Methodologies for removal of the coral sun in offshore units resulting from oil exploration in Brazil and its environmental impacts

Coral Sun is an exotic invasive species that has spread over three thousand kilometers of the Brazilian coast, representing a threat to the ecosystem. Some of these bio invasive species are embedded in oil platforms on the Brazilian coast. The present study sought to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of removing the Coral Sun in marine oil units in Brazilian waters by means of two procedures: the first using a team of divers and the second, an ROV, more specifically, a Roving Bat. The removal operation for both methods was performed in two phases; the first one consisting of an inspection by shooting around the marine unit using a high-resolution GoPro camera for identification of bioinvader niches embedded in the hull; the second phase performing proper removal of the bio-invader by a team of divers using, as tools, rotating brushes and spatulas. In the removal by the ROV,it was used the process of hydro-blasting, suggesting being more efficient and faster in a general way; however, it proved to be inefficient in certain areas. In both methods, it was evidenced the absence of concern for the environment. The entire process of removal of the Coral Sun in the two operations had all the organic material removed from the hull of the units and discarded in the sea, probably contributing to the emergence of new colonies of this bioinvader on the Brazilian coast.