A British subsidiary of China's train maker, the Zhuzhou CRRC Times Electric Co., Ltd., has unveiled a subsea electric Work Class remotely operated vehicle (ROV).
Specialist Machine Developments (SMD), a British independent designer and manufacturer of work-class and specialist subsea ROVs, which is wholly owned by CRRC Times Electric, rolled out the QUANTUM/EV ROV at the 2019 Offshore Europe conference and Exhibition Tuesday.
The QUANTUM series are SMD's work class ROVs for subsea heavy construction duties. They are capable of diving to a depth of 6,000 meters, with a total power of up to 400 kilowatts.
Mike Jones, general manager of SMD, said the QUANTUM/EV ROV has multiple advantages over the conventional hydraulically-powered underwater vehicles. It is smaller, lighter, more flexible and able to operate normally at extreme temperatures.
The ROV, about 3.3 meters long, 1.8 meters wide and 1.9 meters high, is more resistant to oil leakage than traditional offshore equipment, which helps protect the marine environment.
SMD is the world's second-largest provider of deep-sea robots, occupying half the global market in self-propelled trenching and cable-laying construction machinery.
In 2015, CRRC Times Electric acquired a 100-percent share of SMD for 130 million pounds (about 160 million U.S. dollars).
Liu Ke'an, general manager of CRRC Times Electric, said that QUANTUM/EV ROV is an attempt by the parent company to integrate its advanced electrical control technology with SMD deep-sea equipment technology.
