Hydramec to Build Fully Autonomous Winch for Fugro

05.10.2020
Hydramec are delighted to announce the receipt of two orders from Fugro to design and build two bespoke lightweight Launch and Recovery winches for their new uncrewed surface vessels, the 12m Fugro Blue Essence being built by SEA-KIT.



These orders cement Hydramec’s and Fugro’s long-standing relationship in the delivery of launch and recovery solutions which has seen Hydramec deliver over 50 LARS systems to Fugro worldwide for over 20 years as well as assisting on many unique projects and active heave compensation (AHC) upgrades for Fugro’s FCV remotely operated vehicle (ROV).



Hydramec has worked closely with both Fugro and SEA-KIT to make sure the challenging specification requirements including space and weight restrictions were met. Our in-house design team modelled every aspect of the LARS system allowing SEA-KIT to place the models into their vessel hull to give a real-life representation of how the system will look once installed.



The LARS systems will be of lightweight construction using carefully selected alloys and components to minimise the effect the payload has on vessel stability. The whole system will be controlled remotely from one of Fugro’s onshore Remote Operation Centres using a combination of a bespoke local control system, which has been designed and built by our favoured control system partner Scantrol in Norway, and Fugro’s own proprietary over the horizon software and communication solutions.

Having secured these orders, we would like to thank Fugro for their continued faith in Hydramec to supply and deliver timely solutions to any launch and recovery requirements they have.

Ivar de Josselin de Jong, Director for Remote Inspection at Fugro, said: “The development and order of this bespoke LARS for our newly developed, fully electric Blue Volta inspection eROV is supporting Fugro’s strategy to lead the development of remote and autonomous solutions, which are key to delivering a safer, more sustainable and more efficient approach to the construction and maintenance of marine assets. Hydramec has been clear choice for Fugro over the past two decades. The integration of the Blue Volta eROV with the new Blue Essence USVs into our global network of remote operation centres will allow us to provide our clients with an entirely remote-controlled inspection solution for the first time in history. We foresee an important role for our solution in the rapidly growing offshore wind sector.”

Hydramec and Scantrol have worked on many projects together and autonomous control has been a major focus point for both companies going forward into a market that is becoming more prevalent across the offshore oil & gas and renewables sectors.

Rolf Hjelmeland Business Development Manager for Scantrol said: “We are proud to once again to deliver our control solutions to Hydramec, an invaluable Scantrol partner for many years. Working with Hydramec who, by now have many years of experience integrating our control systems, it’s possible to deliver differentiating LARS solutions using our adaptable market leading components and software to deliver on time.

Scantrol has much to offer in the USV market, and we can say with confidence that we are ready for more challenges from Fugro and Hydramec, which require Scantrol’s proven technical capability. This capability includes autonomous splash zone handling, operations in harsh environmental conditions and the technical mitigations needed for Launch and Recovery solutions where an operator will not be present.”


Location: UK









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