Terra Drone Brazil Conducts Brazil's First Unmanned FPSO Tank Inspection | Aero-News Network
Aero-News Network
RSS icon RSS feed
podcast icon MP3 podcast
Subscribe Aero-News e-mail Newsletter Subscribe

Airborne Unlimited -- Most Recent Daily Episodes

Episode Date

Airborne-Monday

Airborne-Tuesday

Airborne-Wednesday Airborne-Thursday

Airborne-Friday

Airborne On YouTube

Airborne-Unlimited-11.24.25

AirborneNextGen-
11.18.25

Airborne-Unlimited-11.19.25

Airborne-AffordableFlyers-11.20.25

AirborneUnlimited-11.21.25

LIVE MOSAIC Town Hall (Archived): www.airborne-live.net

Sun, Jul 28, 2019

Terra Drone Brazil Conducts Brazil's First Unmanned FPSO Tank Inspection

Job Was Was Undertaken For Brazil’s State-Owned Oil Company Petrobras

Terra Drone Brazil has successfully completed Brazil’s first-ever drone inspection of an offshore FPSO tank. The unmanned FPSO tank inspection was undertaken for Brazil’s state-owned oil company Petrobras.

The ballast tank inspection using drones was conducted aboard P-66, a Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit from Petrobras, that is operating in the Pre Salt Area at Santos Basin.

Petrobras needs its cargo and ballast tanks to be inspected regularly to keep on top of maintenance needs. Any kind of corrosion, cracks, fractures, or welding anomalies must be identified quickly before they can damage the structural integrity of the ship. Traditionally, this inspection is done by sending a team of up to four men inside the confined tank space using scaffolds or rope access. This kind of close-up visual inspection of one tank alone can take anywhere from half a day to a full day – all this while posing a safety threat to the workers inside the tank.

Using drones, however, reduces the need for human workers to enter the tank. "Not only is unmanned FPSO tank inspection safer, but it is also much quicker and more precise than manual inspection. Further, drone inspections for cargo tanks can lead to potential cost-savings as well,” said Marcelo Belleti, Executive Director at Terra Drone Brazil.

Terra Drone Brazil completed the inspection of a ballast tank for Petrobras in little over an hour with a team of only two men. The high-definition pictures and videos captured by the drone ensured a quality deliverable report for all 40 points pre-defined for the close-up inspection.

Terra Drone Brazil is certified by ABS (American Bureau of Shipping), DNV GL (Det Norske Veritas and Germanisher Lloyds), and Loyd’s Register as a service supplier approved for surveying using Remote Inspection Techniques (drones) as an alternative means for a close-up survey of the structure of ships and mobile offshore units. The Petrobras P-66 is ABS-certified.

(Image provided with Terra Drone news release)

FMI: www.terra-drone.net/brazil

Advertisement

More News

ANN's Daily Aero-Linx (11.25.25)

Aero Linx: Vintage Sailplane Association The purpose of the Vintage Sailplane Association (VSA) is to promote the acquisition, restoration and flying of vintage sailplanes by its m>[...]

NTSB Final Report: Glasair GlaStar

Smoke Began Entering The Cockpit During The Landing Flare, And Then The Pilot Noticed Flames... Analysis: The pilot reported that about 30 minutes into the local flight, he heard s>[...]

ANN FAQ: Turn On Post Notifications

Make Sure You NEVER Miss A New Story From Aero-News Network Do you ever feel like you never see posts from a certain person or page on Facebook or Instagram? Here’s how you c>[...]

Classic Aero-TV: Red Tail Project Update – Taking the Mission to the People

From 2010 (YouTube Edition): The Red Tail Project Continues Effort Towards ‘Rise Above Program’ The Red Tail Project is a true example of this unbreakable spirit. In 20>[...]

Airborne 11.24.25: ANN's 30th!, Starship’s V3 Booster Boom, Earhart Records

Also: 1st-Ever Space Crime Was a Fraud, IAE Buys Diamonds, Kennon Bows Out, Perseverance Rover An interesting moment came about this past Sunday as ANN CEO, Jim Campbell, noted tha>[...]

blog comments powered by Disqus



Advertisement

Advertisement

Podcasts

Advertisement

© 2007 - 2025 Web Development & Design by Pauli Systems, LC