

A GAME CHANGER

Diver inspection methods can be subjective, dangerous, and costly. Traditional ROV methods can be rigid, inefficient, and inaccurate. The SeaDrone method is fast, accurate, and safe by offering superior software and streamlined processes.

ROV set-up takes about five minutes, the hull inspection itself lasts about 10 minutes per 100 meter section, and the processing of the PDF report with geotagged photos and videos takes about one minute. This keeps a ship hull inspection of even the largest ships at 400 meter length under the one hour mark.

COMMON THRUSTED PLATFORM

SeaDrone is bridging the gap between shipping companies, regulatory agencies, insurance companies, ship coating companies, and ship leasing companies, among others. SeaDrone is looking to become the de facto platform for ship hull inspections - trusted by insurers and regulatory agencies, needed by shipping operators, and saving both time and money.

THE SHIP OPERATOR’S CHALLENGE AND THE SEADRONE SOLUTION

Imagine docking your ship and within an hour completing the ship hull inspection process, without extra time spent planning or hiring external expertise. That is the future of ship hull inspections, and SeaDrone is leading the way.

As a ship owner or operator, you must ensure safety and compliance while maximizing your up-time to remain competitive. Performing underwater inspections typically requires hiring divers which are expensive, difficult to schedule, and might not understand the survey classification requirements.  

SeaDrone has developed a solution that enables you to go beyond diver operations and perform class certified Underwater Inspections in lieu of Dry Docking. We have designed an end-to-end hull inspection solution that can inspect a vessel in one hour and create a certified report that can be quickly shared with your stakeholders. Collaborate with classification surveyors and your cross-disciplinary team in real-time while saving on travel time and travel cost using the SeaDrone LIVE remote streaming feature.

All this gives you greater control over your business. Because of the minimized downtime, you are able to perform inspections more frequently and plan for maintenance that minimize your dry dock time and prevent costly damage and disruption.

The intuitive SeaDrone design lowers the point of entry for ROV pilots, removes the risk of middleman human error in data transfer, and allows for on-site decision-making.

SeaDrone has been improving its underwater drones for more than a decade. Ship operators have previously used SeaDrone robots to perform quick spot inspections, but the data was not able to be class society certified without more accuracy and an expertly trained inspector. Now, with the release of the Certified 1 Hr. Ship Hull Inspection Solution, SeaDrone is changing that. SeaDrone’s solution offers a frictionless workflow from setting the acoustic-based positioning system to annotating real-time data compiled into PDF reports. SeaDrone’s end-to-end system which includes a custom-designed vehicle, patented acoustic localization system, proprietary navigation software, remote streaming service, and automated reporting ensure accurate data collection and the best user experience. Now surveyors can use SeaDrone to do full ship hull inspections, quickly and efficiently.

Read more about the latest SeaDrone at SeaDronePro.com

“The SeaDrone method is fast, accurate, and safe by offering superior software and streamlined processes.”

“That is the future of ship hull inspection, and SeaDrone is leading the way.”

Stay Dry. Ultimate Safety. Maximum Productivity.

Driving decisions: the data collected during ship hull inspections

Driving decisions: the data collected during ship hull inspections

Ship owners and operators strive to maintain a high level of structural integrity for safe and efficient operations. Data-driven inspection regimes record ship hull defects so ship owners and operators can decide where to allocate resources for maintenance and repair. In this article, we explore the data behind the decision-making.

Good ship hull inspections depend on the identification of problems in key areas or “hotspots”.  These are often predictable places, which can be identified by the inspector or surveyor who has previous knowledge about the ship, or surmised by the type of vessel and the hotspots apparent on similar sister vessels.

Questions to consider include: How are loads taken up by the ship’s specific structure? Where are cracks most likely to form? Which types of materials have been exposed to the greatest wear and tear? Taking time to consider hotspots before beginning a ship hull inspection leads to more useful data collection and a more efficient inspection. And identifying problem areas allows for the focusing of resources for maintenance and inspection operations.

