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The Elios 3 UT Payload: avoiding 15,000 hours of work at height for hull inspections

The Elios 3 UT Payload: Saving 15,000 Hours of Work at Height During Hull Inspections


Key Benefits at a Glance

Safety

The Elios 3 eliminates the need for working at height, setting up scaffolding, or entering confined spaces, significantly reducing the risks involved in ship hull or tank inspections.

Speed

The Elios 3 can be deployed within 30 minutes of arrival on site, drastically cutting down the time spent on scaffolding and other labor-intensive tasks.

Localization

UT drone surveys with the Elios 3 provide results that are displayed in a 3D model, making it easy to locate and revisit points of interest for further analysis or maintenance work.

Reporting

C-Bird completed the UTM and close-up survey required for the ship’s 5-year inspection, and their data was certified by a class society.

Every five years, all ships must undergo a special periodic inspection. The older the vessel, the more frequent and detailed these inspections become—especially after 15 years, when major inspections are required every 30 months. These inspections are crucial for ensuring the ship is safe to operate and can be extremely costly, often requiring the ship to sit in dry dock for extended periods.

During these inspections, the ship's hull must be checked using ultrasonic thickness (UT) measurements to ensure structural integrity, along with visual assessments of key areas. This process typically involves crews of up to 30 people setting up scaffolding before an inspector can access the area. Not only is this method slow and expensive, but it also poses significant safety risks, especially when working at height or in confined spaces.

Scaffolding alone can cost between $300,000 and $700,000 for a 15-year-old tanker, and the ship may be out of service for 40 to 60 days, with dry dock costs reaching $4 to $6 million. Using a drone like the Elios 3 not only improves safety but also cuts costs dramatically by eliminating the need for scaffolding entirely.

C-Bird, a leading ship inspection company, has been using the Elios 3 for UT inspections on vessels over 15 years old. They’ve found that the drone is faster than traditional methods while still collecting all the necessary UT and visual data. This approach improves safety standards, reduces time and money spent on scaffolding, and speeds up the entire inspection process.

How UT Drone Inspections Are Changing the Maritime Industry

C-Bird was tasked with inspecting 12 oil tanks in a medium-sized ship. Malcolm Connolly, C-Bird’s CEO, used the Elios 3 equipped with its new UT payload to perform gauging measurements and close-up visual inspections as part of the ship’s periodic survey. The tanks were large, measuring 38 x 28 x 20 meters, and required careful navigation through transverse web frames and bulkheads.

Instead of relying on scaffolding, the team used the Elios 3 to conduct both visual and UT inspections. The drone provided high-quality visual data from the required distance, eliminating the need for inspectors to climb scaffolding or enter confined spaces. This allowed the team to complete the task in just seven days, compared to the weeks it would take with traditional methods.

The Elios 3’s ability to create a point cloud with spot measurements made it easy for the team to cross-check with the class inspector and confirm that all required measurement points had been covered. This streamlined data collection and reporting, saving time and improving accuracy.

Certified Results and Industry Recognition

Following a two-year pilot program, C-Bird and its use of the Elios 3 with the UT payload were certified by the American Bureau of Shipping, one of the world’s leading class societies. This certification marked C-Bird as an approved supplier for ESP hull gauging, a first-of-its-kind recognition that highlights the value of drone-based inspections in the maritime industry.

Watch the Elios 3 use its live 3D model to guide the drone and make a UT measurement, marking it as a point of interest for ease of reporting.

The Elios 3 provided C-Bird with five key advantages: accurate localization of UT measurements, improved access to hard-to-reach areas, reliable and certified results, versatility across different environments, and comprehensive reports that met class society requirements. These benefits have positioned C-Bird as a leader in the field, offering a safer, faster, and more efficient alternative to traditional inspection methods.

C-Bird plans to continue using the Elios 3 and its UT payload for inspections across multiple industries, including maritime, oil and gas, and asset management. The success of this technology has opened a new era for UT inspections in confined and challenging spaces, and the company is excited about future projects.

Discover more about the Elios 3 and its UT payload

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