Ocean Infinity’s Armada fleet of uncrewed vessels is set to become operational in 2021. Exceptionally fuel-efficient and onshore-controlled, these vessels will offer sustainable services to the offshore energy sector.
Ocean Infinity’s Offshore Business Line Director Shabnum Hanif discusses how the Armada Fleet will provide effective and sustainable inspection, repair and maintenance (IRM) for oil and gas campaigns and operation and maintenance (O&M) for offshore wind.
What makes the Armada fleet suitable for IRM and O&M work?
The Armada fleet, comprising 21m, 36m and 78m vessels, will be equipped with a suite of state of the art technology including gondola mounted MBES, AUVs, work class ROVs & tooling. The vessels will be capable of undertaking offshore inspections and subsea surveys for any type of campaign, be it oil and gas related, renewables or port side support. Typical scopes would include subsea inspections and seabed surveys including UXO searches, pipe and cable surveys.
Using the ROVs which are deployed through the vessels’ moonpools, the 21m and 36m vessels will be able to conduct surveys and some repair and maintenance work scopes.
Kitted out with multiple ROVs, AUVs and optionally crewed, the 78m vessels will have the same capabilities as any conventional vessel. These vessels are suited for full Inspection, repair and maintenance work including cone penetration tests (CPT) and coring, wind turbine scour rectifications, and pipeline repair to name a few.
When will the first vessels be available?
2021 for the first phase of 21m and 36m vessels, the 78m vessels will follow in 2022.
In the growing uncrewed marine robotic space, what is different about the Armada fleet?
Scale, infrastructure, and lower environmental impact. The Armada fleet will be the largest uncrewed fleet in the world, allowing us to work at unmatched scales offering unique efficiency. The vessels themselves are just part of our service offering, we will have several global control centres, the first of which is already in build in Southampton UK. Our team of marine robotics experts will provide round the clock customer support.
Why might operators want to utilise the Armada fleet instead of traditional solutions to IRM/O&M?
Simply put, this fleet provides all the capabilities an operator would expect from a conventional solution but it does so in a much safer and sustainable way. Sending fewer people offshore and instead creating new jobs onshore, makes for a much safer working environment. Taking away the personnel logistics, adding hybrid technology and good fuel efficiency, will lower the overall environmental impact of operations at sea. Carbon neutral is a status many organisations are aspiring to but it will only be achieved by deploying greener technology. The Armada fleet really is the key to a carbon neutral future for the maritime industry.
For more information, please contact info@oceaninfinity.com.
