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Visual system for monitoring flexible risers

Aberdeen, UK-based Bowtech Products reports it has fulfilled a contract from Imes, UK, to supply cameras and lights for a Riser Visual Inspection System, which has been used on BP Norges Skarv development project in the Norwegian Sea. The contract Imes involved the supply of the camera and lighting components for a visual inspection system capable of monitoring the pull-in and hand-off of flexible risers on BP Norges Skarv FPSO. The system included four sets of cameras and lights, all of which were certified explosion proof to ATEX regulations and installed at 90-degree intervals around the i-tube, similar to the riser system already in use on the BP Schiehallion FPSO.

DIVING

Why a Divers Association?

Mark Longstreath, owner of the popular Longstreath website, explains the events that led him to co-found the Divers Association, which is committed to furthering the implementation of safe diving practices throughout the world
Having been in the diving industry since 1978, working both as a diver and in management, I have held a lot of interest in the profession, and have become dismayed at the rising number of avoidable fatalities that occur. In March 1997 I created a treatment. He was 21 years old. When I entered into some website longstreath.com more to get a personal email correspondence with his father, address than anything else, but it effected me in a way that uploaded a list of diving com- none of the other fatalities I had pany contact details to see how come across in the industry had websites were made. The list been able to. His father was started being popular amongst understandably extremely disdivers, and the site has grown traught, and wanted to know into what is probably the most how such a thing could happen, visited commercial diving web- and why the diving companies were allowed to operate in such site around today. Through this site many reports, a manner. I had no answer for some hearsay, and some eyewit- him, but decided it was time to ness, have been made regards try to do something about it. Knowing that the regulations incidents and fatalities that othacross Europe were minimal to erwise escape attention. say the least, I set up a petition to try to put pressure on the TASKED In April 2011 I came to hear European Community to make about a young Italian diver who changes such as increasing died while working at the minimum manning levels and Edipower plant in Sermide, banning the use of scuba for Northern Italy. He was part of a commercial diving purposes. three-man team tasked to clean a water intake grill. When it was SUPPORT noticed that there were no bubThough the petition attracted bles at surface a second diver a lot of support within the divdressed in and found that he had ing community, it also attracted been sucked on to the grill, and resistance from within some of that his mask had been sucked the diving companies and repoff. He was recovered to surface resentative organisations. and failed to respond to any At the same time John Roat in the USA started another petition to improve on diver safety in his country. His petition was aimed at the OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) and the US Coast Guard, which produce the minimum standards for US operations. They too allow the use of threeman teams and scuba for commercial diving operations.

CHANGE
As with the petition that I set up, his had little effect on the industry bodies, but did gain support for change within the operational personnel in the industry. The use of scuba and three-man teams is still allowed today. Next came the multi-fatality onboard the DSV Koosha 1 in Iran, where six Indian divers lost their lives. The vessel had been overloaded, and the diving system in extremely poor condition, when inclement weather caused it to overturn and sink, culminating in the death of the six divers in sat and several of the crew. Through correspondence, the longstreath.com website and divers Facebook pages many divers started to ask what could be done to prevent such a horrendous accident, and how companies could be made to comply with the safety standards set by the main industry bodies IMCA and ADCI. After this event, John Roat and I, along with several other concerned parties, formed

BP Norges Skarv FPSO. Picture courtesy of BP Norge

The system also permitted the inspection of the whole circumference of the tube and inspection over a vertical length of around 30 metres, using articulated belts and was designed to operate in air, as well as underwater, in water depths of up to 100 metres. Mike Winstanley, sales director at Bowtech Products, said: We were honoured to work again with Imes and BP on our third Riser Visual Inspection System project, which we have been advised has been a valuable tool for monitoring the pull-in and hang-off of the flexible riser system on the FPSO.

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DIVING
the Association with the aim of giving the working diving personnel a voice in how the minimum safety standards are set, to try to improve on the reporting of incidents, and to bring awareness to the contracting companies of just how dangerous the current standards are. The Association, although in its infancy, has already attracted the support of several trade unions, and prominent individuals such as Brian Simpson MEP, Georges Arnoux, Michael Smart author of Into the Lions Mouth, the story of the Wildrake incident and Mike Sisley, former UK HSE diving inspector. Using a list of incidents that

CPD buys sidescans

So, why this huge increase? Is it because of the advent of the internet, and the ability to communicate the occurence of incidents? If it is, were there similar numbers in decades during the 1900s? Is it due to an increase in the number of commercial diving operations? Is it due to the lack of regulation and minimum standards? I believe it is a combination of the above, and that the only way to get the figures to decrease is to hold the diving contractors and clients accountable for the way in which diving operations are carried out. To this end, a set of safe minimum standards needs to be set and adopted by the governments of the world. The implementation of these standards must be made with the input of the people who will have to work by them, and potentially, die by them. This is why a Divers Association is needed. It is needed to give diver input into safety standards that do not favour the commercial or contractual aspects that are at the forefront today. www.thediversassociation.com EdgeTech, USA, reports it has been awarded a contract from the Chicago Police Department s (CDP), USA, Marine Unit for three 4125 sidescan sonar systems. The systems will be used by the police department for various critical search and recovery operations ranging from relocation of sunken boats, cars and aircraft to underwater surveys related to homeland security during waterfront festivals, VIP visits and navy pier operations. In addition to the wide area high-resolution underwater search capabilities of the 4125 systems, all units provided to the Chicago Police Department will have the unique ability to perform ship hull inspections, said EdgeTech.Additionally, the systems can be outfitted with depressor wings for deepwater operations or pole mounted on a vessel for easy shallow-water port and river work. Two of the systems are configured with EdgeTechs ultra high-resolution frequency pair 600/1600kHz. The third unit is configured with dual simultaneous 400/900kHz frequencies.

New-build diving vessel to join Subsea 7 fleet

Subsea 7 has signed a contract to build a new dive support vessel (DSV). The new vessel will be delivered in 2015. The state-of-the-art vessel, a year round basis. It will be the designed by Wrtsil Ship third new-build DSV to join the Design, Finland, will be built by Subsea 7 fleet in recent years, Korean company Hyundai with the company having taken delivery of the Seven Atlantic in Heavy Industries (HHI). With accommodation for 110 2010 and Seven Havila in 2011. people, the DSV will incorporate an 18-man saturation system LEADING supplied by Drass, Italy, and Steve Wisely, Subsea 7 execurated for 300 metres with two tive vice president Commercial, moon-pool deployed three-man said: To build and equip this diving bells and two 18-man vessel we are delighted to work hyperbaric life-boats. with industry leaders HHI, Drass The vessel is intended for and Wrtsil Ship Design. The North Sea diving operations on vessel will reinforce our leading
Artists impression of the new-build

we know have occurred within the industry, the total number of fatalities over the past 40 years has increased, mainly in this century, where, if we listen to the contractor associations, the greatest improvements in safety have been made. The chart below shows the total known number of fatalities per decade, since the 1970s when the first contractor association was formed.

INCREASE
As can be seen, the number of known fatalities is on the increase, with the 2010s already higher than the previous century figures, and this is only from 2000 to 2012!

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

diving capabilities with one of the worlds largest DSV fleets, and enable us to continue to

serve our clients in an efficient, cost-effective and safe manner on many future projects.

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