Tech in Focus: MiniSpector's Mini-ROV System

MCS Group’s 10 MiniSpector Mini-ROV systems successfully completed subsea inspection and survey projects across Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa in 2024.

In 2024, the MiniSpector fleet carried out platform-based inspections on 19 platforms, deployed directly from platform facilities in Malaysia, Egypt, and Qatar, with inspections in Qatar focusing on flare platforms without requiring shutdowns.

Showcasing its innovative capabilities, the MiniSpector completed a 40-day high-pressure water jet cleaning project in the Red Sea for a major Middle Eastern client.

Operating at 1200 bar (17400 PSI), it effectively removed marine growth, barnacles, and algae from steel and platform materials at depths of -1m to -30m, reducing structural loads and preparing the platform for new installations.

It also inspected more than 175 km of pipelines, using smaller vessels in the UAE, the MiniSpector was loaded with three HD cameras, scanning profilers, four-function manipulator to perform continuous cathodic protection and ultrasonic wall thickness reading task.

Continuing to support client projects cost-effectively, the MiniSpector was launched from small non-DP vessels to perform:

• 7 kilometers of cable touchdown monitoring in Egypt.
• Seabed and bathymetric surveys in Saudi Arabia.
• CALM buoy chain metrology in Malaysia.
  
  

“Our MiniSpector fleet has consistently delivered reliable and cost-effective results across a wide range of subsea inspections in 2024,” said Alasdair Cowie, Group Business Development Director at MCS Group. “With 10 systems in operation and plans for expansion in 2025 to meet increasing demand, alongside technological enhancements to maintain our competitive edge in subsea inspections and survey, we remain focused on supporting our clients by delivering tailored solutions that address their specific operational and cost challenges.”

The MiniSpector Mini-ROV is small, nimble, and designed to operate in current speeds up to 3 knots and depths of 300m. It features an in-built Photo Realistic 3D Cloud (PRC) system, providing highly accurate 3D subsea measurements. The MiniSpector can easily perform subsea inspection and survey tasks such as HD GVI/CVI, CP, UT, and FMD, for wide range of applications including platform-based inspection, structural integrity assessment, corrosion monitoring, pre-engineering surveys, subsea metrology, pipeline inspection, and pipeline touchdown monitoring.