Subsea Drilling System
Sword

SWORD

Royal IHC has developed the world’s most advanced heavy duty remotely operated subsea drilling and geotechnical site investigation rig known as SWORD. It is specified to be capable of the very highest quality geotechnical drilling, coring, sampling and in situ testing to a depth of 120 meters penetration below the seabed, in depths to 3,000 meters.

The drill rig is powered by a Sonic-Sample-Drill (SSD) compact roto-sonic drilling drive, together with full size drill pipe strings, which are automatically assembled at the seabed from a storage carousel. The rig is fully integrated with an A.P. van den Berg (APB) integrated in situ CPT testing system and NGI designed push and piston samplers.

The system consists of the subsea vehicle (drill), sampling tools, coring tools, drilling tools, in situ testing tools, the launch and recovery system (LARS), and the top side infrastructure including a tool handling system required to support and remotely operate the tool on the seabed from a marine platform of opportunity.

Technical Specifications