Dry dock inspection

Challenge

Detection of incidents in ship hulls is currently conducted in various harbors
Vessels are continually exposed to environmental pressures, necessitating periodic inspections to identify damages before they become hazardous and critically affect the structural integrity of the ship. Owners are typically required to carry out these inspections every 6 months to 2 years, involving manual processes with diesel-powered crane machines, scaffolding, and rope access climbers checking the hull in a dry dock. This approach poses several challenges, with rope access climbers facing the risk of falling. According to IRATA (The Leading Association in The Rope Access Industry), there have been 11 reported fatalities since 1989, with six occurring between 2013 and 2017. Additionally, there were 18 instances of "rope damage or severance" and 32 "dropped objects," including tool bags, buckets, and a helmet that fell 38 floors.

The inspections typically last up to 96 hours, spread over 4 days in the dry dock. Using 12 rope access climbers equipped with handheld cameras, the inspection focuses on capturing pictures of clearly visible damages, providing a limited dataset. Climbers take pictures of cracks and record their locations for maintenance work. This visual inspection is constrained by the inspector's experience, and there are no images of the rest of the ship apart from the identified faults. In 2019, owners spent as much as €2.7 billion on dry dock repairs in the US, with lost revenues during inspection accounting for an additional €7.4 billion/year for the global fleet, resulting in total yearly costs of €10.1 billion.

Solution

As the ship enters the dry dock, inspectors, climbers, and machines wait for 4 hours for the dock to empty out the water. Meanwhile, the Upteko multipurpose drone (LARK™) launches and performs a fixed flight pattern around the ship, collecting a full dataset of pictures. This data is then combined into a 2D mosaic dataset in less than 2 hours.

Powered by AI, this dataset enables the identification and tracking of damage over time, revolutionizing the process for dry dock inspections. This innovative approach reduces risks, enhances efficiency, and provides a new way to monitor vessel performance and structure.