After 20 Years Climbing Into Dangerous Oil Tanks, This Captain Built a Robot to Keep Sailors Safe

Twenty metres below the deck of an oil tanker, daylight disappears. Steel walls glisten with oil. Every surface is coated in thick black sludge. The air carries hydrocarbon vapours and hydrogen sulphide — a gas so toxic that even small amounts can incapacitate a person within moments. Oxygen levels can be dangerously low, and one wrong step on the greasy floor could lead to a serious fall. For Captain DC Sekhar, this wasn't an occasional nightmare. It was part of the job. During nearly two decades in the Merchant Navy, he entered and cleaned more than 150 petroleum tanks with his crew. It w...