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W I R E L I N E
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Underwater robotics
With the UK offshore oil and gas industry venturing into deeper, harsher and more remote
waters, remotely operated vehicles have an ever important role to play in subsea construction
and maintenance.
Wireline
reports on the evolution of the technology and the skills required
to steer these stalwarts of the offshore industry.
A
fter 14 years as a mechanic in
the car trade, Raymond Dewar’s
long-standing interest in working
offshore prompted him to take his career in
a new direction – controlling underwater
remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) for the oil
and gas industry. “There were several avenues
I considered, but the ROV sector struck me
as the most interesting,” he says. “There’s
something very satisfying about sending an
ROV underwater, carrying out a task and
then bringing it back to the surface for service,
ready for the next job.”
Raymond joined Technip in Aberdeen in
June 2013 as an ROV pilot technician and
has worked on the Greater Stella Area and
SchiehallionQuad204 developments on the
UKContinental Shelf (UKCS). He is now
part of the crew aboard Technip’s deepwater
pipelay and construction vessel, the Deep
Blue, which services the industry worldwide.
In essence, ROVs are underwater ‘robots’,
managed on the surface by pilots like
Raymond via an umbilical link from a host
vessel. Small and high capability electrical
ROVs can be used for observation and
inspection, whilst ‘work class’ specifically
describes those vehicles that perform a
The new intensive residential course at The Underwater
Centre in Fort William on ‘Work Class ROV Operations’
aims to reduce the time needed to train pilots of remotely
operated vehicles and prepare them more effectively for
their offshore roles
ROVs
TECHNOLOGY