Offshore staff

LONDON -- Lloyd's Register EMEA, Caledonian Geotech, and the Maritime Institute in Gdansk have conducted the first North Sea pipeline in-service survey using a multi-beam echo sounder (MBES), according to Lloyd's.

MBES technology has the ability to map 100% of the seabed by sending out a fan of narrow acoustic beams from a fixed unit aboard a vessel. These beams "echo" back data which generates a detailed 3D image of the terrain including, in this case, the pipeline.

This technique, according to Lloyd's, provides a higher quality survey at a lower cost compared to conventional methods and avoids the practical and safety hazards associated with deploying equipment over the side in adverse sea conditions.

The research vesselRV IMOR was used for the 190 km (118 mi) survey carried out for Interconnector Ltd. on their gas pipeline linking Belgium and the UK.

7/18/2007