A new video option for ROVs could make it easier to guarantee oil pipeline safety. NETmc Marine recently announced its DVCiP system, which uses three different cameras to record footage and allow operators to obtain and review data from HD pipeline inspections more simply.
The company says that this new solution lowers the number of cables needed to send serial data and works around the problems often posed by using ROVs in subsea locations. It would gather this data topside and use a low amount of bandwidth for encoding signals before transmitting them. Ultimately, the company says its option is less complicated and costly than ROV video setups with multiple specialized cables.
In addition to monitoring pipelines, tracking their location underwater gives owners more information to use in legal cases. Maritime Journal mentioned this in a recent article, where it spoke to James Shaw of Teledyne TSS.
The Teledyne TSS400 allows users to survey sites underwater with active electro-magnetic pulse induction, the article said, providing accurate measurements of where pipes and cables are located.
"Pipe surveys are expensive so companies conducting them need the best possible equipment," Shaw added. "It must be reliable and produce results that are accurate and can be trusted and the industry recognises these qualities in our systems." As the article also points out, knowing the precise location of these pipes is important for reference when ship owners damage them by dropping anchor.
With both of these systems, the basic body of an ROV is augmented to perform an important and industry-specific function. Before the systems are deployed, operators can purchase ROV insurance to help recover possible financial losses that may occur during survey jobs. Coverage should extend to not just the body of the ROV itself but the special equipment it has to use, like cameras.