Client
Tahiti Spar Ballast Tank Inspection & UT Gauging
April 2013, inspection of the ballast tanks onboard the Chevron Tahiti Spar was carried out by a Proceanic ROV Inspection Team, under the supervision of Chevron, The American Bureau of Shipping and United States Coast Guard.
“Close‐Up” inspection of all ballast tanks onboard the installation was carried out and accepted for Special Survey, by ABS and USCG. Ultrasonic Thickness Gaugings of hull steel were also taken, for the purpose of hull condition assessment.
Gaugings were taken by means of a Cygnus Ultrasonic Gauge, attached to a PRO-4 ROV. Gaugings were also accepted for special survey purposes by ABS and USCG. These normally onerous tank inspections were carried out with:
- No De-Ballasting
- No Tank Cleaning
- No Coatings Damage
- No Ballast Tank Entry by Personnel
- No Staging / Scaffolding
- Minimal Operational Upset
This meant faster turn‐around of inspections, significant cost savings, reduced personnel risk and reduced operational interruption for the facility. All without compromising quality of inspection and gauging.
Ballast Tank inspections and thickness gaugings were carried out over a 5 day period by a two‐man team of Proceanic ROV operators (who also happen to be Naval Architects/Marine Engineers), equipped with two state‐of‐the art VideoRay™ Pro 2 ROV Systems.
All “Close‐Up” inspections and thickness gauging records are captured on digital video for quick and easy distribution and review as required after the inspection. Thickness Gaugings are also captured into standard IACS/ABS format reports.
