3D ship survey helps in wave energy cable work

10:51am Tuesday 10th August 2010
By Owen McAteer »

A DIGITAL survey company played an integral role in ensuring the installation of the world’s largest wave energy testing centre went smoothly.

Laser scanning experts from Digital Surveys went to Kristiansand, Norway, on behalf of a Darlington company for a scanning commission that formed part of the Wave Hub Development.

Last week, Darlington company CTC Marine started the installation of the 33,000-volt cable connecting the Wave Hub, a massive electrical socket on the seabed 16km off the coast of Cornwall, to the mainland.

Digital Surveys’ role was to digitally document the deck of the installation vessel, the MSV Nordica, which was responsible for laying the 25km subsea cable. It ensured the accurate placement of the carousel used to lay the cable on the ship’s deck.

CTC Marine engineer Sam Taylor said: “This is a really important trial for the renewables industry and by using the laser scanning process, we have avoided any potential delays.

“The accurate placement of the carousel on deck was critical and we have been able to work confidently with the quality of data captured because it provided so much additional detail relating to potential obstacles like pipework.”

It was the first time that CTC Marine had used a 3D scan for this type of work, opting for traditional survey methods in the past.

Because of the amount of useful data retrieved, CTC is considering scanning more vessels with 3D lasers to create a library of information that will aid future projects.

Digital Surveys director Ben Bennett said: “In the past, to get a good idea of any potential obstacles on deck that might have interfered with placement of the carousel, photography would have been necessary.

“We are hopeful that this will be the first of many projects for CTC Marine.

“When Sam and his team saw the standard of the data we obtained, they realised that laser scanning could be put to other uses.

“For example, by scanning one of their marine assets, they could use the data for virtual inspections, 3D animations, 3D simulations or 3D modelling presentations to the industry and to their clients.

“Traditional survey methods do not offer this scope and, additionally, the information can be represented in a number of ways.”

Hartlepool company JDR Cable Systems has manufactured the hub structure and the 25km of subsea cable that will connect the hub to the National Grid onshore.

The £42m project has been developed by the South-West Development Agency as part of a strategy to create a world-class marine energy industry in south-west England.