Bureau Veritas Deploys AI-Powered 3D Drone Inspections on TotalEnergies FPSO

Bureau Veritas Marine & Offshore successfully piloted its Augmented Surveyor 3D (AGS 3D) AI-powered inspection solution on a TotalEnergies FPSO in West Africa during June 2025, demonstrating commercial viability of autonomous drone technology for ship and offshore structure inspections that eliminates human exposure to confined spaces while providing precise 3D defect mapping and automated anomaly detection. The deployment marks critical transition from laboratory validation to operational maritime use, addressing the industry's persistent challenge of conducting thorough structural inspections without placing personnel in hazardous environments including cargo holds, ballast tanks, double bottoms, and offshore platform structural members. Technology integration and capabilities: The AGS 3D system combines autonomous drone flight with LiDAR scanning to create comprehensive 3D models of inspected structures, while integrated AI algorithms automatically identify and classify anomalies including corrosion, cracks, deformation, and coating degradation. The technology processes volumetric data to generate precise defect localization with measurements, eliminating subjective assessments and providing quantified degradation metrics that enable data-driven maintenance prioritization. Bureau Veritas surveyors operate the system remotely, maintaining oversight and decision authority while technology handles data collection and initial analysis in environments unsafe for human entry. Operational safety transformation: Traditional confined space inspections require extensive safety preparations including atmospheric testing, ventilation systems, rescue equipment, continuous monitoring, and personnel trained in confined space entry procedures—all contributing substantial time and cost while exposing surveyors to asphyxiation risks, toxic atmospheres, and physical hazards. AGS 3D eliminates personnel entry requirements entirely, conducting comprehensive inspections through autonomous flight while human surveyors remain in safe locations analyzing real-time data feeds. This fundamental safety improvement addresses the maritime industry's most hazardous inspection scenarios where injuries and fatalities occur despite rigorous safety protocols. Inspection efficiency and documentation quality: The drone-based approach dramatically reduces inspection duration compared to manual methods requiring scaffolding installation, confined space entry procedures, and sequential physical access to structural elements. AGS 3D simultaneously captures comprehensive 3D models providing complete structural documentation rather than limited samples based on accessible locations, enabling detection of defects in difficult-to-reach areas often missed in traditional inspections. The digital documentation creates permanent records enabling year-over-year degradation tracking, predictive maintenance modeling, and regulatory compliance evidence superior to conventional written reports with photographs. Commercial deployment roadmap: Following successful TotalEnergies pilot validation, Bureau Veritas plans commercial rollout targeting FPSOs, FSOs, in-service merchant vessels, and floating offshore wind structures where confined space inspections present significant operational challenges. The technology addresses urgent industry need as aging global fleet requires increasingly frequent structural surveys while qualified surveyors willing to conduct confined space inspections become scarcer. Ship owners and operators face mounting pressure to demonstrate robust inspection programs satisfying class requirements, flag state regulations, and charterer expectations—AGS 3D provides enhanced inspection quality while reducing operational disruption and safety exposure compared to traditional methodologies.
[Bureau Veritas]

This story is part of the Maritime AI Digest of 23 November 2025.