When a work site lies below the reach of human hands, engineers turn to remotely operated underwater vehicles (ROVs). KG D6 will rely on at least 10 ROVs for construction and maintenance.
ROVs were created by the U.S. Navy in the 1960s for rescue and recovery. In the 1980s, they became a crucial part of the then-fledgling deepwater oil and gas industry. The most famous ROV is probably Jason Junior, which explored the sunken ocean liner Titanic in 1986.
Today’s work-class ROVs can do much more than send back images. They complete complex tasks like installing and retrieving umbilicals, connecting jumpers, operating valves, and taking position readings. Tethered to a ship above, they are controlled by a skilled operator or “pilot” using a joystick.
“It’s like threading a needle in the dark from across the room using bamboo sticks,” says Marwan Abbassi, offshore installation project manager.
 Back to top
Back to Handling the Pressure |
