Abstract
Currently, the cost of inspecting structural joint weld below 30m is very expensive as it requires the use of a saturation diving. Conventionally, this is done through Magnetic Particle Inspection (MPI), and it is the only underwater inspection activity that requires the use of saturation diving.
In 2022, a pilot project was carried out by Shell Malaysia at F23 field in Sarawak waters to study the feasibility of an alternative method known as the Alternative Current Field Measurement (ACFM) method for underwater joint inspection. Whilst there have been numerous study that scrutinize the reliability and accuracy of such method, there aren't that many publications that addresses the feasibility of the technology in actual offshore environment.
Based on the pilot project, the ACFM method was 40% more cost effective, and it is safer than the conventional method as the operation can be done remotely with the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle). However, there were numerous constraints such as the difficulty to clean the marine growth with ROV, the reliability of the ACFM components and difficulty to access tight areas which will be detailed in this paper.