“Global Scanning Solutions” / Singapore - “Ship Hull Inspections” / Van Oord

What to look for:

The main problems seen in ship hull inspections, among others, include

• Corrosion development or pitting and grooving

• Coating degradation

• Fractures or cracks

• High percentage of anode depletion

• Severe levels of marine growth or marine fouling

• Dents in shell plating

• Welding seam degradation

The severity of these deficiencies is often quantified with a scoring system of “minor”, “moderate”, or “severe”, or in other cases “good”, “fair”, or “poor”. Inspectors or surveyors use their judgment and experience to decide on the conditions that fit within these parameters. Some ship hull inspectors may additionally use a “traffic light” rating system, with red being signaling a critical need of repair, yellow in need of further observation, and green in good condition.

Ship hull inspection data can also be recording textually, with most inspection forms leaving opportunity for written remarks. When it comes to a favorable ship hull inspection that will not likely lead to future repairs, “no remarks” are the best remarks.

There are multiple ways to record inspection data and different inspectors or surveyors may use different documentation forms. Traditional inspections usually group the components of a compartment together to assess the entire compartment condition with a particular focus on the coating condition. Condition Assessment Program (CAP) inspections grade a compartment on a 1 to 5 scale that quantifies the coating condition and presence or absence of anomalies. Not all ship hull inspections are CAP inspections; the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) and US Coast Guard stipulate a wide range of requirements under 46 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Subpart 71.15

Where to look

The main areas at which to collect ship hull inspection data include the:

• Propeller

• Rudder

• Thruster

• Sea chest

• Anodes

• Welding seams

“Basic Ship Terminologies” / B.Tech NAOE Batch of 2011-2015 / Saurabh Prajapati

Inspections cover the starboard, portside, bow, midsection, aft, and stern of a vessel (for a thorough overview, see this ABS article). A typical flightpath for an underwater Remotely Operator Vehicle (ROV) may start with entering the water at amidships and continue by following the hull to the bow just below the waterline, then continuing along the bottom of the hull from the bow to the stern to do an overall assessment of hull condition. Next, key areas may be checked such as the thruster and sea chest. Closer observation may be required of specific running gear, and finally certain areas may be revisited at the inspector or surveyor’s request. The process may vary from one inspector or surveyor to another, but a good rule of thumb is to plan for and seek out the “hotspots” for closer inspection once a general overview of the hull is completed.

Molland, A., Turnock, S., & Hudson, D. (2017). Propeller Characteristics. In Ship Resistance and Propulsion: Practical Estimation of Ship Propulsive Power (pp. 277-312). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/9781316494196.014

Examination techniques used for ship hull inspections:

• General ship-wide inspection

• Close-up visual inspections

• “Hotspot” inspection

• Suspect areas examination

• Coating condition assessment

• Ship hull thickness assessment

Ship hull inspections can involve multiple runs with the underwater ROV in different patterns. An underwater ROV will collect photo and video media that include key data such as depth, angle at which the photo was taken, water temperature, and date. Other means to capture data besides photo and video include an imaging sonar for turbid waters and a USBL acoustic positioning system to better localize ship hull defects. Underwater ROV like SeaDrone’s models are generally capable of incorporating additional measurement methods beyond photo and video.

Virtual software

Virtual systems for ship hull inspections are becoming more popular. Software such as DNV-GL’s ShipManager Survey Simulator and the Hull Condition Model allow for 3D virtual training of ship inspectors and surveyors. Users can input various levels of decay for certain areas and observe how the hull will likely change. Training modules can also be ship-specific so that a inspector or surveyor can become intimately familiar with a vessel without ever having set foot on it. However, when it comes to being confident in the state of your ship’s hull and knowing where to focus resources for repair and maintenance, collection of in situ data is irreplaceable.

ABS Group

SeaDrone & ship hull inspections

The American Bureau of Shipping (ABS) requires all sea going vessels to have two outer hull inspections every five years. Of the two, one inspection can be completed underwater while the vessel is afloat.

SeaDrone is well equipped to efficiently gather ship hull inspection data. The latest SeaDrone model, the PRO+ coming soon, completes ship hull inspections in one hour.