If you need to perform permanent underwater repairs in just about any industry, you’re probably concerned about underwater welding. People in shipping, oil and gas, marine infrastructure and defense all need to make sure that underwater components continue to function and are structurally stable.

Underwater welding is an important part of maintaining any metal structure existing in full or in part below the water. However, most conventional underwater welding systems have a number of problems. They’re expensive, can provide only temporary repairs, dangerous, and/or hard to move around.

Dry underwater welding systems, such as the Neptune System, have a number of advantages over ordinary wet underwater welding. They allow workers to create dry welds of high quality, without the construction of time and money consuming hyperbaric chambers.

Gas and oil operators will be happy about the cost and time savings offered by this kind of underwater welding. As infrastructures and platforms get older, there’s going to be an increase in demand for good repair, inspection and maintenance services. That means it’s important to find a comparatively inexpensive underwater welding solution that’s fast and easy to use.

Subsea pipelines, platforms, oil rigs, and any other underwater structure made of metal can benefit from a high quality underwater welding solution. Customized habitats can be created and configured to work with just about any situation where you might need an underwater weld.

If you own or operate a ship, you’ll also enjoy the savings that can be had using portable dry underwater welding methods. It keeps you from having to prematurely put your vessel into dry dock – the welds produced cost around the same as a wet weld, but they’re a lot stronger. Previously, a temporary underwater repair was the only thing available, with the other option being an early dry dock for the vessel.

The problem with temporary wet weld repairs is that they’re quick fixes. They can be done quickly and cheaply, but continual reworking of the weld is needed, meaning a wet weld actually costs a lot in the long run. You’ll also have to have the wet weld inspected frequently.

Temporary wet welds must all be removed eventually, and the vessel must be dry docked to have a quality repair performed. Wet welds just can’t rival the original integrity and strength of the hull. Since dry docking is extremely expensive and time consuming, it could cause serious problems with your operation.

Using a technology like Neptune’s NEPSYS method can let you keep the ship in the water while producing permanent repairs. Holes, pitting, tears, cracks and corrosion can all be fixed permanently. It’s even possible to completely weld insert plates to the hull, achieving full penetration.

Since this technology can be rapidly deployed and is extremely portable, it’s also useful for military operations that require permanent underwater repairs and in marine infrastructures. In any subsea industry where repairs are necessary, dry underwater welding is an important technology.

If wet underwater welding has previously been your only option for below water repairs, consider a portable, affordable dry welding option. Just about any underwater repair application can benefit from this technology, from pipelines to ship hulls.