HC Upgrade Of LARS To Japanese Research Vessel Done In Only 3 Days

Scantrol is proud to have successfully upgraded a Saab Seaeye Leopard ROV LARS to have Active Heave Compensation in only 3 days. The retrofit allows the customer, a Japanese marine science company, to continue working in tough weather conditions by increasing operational time of the vessel and reducing the risk of damage to the system.



First AHC upgrade of Leopard ROV LARS

– When our partner in the UK, Hydramec, got a request from Saab Seaeye to upgrade an existing Launch & Recovery system, Scantrol was contacted to supply the AHC controls. Even if though we have done several systems together in the past, this was the first time an upgrade of a Leopard ROV LARS system has been carried out, explains senior design engineer Rolf Krogh Hjelmeland, responsible for the offshore segment.

The project was carried out in Japan in May where Hydramec and Scantrol took up the task of retro fitting Active heave compensation to an existing LARS 1055, a 3000 meter rated Leopard ROV Launch and recovery system. Testing and research was done at the Hydramec facilities to find the optimal and most cost effective way to perform the upgrade of the LARS systems.

Increased operation window and reduced damage to the system

Kaiyo Engineering, a Japanese marine science company, is using the Leopard to explore the feasibility of seabed mining. Adding AHC to the ROV LARS means that the client can work in tougher sea conditions as the system keeps the tether management system stable relative to the ROV while docking and undocking. This results in increased operational time for the vessel. Scantrol AHC also focus on safety, ease of use and efficient commissioning.

AHC retrofit in only 3 days

The requirement from the Japanese client was to achieve AHC in a 3 meters swell over an 8 second period. The ability of the system was run through the Scantrol analyzer before the job was undertaken and it was found that the winch could compensate for up to 4 meters in 10 seconds. This in turn meant that the system only needed the minimum of hydraulic modifications to allow the system to have AHC fitted.
The project was started and completed in 3 working days meaning that the downtime to the client was minimal. After the modifications, Dyna-tests were carried out on the winch to ensure that the compensation level met the client’s specification.

Good results and high performance were witnessed by the client and signed off once completed. The system is now operational and all feedback from the client has been positive, said Danny Church, Managing Director at Hydramec

Smart tools for design, testing, operation and support

Scantrol has developed a set of supportive tools that is used during the design, testing, operation and for remote support. The Scantrol toolbox ensures adequate AHC winch capacity, large time-savings in testing, intuitive monitoring of operations and rapid, cost effective support independent of where the vessel is located. It is the toolbox that makes it possible for Scantrol to complete a retrofit within 3 days.

Location: Japan