Vision 2012/1 - Rolls-Royce

Emergencies always happen at the wrong time or
in the wrong place, or both. Thanks to the new
Rolls-Royce underwater service concept, most of
the repairs and maintenance below the water line
can now be done in the nearest harbour.
There’s no need for dry docks or special facilities.
Dedicated to keep
vessels in service
The underwater repair solutions offered by
Rolls-Royce utilise key diving expertise to
assist in repair and maintenance work below
the water line, providing an alternative to
drydocking. This means there is no need to
sail to established repair ports or wait for a
dry dock slot to become available, and it
allows the vessel to remain on station while
the work is being done.
Since the first underwater repairs were
undertaken in 2009, interest and enquiry
levels continue to grow. By partnering with
specialised diving expertise, Rolls-Royce is
able to offer a comprehensive range of
underwater services such as the tunnel
thruster exchanges using the patented sled
solution.
“Underwater intervention service has
changed the customers’ philosophy on
emergency equipment repair, and the
demand from clients in the offshore market
has increased during the last few years.
Our trusted diving partners benefit from the
long experience of underwater repair in the
shipping industry,” said Ole Jacob Irgens, SVP
of Marine Services Customer Experience.
Rolls-Royce, who, together with the
specialised diving expertise, is developing
innovative ways of working that are
continually being tried and tested.
Tunnel thruster exchange. The tunnel
thruster was the first Rolls-Royce product to
have an underwater repair solution
developed for exchange. By using three
special tools designed and patented by
Rolls-Royce, and a simple sled, the complete
unit can be removed and reinstalled in a
floating vessel in under 12 hours. Sleds and
exchange units are now available for the
most popular tunnel thrusters in the
Rolls-Royce range; TT1650, TT1850, TT2000,
TT2400 and TT2650, as well as the TV150 and
TV375. To minimise repair costs, Rolls-Royce
also provides thrusters from the exchange
pool, which has been enlarged to meet the
increased demand. When the exchange pool
is used, the fully shop-tested and assembled
unit can be commissioned quickly, cutting
repair times from start to finish by over 50 per
cent.
Retractable azimuth thrusters. A way
of moving and reinstalling Rolls-Royce
retractable azimuth thrusters without
drydocking has been pioneered on Africa’s
west coast. The unit was not originally
designed for underwater removal.
Creating a proper and safe dry environment
around the affected thruster, Rolls-Royce had
provided the turnkey solution. A hyperbaric
environment was created by the dive teams,
that allowed technicians and engineers to
remove the unit from the ship while
alongside a lay-by berth in West Africa. The
unit was then overhauled by Rolls-Royce,
refitted with diver support and
commissioned. A conventional repair, with
transit and waiting times would have taken
around a month, but with the underwater
repair solution the overall work took eight
days. While the vessel was alongside, the
ship’s crew prepared the vessel for its next
contract, so no time was lost.
20 VISION 1/12