In September 2017, a treaty adopted by the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO) to help prevent the spread of potentially harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens in ships' ballast water became a reality.
Treating ballast water
Under the order, ships must manage their ballast water so that aquatic organisms and pathogens are removed or rendered harmless before the ballast water is released into a new location; marine protection will help prevent the spread of invasive species as well as potentially harmful pathogens.
For the shipping industry, that means most ships will need to install special equipment to treat the ballast water. Although phased in overtime, all individual ships that meet the treaty’s vessel eligibility must be fitted with the required treatment system by September 2024.
Laser scanning
Pinpoint 3D delivered 3D imaging to ship owners who need to retrofit equipment and comply with new mandates
“Laser scanning is the perfect and only answer to this problem,” says engineering surveyor Danie Roelvert, whose company Pinpoint 3D (based in Pretoria, South Africa) created a niche ship-scanning application in Africa, delivering 3D imaging to ship owners who need to retrofit equipment and comply with the new mandates for ballast water treatment systems.
“Ships are in port for a limited time so you need to work efficiently and ensure you collect everything the client needs because you don’t have another opportunity to rescan once the ship sets sail."
The versatility of laser scanning
"The speed, versatility, and data density of laser scanning enable you to quickly set up in cramped spaces and capture the fine, detailed elements of an entire engine or pump-rooms in a few hours. With that virtual environment, designers can place pipes exactly where they need and ensure they’ll tie together.”
“The engineering on ships is awesome,” Roelvert continues. “I had always wanted to go to the engine room and see how it works. So when I got a call from a contact who said he found my name online and had a client who needed a ship scanned in a South African port in Saldanha, I said, ‘I can do it’."
Creating a scanning model
Marine architects and designers provide drawings of the ship’s layout the specific areas they want scanning
"I provided 89 as-found scans for new design work and it was amazing. First time in the engine room, meeting the captain and seeing how everything works. It was a dream come true.” Roelvert is typically only given a few days’ warning from operators who need vessels scanned so he needs to be ready to work at a moment’s notice.
Marine architects and designers provide him with drawings of the ship’s layout and circle in red the specific areas or pieces of equipment they want scanning. It’s Roelvert’s job then to figure out how to capture that information to create one complete model of the entire area of interest.
Ship-scanning experience
Since that first ship-scanning assignment, Roelvert has scanned several more ships in South Africa and West Africa, including an offshore fuel tanker in Togo, which challenged his motion-sickness vulnerabilities, and a bulk carrier in the South African port of Durban, which tested his technical skills.
The various assignments have allowed him to utilise different scanners for different jobs, an experience that has helped him determine which technology best suits his business.
Trimble X7
The Trimble X7 has speed, good quality data, efficiency, and most importantly, versatility"
“The Trimble X7 has speed, good quality data, efficiency, and most importantly, versatility,” says Roelvert. “I want to be able to put it in a backpack and fly off, and the X7 is perfect for that. Its on-site registration (the exact lining-up of multiple scan images) is incredibly valuable and saves me significant time."
"And its software solutions enable me to load project data such as a design file of a ship, and after scanning I can immediately see if the planned equipment will fit or if there are obstructions that might be a problem. That data depth is really valuable for the client.”
Confined space scanning
For the Durban project in April 2021, Roelvert was tasked with scanning six areas of interest (AOI) across three decks of the engine and control rooms of the Melvina, a 28,000-ton bulk carrier. Of critical importance was capturing specific flange positions and connecting pipes targeted for replacement.
“Because you’re in a confined and congested space, you can easily not capture enough detail on the important elements,” he says. “The scanner’s in-field registration option ensures that I capture all the important pipes, flanges, and pumps, which is critical for clients because parts are prefabricated while the ship is in transit and then installed at its next port. So if data is inaccurate, that can be costly.”
Trimble Perspective software
Within six hours, Roelvert captured 82 scans with data quality that was well within precision requirements
Roelvert started on the lowest deck of the engine room and worked his way up, mindful of the way of the ship and the heat of the room. He positioned the scanner to both captures the particular elements highlighted by the client and an extended boundary for proper scan overlap.
For each setup, he collected a full-colour scan and a set of corresponding photos in about two minutes, a few scans requiring exceptional detail took four minutes. After each scan, he reviewed the 3D image using Trimble Perspective software on his T10 tablet to confirm that he recorded the important assets’ positions and that there was enough overlap to connect scans. Within six hours, Roelvert captured 82 scans with data quality that was well within precision requirements.
Density and accuracy specifications
“Clients typically require density and accuracy specifications relevant to a particular scanner that has become popular for engine rooms,” says Roelvert.
“With that scanner, it takes about 5.5 min per set up for a colour scan. With the X7 the same density and quality of data required about 2.5 min set up. So it saves you a lot of time and I get more data detail.”
Trimble RealWorks
Although Roelvert says final registration and refinement can be done on a tablet on-site with the X7, he prefers to post-process the data using Trimble RealWorks, a software solution specifically designed for point cloud processing and analysis. Loading his registered scans into the software, he used automated cleaning tools to eliminate any extraneous noise and then rendered the 3D dataset into a complete colourised model of the ship’s engine room and control room.
Although Roelvert welcomes all the new opportunities that continue to come his way, he feels most fortunate that he can combine his two passions, ships, and laser scanning, and make a living from it.
