SRD Completes Ninth Survey of Major Gas Pipelines

SRD, (Sonar Research and Development), has completed a major survey campaign on behalf of the seabed to surface engineering and construction contractor, Acergy, to inspect pipeline landfalls at various points on the UK's east coast. SRD were commissioned to undertake landfall and beach surveys of nine pipelines as a part of a BP contract of Acergy. These surveys provide data for shallow water inshore segments, typically 3km long, which could not be acquired by larger vessels using ROV-based inspection techniques. This is the ninth such survey programme carried out by SRD for Acergy in the last 10 years. Surveys were conducted this year at Easington, Teesside, Firth of Forth and Peterhead. Each pipeline asset is earmarked for inspection at regular intervals. Whereas the specific workscope in any particular year is subject to this inspection schedule, the inshore survey uses well-established techniques based around the use of SRD’s Subsea Visualisation System (SVS).



SVS3 provides complete high-resolution swathe bathymetry data of each pipeline and its route corridor. Used in combination with side scan sonar and sub-bottom profiler, a full assessment of exposure and burial status of the pipeline can be provided, the results of which are integrated into the client's database. The SVS data can also be viewed in 3D, allowing animated 'fly-throughs' along each route giving a readily-understood visual summary of pipeline status.