First Work-Class Vehicle Certificated by Germanischer Lloyd
The Kiel 6000 ROV manufactured by Schilling Robotics has been certified by Germanischer Lloyd (GL) as meeting requirements for safety and environmental impact. The technical monitoring group GL has conducted safety surveys of thousands of ships and several ROVs, but the survey of the Kiel 6000 is the firm's first of a work-class ROV and of an unmanned vehicle with a 6000m depth rating. The ROV will join the ranks of high-profile GL-certified subsea vehicles such as the 6000 metre, deep-diving, manned MIR submersibles.
The ROV is owned by the Leibniz Institute of Marine Science (IFM-Geomar) at the University of Kiel. While in the service of the university, the ROV's primary role will be marine research.
GL reviewed a comprehensive series of tests on the ROV, and GL representatives were present during factory acceptance testing at Schilling Robotics' headquarters in Davis, California. During testing of the ROV, GL monitored the integrity of the vehicle and its components under pressure at different depths and tested various safety factors in the design.
GL was also present at the ROV system's deep-sea trial, which was conducted from the research vessel Sonne off New Zealand.
The Kiel 6000 will add to IFM Geomar's capacity to research and investigate the state of earth's marine environment and global climate change. The ROV's depth-rating of 6000msw will make 95% of the ocean floor open to exploration.
