Unique Hydra’s HYDRACraft: First Purpose Designed Diving Daughtercraft

Unique’s Singular System

Unique Hydra (UH) launched HYDRACraft 1400 and HYDRACraft 1500 at the International Maritime Contractors Association (IMCA) 2014 held at London in November 2014. These are the first purpose designed daughtercrafts to be ever made by a designer and producer of diving equipment.

Diving Daughtercraft Systems conduct diving operations in areas that are not accessible for larger, conventional DSVs. The purpose of diving can be underwater weld inspection, routine maintenance, and the like. Such inaccessible areas include the immediate vicinity of an offshore platform or a floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) unit.

Mother Vessel, Daughter Vessel, & the Offshore Platform (Source: http://www.maritime-executive.com/article/Unique-Hydra-Unveils-New-HYDRACraft-Series-2014-06-10)

IMCA is held every year for the pioneering professionals of the maritime industry and includes presentations on the technical, environmental, and safety dimensions of the industry. IMCA 2014 dealt with the refinements that are improving performance in technical areas such as ROVs, remote mechanisms, diving, marine, and offshore surveys.

Unique Hydra (UH) is a part of the Unique Maritime Group (UMG). The group is among the top global suppliers of integrated turnkey solutions for the offshore and subsea sector. In an exercise spread over twelve months, UH studied the expectations of clients from diving daughtercraft systems and then designed the HYDRACraft 1400 and 1500.

Unique Hydra (UH) is a global leader in the design and production of commercial diving systems that strives to provide turnkey diving daughtercraft systems. The company also provides marine equipment and services, engineering services, flexible buoyancy and load testing, pressure vessels, rental equipment, and training.

HYDRACraft: 1400 & 1500

HYDRACraft 1400 (14m, 8 man) and HYDRACraft 1500 (15m, 10 man) are designed by Unique Hydra Pty. Ltd. Division with technical assistance from the UK branch of Unique System. The design is based on Failure Mode Effect Analysis (FMEA).

HYDRACraft 1400

(Source: http://www.marineoffshoretechnology.net/health-safety-environment-news/unique-hydra-launches-its-diving-daughtercraft-system) 

FMEA is a systematic approach that identifies all possible failures and evaluates the consequences of all these failures. It then finalizes a design in order to eliminate all these failures starting with the highest priority ones.

Features:

•  Tailor Made for Diving with a focus on stability, not on speed or endurance
• Hull Contour for Maximum On-Job Time i.e. largest possible work time at the site by providing a stable and stationary work platform
• Purpose Designed Aft Deck with a 2m Single Spine Ladder the diver dresses up for diving at the aft deck and descends into the water with the said ladder 
• A-Frame, 350-kg Davit at the aft to rescue an injured diver
• Ergonomic Dive Control Console
• 3-Diver Dive Control Station

HYDRACrafts are deployed from a mother vessel equipped with a gas storage, decompression chamber, and compressors. Decompression chambers are small rooms with adjustable air pressure that are used by deep-sea divers to gradually adjust to normal air pressure.

Diving Daughtercrafts

Diving daughtercraft systems used to be small vessels carrying scuba replacement units on the back deck. This changed after IMCA D040 and IMCA M189 prescribed fresh requirements. 

Daughtercraft Deployment

(Source: http://www.hydra.co.za/latest-news/118-unique-hydra-secures-orders-for-diving-daughter-craft.html)  

In recent times, daughter crafts have transcended their traditional role of rapid rescue and recovery and are being used for standby operations at offshore oil and gas platforms. Small and fast, they get closer to the deep-sea asset for better and quick execution of operations.

For the purpose of classification, diving daughtercraft systems are regarded as offshore workboats usually certified by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA). They are not considered man-overboard boats, lifeboats, or fast rescue crafts that require SOLAS certification.

While the mother vessel carries the supporting apparatus such as gas storage, decompression chamber, and compressors, the diving daughtercrafts are:

• installed with surface-supplied diving systems that support air diving and / or nitrox diving operations up to a maximum depth of 30-35 meters of sea water (MSW)
• normally assisted by an extra, simple support craft that transports everything and everyone – supplies, personnel, and injured operators if any during diving operations – except the crew

Merits of diving daughtercraft systems vis-à-vis larger, conventional diver support vessels:

• Improved Diver Safety as the daughtercraft is closer to the worksite. Such proximity eliminates the hazards to the diver from the failure of a longer umbilical cord, intake / thruster, and failure of the at-distance vessel
•  Greater Maneuverability on account of a shallow keel makes them more efficacious
• Faster Access & Low Mobilization Time as they can be equipped and deployed at short notice
• Increased On-Job Time & On-Sea Time for the daughtercraft gets real close to the worksite and can stay there for quite some time
• Reduced Danger for the Offshore Asset as their smaller size minimizes the risk of collision with and damage to the offshore platform
•  Minimum Equipment Load on the Mother Craft as daughtercrafts come loaded with the necessary apparatus

Finally

With operations demanding smaller daughtercrafts that are quickly deployed and get real close to the offshore platform, Unique Hydra’s HYDRACraft come with an enormous potential. 

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