ROV / drone

Remote inspection answers a different question than diving does. An inspection-class ROV can screen a full bridge pier, culvert or lock chamber in a fraction of the time a diver needs, at no decompression risk, and it produces footage that can be replayed, shared and compared. It is the right tool when you need to know whether there is a problem — and where.

A diver answers the next question: what does it feel like, how deep is the pit, will the bolt turn, can it be repaired now. In practice most inspection programmes combine both. We run the ROV first to build the picture and locate the anomalies, then deploy a diver only at the specific locations where hands are needed. That keeps exposure low and survey costs proportionate.

Above the waterline an aerial drone covers the same asset — deck soffits, bearings, coping, fenders and the parts of a bridge nobody can reach from a ladder. Combining both records gives an owner one continuous, time-stamped file of a structure from crest to bed level, referenced per section so the next inspection can be laid alongside it.