SUBSEA DIVER HAZARDS HIGHLIGHTED IN NEW REPORT

A new document raises awareness of the life-threatening risks posed to divers as they go about their daily work under water

Published by the International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), Guidance on Underwater Excavation Works Involving Divers (or IMCA D 074) emphasises where particular risks lie, such as underwater trench wall collapses, or the sudden unexpected backfilling of excavations.

It also looks at historic incidents and explains how they could perhaps have been avoided.

“Over the years there have been many incidents where divers have been trapped, injured, or killed either by direct contact with excavation equipment or by collapses while working inside various types of excavations below seabed level,” said Bill Chilton, IMCA technical adviser – Diving. “Recent accidents have highlighted the need for industry guidance on how to conduct such operations safely. IMCA D 074 has been prepared working with specialist IMCA members. It is, like all IMCA documents, written by the industry for the industry.”

The guidance describes the kind of equipment commonly used in diving works, and the dangers with it. It suggests that divers should not be permitted to enter pre-existing excavations that have not been properly assessed for safe diver access.

In the final ‘Plant and Equipment Overview’ section, equipment such as airlifts, diver/ROV operated suction dredges and water jets are all tackled.

Glomar hires Rovco robot for 3 years

Netherlands-based offshore support vessel firm Glomar Offshore has signed a three-year charter agreement with subsea robotics company Rovco for its vessel Glomar Supporter.

Glomar Supporter will be delivered next month complete with a keel-mounted gondola and array of deck equipment, Rovco says, which the marine design consultant firm Medea has designed and analysed.

”The gondola will contain a suite of permanently installed survey sensors including dual head multibeam configurations, with inbuild roll and pitch stabilisation for high quality acquisition,” Rovco says.

”The main deck will be reconfigured to feature a main stern A-Frame for the deployment and towing of multiple sensor types, including seismic equipment, as well as adding secondary deck handling equipment for deployment of cone penetration test and vibrocorers to facilitate efficient sampling of in-situ soil conditions and taking advantage of the stable DP2 platform.

”Upon delivery, Rovco will install a host of additional leading-edge technology to enable force multiplication during survey operations and fast, large data packet transfers to shore for reporting efficiency. The entire package is designed to bring significant schedule efficiencies and cost savings to clients.”

Rovco will mobilise a survey team onboard the Glomar Supporter to deliver site characterisation solutions and specialised offshore survey projects, with a key focus on supporting the rapidly growing pipeline of offshore wind projects from their Aberdeen operational base, across ScotWind, the Southern North, Irish and Celtic Sea developments.

”As a company, we believe in the vast potential of the offshore renewables survey market and look forward to having Rovco onboard for the next years,” said Glomar Offshore CEO Klaas Weij.

A ‘world first’ oceanographic expedition covering three continents and eight major bodies of water has been launched by Abu Dhabi’s Environment Agency (EAD).

Scientific research vessel Jaywun, built at the Freire Shipyard in Vigo, Spain, is 47 metres long by 12 metres wide and has six laboratories on board.

The vessel has been fitted with advanced monitoring equipment supplied by the Cyprus Institute, a centre for air pollution and climate change research, and the German Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, which researches chemical processes on Earth.

The parties are working together to monitor air quality and climate change from the Atlantic Ocean to the Arabian Gulf, covering a distance of more than 10,000 kilometres.

The vessel will cross the Mediterranean Sea, Gulf of Suez, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea and Gulf of Oman, ending in the Arabian Gulf and Abu Dhabi waters before the end of the year.

“This remarkable ship measurement expedition is the start of an international collaboration that aims at collecting and analysing unique datasets from a region of the world that has yet been data-sparse, providing the basis for both scientific discovery and the

Cable-laying giant Prysmian Group has completed the cable laying and burial operations between the islands of Ibiza and Formentera, the firm has confirmed..

It carried out the work for Red Eléctrica, the Spanish state and public-owned national electricity grid operator.

Cable Enterprise, a state-of-the-art vessel that can simultaneously lay and bury power cables with any type of plough and in shallow water, carried out the work, which was begun in 2021.

It was commissioned to design, supply, install and commission two high voltage alternating current 132 kV three-core export submarine cables and 10km of land cables, which were both made at Prysmian’s plant near Naples.

“We are delighted to have welcomed the representatives of the Spanish institutions and of Red Eléctrica on board our vessel Cable Enterprise on the occasion of the successful completion of the laying and burial operations,” said Hakan Ozmen, EVP Projects BU, Prysmian Group. “This important milestone further confirms our commitment to supporting the energy transition by making available the best cable technology for the upgrade and development of power grids, ensuring a stable and reliable flow of energy between the islands.”