TSC Subsea’s new tool targets tight access inspections

TSC Subsea has launched a scanning tool to be deployed on remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) and carry out tight access field joint inspection through difficult to penetrate pipeline coating.

ARTEMIS vCompact is a smaller, lightweight, more flexible version of the standard ARTEMIS developed specifically for the tight access inspections of pipelines and structures.

It was built to meet the requirements of a project for Beach Energy in Australia’s Bass Strait and carry out wall thickness inspection on the 20-inch Otway pipeline near the Thylacine A platform.

The location of the pipeline joints required remote inspection within a very narrow field joint section, so TSC developed ARTEMIS vCompact as a solution.

Its design incorporates the company’s Acoustic Resonance Technology (ART) that penetrates and inspects through thick subsea coating with lightweight, high-precision 3-axis scanning to produce high accuracy wall thickness measurements and corrosion mapping, TSC explained.

Magnetic feet fix the scanner firmly in position and ROV then detaches and stands off. The tooling utilises motorised and encoded manipulators which enable the probe to accurately follow the areas to be inspected.

According to the company, inspection data is transferred to a topside computer and can be analysed from anywhere in the world.

“The ARTEMIS vCompact successfully completed its operations for Beach Energy with flying colours, with all inspections being performed within two days“, said Stephan Freychet, senior project manager at TSC Subsea.  “All the data from the remote inspection was analysed remotely by a team in Norway”.

Freychet added that there is a potential for its use in and around subsea structures and pipelines where accurate remaining wall thickness measurements are critical for safe operations.