Maritime and offshore classification company ABS has expanded its remote surveying capabilities in the offshore industry saying Thursday it could provide remote surveys for the majority of the world’s offshore drilling units.
"Already the industry’s most comprehensive remote survey program, ABS has expanded its options for offshore operators to use remote survey technologies to streamline the survey process to include the majority of class and statutory annuals," ABS said.
"The move ensures that ABS, which provides classification services to more than half of the global fleet of mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs), continues to lead the industry in the development of digital class services," it said.
Remote now "business as usual"
"Remote survey is now business as usual in the marine industry and our deep experience with the offshore industry means we are uniquely placed to ensure the many benefits can now be extended to our offshore clients for the first time,” said Matt Tremblay, ABS Senior Vice President Global Offshore. “The range of remote services we offer the industry means operators can now simply book a survey and ABS will help the operator decide how best to carry out the work with the least operational interference.”
ABS has said it has also extended its remote survey and audit services to existing equipment manufacturing and external specialist clients enrolled in ABS programs.
ABS said that users of its My Freedom Client Portal can take advantage of ABS Smart Scheduler, which leverages real-time AIS data to maintain fleet compliance and is, per ABS, the industry’s only mobile survey booking tool enabling any survey, including remote surveys, to be scheduled "in less than a minute anytime, anywhere – even when there is no internet access."
The tool tracks survey status for all vessels in a fleet and then issues alerts when surveys are due, ABS said.