Offshore pipe-laying operations are getting more and more complex. On one hand the criticalities are related to the working stresses at whom the pipe and equipment are subject during installation and, on the other hand to the challenging time requirements that each step of the operations sequence shall meet, starting from the pipes loading on board the laying vessel to the final deployment of pipelines on the seabed (pipe handling, QA/QC checks, firing line feeding, pipe welding and coating, controls, …).
The capability to accurately control and monitor both the pipeline and the equipment during the handling and laying phases is a factor for satisfactory performances, sometimes a need in complex pipeline projects or even a requirement from pipeline operators. Vision technologies that are nowadays massively implemented in other industries to support production and operations, can be profitably implemented on board pipe-laying vessels to support operations on such a complex floating mechanical warehouse.
This paper describes the use of vision technologies aiming at both supporting and increasing the offshore laying operations productivity, warranting both pipe and laying equipment integrity and enhancing the quality and the safety of the above mentioned operations. Reference is made to some applications implemented on board Saipem's pipe-laying vessels and some others still on a development phase.
