POLAND'S Remontowa shipyard uses hovering drones armed with lights and cameras to survey tanks, hulls, bulkheads, masts and deck crane jibs, reports London's Tanker Operator.
A new procedure was introduced during the ‘CPO Japan's ‘stay. This involved the use of a flying robot or an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), which was used for internal space inspection for the first time at Remontowa.
Demonstration tests of the drone were carried out inside one of the ship's cargo tanks. The drone, equipped with high definition camera with its own lighting, capable of recording HD video and stills.
The drone was able to access all parts of the tank and was able to rest against the bulkhead, while hovering. The contact with the tank wall is possible, because frames protect the propellers.
The drone demonstrated excellent stability in a confined space allowing for good quality visual inspection material recording, the Remontowa yard claimed.
It is intended to be used to provide a surveyor with an overall impression of the state of the hull and bulkheads of a vessel under inspection. The technology may be also applied to the inspection of external structures, such as masts or deck crane jibs.
The drone serves as a means of inspection of protective coating conditions, detecting corrosion and cracks. It may result in ruling out the necessity of expensive ultrasound thickness and obviating the need for setting up of scaffolding.
These experiments were claimed to be promising. Although the owners approached the yard with their own inspection results and repair specification, and the drone visual inspection was only an initial test, the feedback was positive.
The owners' representatives expressed an overall positive impression on the trials. As a result, the yard said that it was willing to proceed with the introduction of this technology in commercial operations in specially selected applications, said the report.
SHIPBUILDING
08 September 2015 - 21:09
Polish yard runs drone inspections of tanks, hulls, bulkheads, masts
POLAND'S Remontowa shipyard uses hovering drones armed with lights and cameras to survey tanks, hulls, bulkheads, masts and deck crane jibs, reports London's Tanker Operator.
SHIPBUILDING
08 September 2015 - 21:09
Polish yard runs drone inspections of tanks, hulls, bulkheads, masts
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