Establishing an Unmanned Offshore Fleet
– We see ourselves as caretakers under water, says Bjørg Mathisen Døving at Reach Subsea.
This article is sourced from Teknisk Ukeblad and written by Jan M. Moberg – Technology Editor. It is translated to English by GCE Ocean Technology.
Reach Subsea in Haugesund is well underway with establishing a fleet of unmanned offshore vessels.
The first one, Reach Remote I, was launched a year ago. It is now operating on assignments in the North Sea, while its sister vessel, Reach Remote II, is sailing in Australia.
– There was a tear shed, when they took their first nautical miles, says Bjørg Mathisen Døving.
In this week’s episode of the podcast Teknisk sett, we talk with Døving, who leads the development and the investment in the unmanned ocean-going fleet.
– We are specialists in subsea technology and see ourselves as caretakers under water. Now we are building a fleet of unmanned vessels that simply have no space for people on board,” explains Døving.
– The specialists can sit at home and solve the tasks from there, she adds.
230 tonnes at 24 metres
It is easy to assume that anything unmanned is relatively small and lightweight. That is not the case here.
Yes, Reach Subsea’s unmanned offshore vessels are much smaller than conventional crewed offshore vessels. Still, we are talking about 24-metre-long “ships” with a gross tonnage of 230 tonnes.
These relatively large vessels have room for an ROV (a remotely operated underwater vehicle) the size of a small electric car and are designed to stay at sea for at least 30 days at a time.
Reach Remote are 24-metre-long unmanned vessels that can remain at sea for weeks. The savings are
significant compared with crewed offshore vessels. Photo: Reach Remote.
It should be noted that Kongsberg Maritime is an important partner, and the vessels are built at Trosvik Maritime in Porsgrunn.
Performs 70 percent of the work
Despite the fact that the vessels are relatively much smaller than traditional crewed offshore vessels, Døving believes they can perform 70 percent of the assignments carried out by conventional vessels.
– There is a lot to save, both in terms of crew and operations. For example, Reach Remote uses only 0.8 cubic metres of fuel per day. A traditional offshore vessel, by comparison, can use up to 12 cubic metres, Døving explains.
In this week’s podcast episode you can hear more about what the unmanned initiative offers and what the plans are going forward.
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