The presence of marine growth such as shellfish and seaweed, can significantly alter both the weight and the wave and current loading on offshore platforms. To assess the extent of marine fouling build-up it is necessary to make measurements of the fouling thickness at various points on the platform.

The use of callipers can give a value for the average thickness, but in many cases more accurate measurements are required in order to make decisions on remedial action and to avoid damage to the underlying structure during removal. In addition, it is difficult to deploy callipers if inspection is to be carried out by ROV.

TSC’s Marine Fouling Thickness Gauge solves both problems. It can be used to give spot measurements of the fouling thickness, and can be deployed by diver or ROV.