The objective of the HITS 1 JIP was to identify the top three inspection challenges for floating asset hulls and this led to the development of the ODIN ‘diverless’ hull underwater inspection system.
The HITS 2 JIP went on to evaluate various methods for minimising man entry into confined spaces in hull inspections. A number of methods were considered, including high-performance remote CCTV systems, unmanned aerial vehicles (or drones), laser scanning and small ROVs.
The opportunity arose to trial the remote CCTV (NoMan) system and the small ROVs on an ultra-deep water drillship in 2015 and successful class compliant inspections of water ballast tanks were carried out.
This success led to HITS 3 which will involve trials of the NoMan CCTV, laser scan and UAV system on water ballast and cargo oil tanks.
Participants include ABS, Bureau Veritas, Chevron, EM&I, Lloyds Register, SBM and Total with guest attendances from many other organisations, including Petrobras and BP.