SMD

SMD have been building trenching Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) for 17 years and have the world’s most powerful trenching ROV UT-1 within their product portfolio. July this year will see the delivery of the Q-Trencher (QT) 1400 trenching ROV number 23, to Fugro Salt Subsea. This delivery will be closely followed by a second QT 1400 system number 24, to Fugro TSM and a QT 1000 later this year.

The trenching ROV being delivered to Fugro is SMD’s latest development in high power trenching ROV systems with the ability to supply a range of heavy, high powered tooling skids, for subsea operations. The 36 tonne vehicle features a detachable buoyancy pack which can be transferred easily from numerous tooling skids ranging in weight from 10Te to 25Te. 

The buoyancy pack includes the vehicle control system, HPUs and thruster array to allow quick changeover from skid to skid at sea, using quick release fittings and plug and socket connections.

The trenching spread supplied to Fugro Salt Subsea includes a tracked jetting skid and a track chain cutter skid for post-lay burial of power cable and flow-lines. The jetting skid is capable of burying cables or pipelines to 3.0m in 100KPa clay using high pressure jetting. The chain cutter skid is capable of burying 2.0m MBR power cable to 1.0- 2.0m in hard clay.

The LARs system supplied with the QT 1400 is a development of the UT-1 LARS, utilising A Frame cross beam winches with the cursor system, this allows a simpler launch process and the deployment of the ROV in buoyant or heavy mode up to 15Te.

The QT 1400 is also supplied with the latest SMD DVEC2 control system, benefiting from the improved control response, operator graphics, full DP capability, remote link for on-line assistance and optional automated control through multi-beam sonar’s.

SMD has further developed the QT 1400 skid family to include, cable burial in rock up to 20MPa, pipeline burial in soft rock, wire-line core drilling and cutter dredging.

The ROV is fitted with a full surveillance suite including multi beam sonar, O/A sonar, cameras, lamps and a TSS Dual Track pipe tracker. The ROV is therefore ready to carry out survey tasks too.

SMD’s trenching business stream manager, Paul Davison commented: “The Q-Trencher 1400 is an example of our engineering innovation and we are very proud of the unique capabilities this machine brings to the market. We look forward to helping Fugro Salt Subsea maximise the potential of this machine.”

Fugro Salt regard the uniqueness of the Q1400 system to be the common trenching control module, with separate tracked jetting and chain cutting skids together with a customised launch and recovery system rated to sea state 6. This coupled with a deck transfer skidding system to enable skid mode changes to be undertaken at sea safely within a 3 hours period.