Welaptega Marine, a world-leader in underwater inspection on offshore installations, is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a patent by the US Patent and Trademark Office for its Rope Measurement System (RMS).
The RMS identifies potential damage to the interior and exterior of wire and fibre ropes used in mooring systems on offshore facilities.
"At the moment, operators are limited to time-consuming and expensive visual inspections," said Anthony Hall, CEO and founder of Welaptega Marine. "The RMS gives them the opportunity to measure and monitor rope mooring lines, without removing them from the water. This reduces downtime and risk."
Deployed by ROV, it identifies changes in rope or wire geometry. These measurements are indicators of potential deterioration that can increase the risk of failure in a mooring system.
Mooring failure is considered to be a Class 1 Hazard, the highest rating issued by the UK offshore regulator, the Health and Safety Executive.
The system has been deployed in Norway, Spain, the UK and Australia.
RMS is part of the Welaptega Subsea Intelligence Suite, comprising the Chain Measurement System (CMS), 3Dimensional video (3DV) and 3Dimensional modelling (3DM).
The RMS has Canadian and EU patents pending, and is accredited for mooring inspection by both Lloyds Registry, and the Norwegiasn equivalent DNV (Det Norske Veritas).