Offshore Inspection Is No Longer Just About Seeing, It Is About Measuring Change

INSIGHTS & TECHNOLOGY  ·  TECHNOLOGY SPOTLIGHT

Viable Energy and Engineering, in partnership with Chasing Innovation, can perform diverless offshore platform inspections integrating five layers of subsea data in a single deployment.

configured with five inspection payloads for offshore operations

The offshore energy sector is shifting its expectations of what an inspection event should produce. Visual records alone no longer satisfy engineering teams who must make maintenance decisions across ageing infrastructure, multiple inspection cycles, and tightening budgets. The question is no longer whether a structure has been seen — it is whether it has been measured, archived, and made available for future comparison.

This shift is exactly where the CHASING X Industrial ROV, deployed by Viable Energy and Engineering in partnership with Chasing Innovation, is redefining what a diverless offshore inspection can deliver.

Sample Project Overview

The reference project was conducted off the coast of Maracaibo, Venezuela, under sea state 2 conditions — challenging but representative of real-world offshore West Africa operating environments. Marine growth covered parts of the platform structure, while suspended particles limited underwater visibility, both typical of conditions that complicate conventional inspection approaches in the Niger Delta and Gulf of Guinea.

INMARVENCO configured the CHASING X with a five-layer inspection payload: a UVision UScanner 3D scanning system, multibeam imaging sonar, an ultrasonic thickness sensor, a cathodic protection probe, and a low-light 4K camera with a 12,000-lumen lighting system. One industrial ROV platform, five simultaneous data streams, and no commercial divers in the water.

Five Simultaneous Data Layers

Stability and Precision in Challenging Conditions

Usable 3D scans and close-range measurements depend on controlled positioning near the structure — a challenge in strong subsea currents. The CHASING X addresses this through its OctoDrive eight-thruster vector propulsion system paired with AnchorX, an intelligent omnidirectional current-resistance system rated for 4.5 knots, enabling stable station-keeping at depths of up to 350 metres without a diver in the water.

From the surface control station, the team conducted 4K observation, sonar-assisted navigation, 3D scanning, wall-thickness measurement, and cathodic protection assessment — simultaneously — without deploying a single commercial diver. The operational risk profile and cost structure of a conventional diving spread simply does not compare.

Key Technical Specifications

Four-image project overview – CHASING X deployed off the coast of Maracaibo, Venezuela

From Inspection Event to Lifecycle Asset Record

The combined outputs — visual records, geometric models, thickness data, and corrosion readings — create a structured, multi-source record that engineering teams can use for future comparison. The inspection is not simply documented; it is archived as a lifecycle asset record that supports maintenance prioritisation, change detection, and component-level assessment across inspection cycles.

This matters particularly in the Nigerian upstream context, where operators managing ageing infrastructure on the continental shelf and in the deepwater are under pressure to demonstrate rigorous integrity management to NUPRC, lenders, and insurers. A lifecycle asset record not just inspection footage is what supports defensible maintenance decisions.

This project validates the CHASING X’s position in the offshore inspection market, delivering measurable data that moves beyond imagery. The offshore energy sector demands more than visual inspections it demands data that supports decisions.

Source: CHASING X Industrial ROV Turns Venezuela Offshore Platform Inspection Into Lifecycle Asset Data EIN Presswire, 2026

Viable Energy & Engineering Ltd  ·  RC: 9385281  ·  Lagos, Nigeria  ·  viable-energy.com