ASSIGNMENT 2 ROV TRENCHING TRACTORS

INTRODUCTION
With the growth in the offshore industry has increase the demand on solutions for deep-water
work. ROVs provide a solution to this problem, they are capable of reaching depths greater
than 4000 m whilst divers are limited to less than 400 m.
ROV OVERVIEW
An ROV is a Remote Operated Vehicle that is used to complete work under the ocean. They
are largely used in the offshore oil and gas industry.
There are multiple types of ROV, ranging from inspection to work class ROVs, these are
defined by IMCA (2013);
Class 1 Observation ROV: compact, fitted with lights, cameras and sonar.
Class 2 Observation ROV with Payload options: similar to class 1, only have
limited manipulative capability.
Class 3 Work Class ROV: These ROVs are large enough to carry sensors and
manipulators and operate them without a loss of functionality.
Class 4 Towed and Bottom-Crawling Vehicles: Towed vehicles are towed through
the use of a surface parent vessel, while Bottom Crawlers use wheels or a track
system to move across the seabed.
Class 5 Prototype or Developmental Vehicles: this category covers ROVs that do
not fit into the other categories. This class also includes autonomous underwater
vessels (AUVs)
A trenching ROV is a Class 4 ROV Bottom-Crawling vehicle. The purpose of these types
of ROV is to trench, place and cover a pipeline/cable, by trenching the cable it prevents any
damage which could occur during the pipelines life.
There are three main types of trenching ROVs, these are as follows;
Jetting ROV: These are designed for rapid deployment while providing an efficient
and cost-effective solution to the management of both rigid and flexible
pipelines/power cables
Trenchers:
Ploughs: a plough trencher is pulled along the seabed, this type of ROV generally has
no propulsive power on board and is pulled via a
These types of ROVs fall into the Bottom Crawling ROVs, they will generally carry tools
specifically designed for the burial process, these tools include; water jets, chain trencher,
wheel trencher/plow. These tools are dependent on the soil (ROV Technology, 2013).
DATA AND CONTROL
For the trenching tractor to work, it requires sensors to detect the direction the pipeline is
heading allowing the
TMS
The ROV is deployed with the use of the TMS which connected the vessel to the ROV. The
TMS deploys the ROV tether to prevent the parent vessels motion from interfering during the
ROVs deployment.
There are two types of TMSs currently available on the market;
Top-hat: the ROV is connected to the underside of the TMS
Garage type TMS: the ROV is positioned within the TMS structure (Forum Energy
Technologies, 2013)
A Trenching ROV TMS is generally split into two systems; an active heave compensated
(AHC) winch and a top-hat style curser system which detaches once the ROV is lowered
through the splash-zone. The AHC winch prevents the parent vessels motion from bring
transferred to the ROV, this replaces the need of a subsea TMS (lowered to the depth of
operation) which also prevents motion transferal (SMDROVS, 2010).
Umbilical
The umbilical connects the ROV to the vessel. It provides the ROV with power and
hydraulics whilst also allowing for data to be sent to the vessel. The umbilical can be directly
mounted to the ROV or through a TMS. The umbilicals are designed to also carry the weight
of the ROV (with possible TMS) as well as with stand any forces (current/tidal) imposed on
the ROV (Cortland ltd, 2013).
For this type of ROV the umbilical must be long enough to allow it to reach the seabed,
which for ultra-heavy work-class trenching ROVs can be up to 4000 m.
http://www.cortlandcompany.com/products/electro-optical-mechanical-cables/rov-cables
Sensors
ROVs have a number of sensors installed on the vessel to aid with guiding the vehicle. The
types of sensors will depend on the purpose of the ROV, for example an observation ROV
will only require Cameras and possibly depth gauges.
Cameras
Sonar
Pipetrackers
Doppler velocity log
Depth
Echo sounder
Acoustic positioner
Gyro
Etc
A trenching ROV will require additional sensors that allow it to determine the location of the
pipeline. The main sensor used for tracking the pipe during the trenching work, is located
forward of the vehicle, this sensor is shown below in Figure 0-1.


Figure 0-1: Trenching ROV highlighting the pipe tracking sensor (ref)
ROV control room
The ROV pilots control the ROVs via the control room, these pilots monitor the various
systems onboard the ROV and control movements and manipulators. Some of the crew may
include (but not limited to) a pilot, co-pilot, video annotator, navigator, and three to four
observes. A shift will generally last up to 12 hours (http://www.mbari.org/news/feature-
image/controlroom.html.
An ROV control room can be built into an ISO standard Freight container or be a permanent
installation on the platform. Adequate facilities must also be provided for the ROV crew as
they will be spending a large amount of time in the control room (IMCA, 2013).
In the design of the control cabin, the following must be accounted for;
The systems on the ROV must be clearly visible, this is achieved through the use of
closed circuit TV (CCTV)
Adequate Safety measure to ensure that the crew is able to escape the cabin in the
case of an emergency.
Accessible Emergency buttons.
Adequate Communication
The pilot will direct the ROV to the pipeline/cable, the reach the pipeline/cable the pilot will
require the various sensors and cameras to ensure that the ROV is placed directly on top of
the pipe. Once the ROV is in position the pilot will then control the speed that the trenching
occurs.
Launch and Recovery System
The launch and recovery system (LARS) is required to deploy and retrieve the ROV. IMCA
(2013) states that the LARS must be placed so there are no obstructions below or adjacent to
the deployment area. The location of the LARS is also dependant on the parent vessels
thrusters, as the wash from the thrusters can interfere with the vehicle during deployment and
the umbilical.
Links
http://www.cortlandcompany.com/products/electro-optical-mechanical-cables/rov-cables
http://smd.co.uk/products/trenching-specials-lars/list.htm
http://www.offshore-technology.com/contractors/rovs/smd-rovs
http://www.naval-technology.com/contractors/rov/smd
REFERENCES

Guidelines for Installing ROV System on Vessels or Platforms. (2013). Retrieved Sept 1
2013, from http://www.imca-int.com/media/106588/imcar018.pdf
ROV Technology Bottom Crawlers & Plows. (2013). Retrieved Sept 2 2013, from
http://www.rov.org/rov_category_crawlers.cfm
Forum Energy Technologies (2013). Retrieved Sept 2 2013, from http://www.f-e-
t.com/our_products_technologies/subsea-solutions/tether-management-systems-tms/
SMDROVS. (2010, July 20). SMD QTrencher 600 [Video file]. Video posted to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6yM6AAFWg1w
Cortland Limited (2013). Retrieved Sept 2 2013, from
http://www.cortlandcompany.com/products/electro-optical-mechanical-cables/rov-cables
Trenching ROV [Image]. (2012). Retrieved from http://renews.biz/27488/reef-subsea-
verifies-trenching-rov/
MBARI. (2012). Retrieved Sept 2 2013, from http://www.mbari.org/news/feature-
image/controlroom.html