Method and apparatus for launching and recovering a remote inspection device from a volatile fluid storage tank

A method for deploying an inspection device into a vessel containing a liquid, comprising:

• disposing a vapor suppression layer on the liquid within the vessel, the vapor suppression layer comprising a vapor suppression foam;
• displacing a first gas within an internal volume of a launching system with a first inert gas, the internal volume disposed within a closable chamber of the launching system and comprising the inspection device disposed therein;
• opening the closable chamber of the launching system to an access passage of the vessel;
• and
• passing the inspection device from the closable chamber into the liquid within the vessel.

A method for deploying an inspection device into a vessel containing a vaporizable liquid, comprising:

• disposing a vapor suppression layer on the vaporizable liquid within the vessel, the vapor suppression layer comprising a vapor suppression foam;
• displacing a first gas within an internal volume of a launching system, the internal volume disposed within a closable chamber of the launching system and comprising the inspection device disposed therein, the first gas displaced with an inert gas;
• displacing a second gas within an intermediate volume disposed between the closable chamber and a top surface of the liquid, the second gas displaced with the inert gas;
• opening the closable chamber of the launching system to an access passage of the vessel;
• and
• passing the inspection device from the closable chamber into the liquid within in the vessel.