Laying tower and method for laying pipelines on a bed of a body of water
AssigneeSaipem S.P.A.
InventorsPierre Emmanuel D'Huart, Michel Baylot, Alessio Mameli
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A laying tower for laying pipelines on the bed of a body of water has a supporting structure extending along a longitudinal axis and provided with guides parallel to the longitudinal axis; a first clamp, which is mounted on the supporting structure and configured for selectively clamping and releasing the pipeline in a given point along the longitudinal axis; and a second clamp, which is selectively movable along a path, which extends along a first section above the first clamp; and a second section below the first clamp and, partly, below the supporting structure and configured for selectively clamping and releasing the pipeline along the path.
Claims33
A laying tower configured to lay a pipeline on a bed of a body of water, the laying tower comprising:
- a supporting structure extending along a longitudinal axis and comprising a plurality of guides parallel to the longitudinal axis, each guide defining a recess with a flared lower end;
- a first U-shaped clamp mounted on the supporting structure and selectively arrangeable in a first position along the longitudinal axis and in a second position remote from the longitudinal axis, the first U-shaped clamp configured to selectively clamp and release the pipeline at a designated point along the longitudinal axis, the first U-shaped clamp comprising a U-shaped structure, a first jaw, and a first actuator supported by the U-shaped structure and configured to actuate the first jaw from a closed position to an open position;
- a second clamp movable along a path that extends along a first section extending above the first U-shaped clamp and a second section below the first U-shaped clamp and partly below the supporting structure, the second clamp configured to selectively clamp and release the pipeline along the path;
- and
- a trolley comprising a frame and two cursors arranged on opposite sides of the frame and configured to engage the guides.
A laying vessel for laying a pipeline on a bed of a body of water, the laying vessel comprising:
- a deck;
- and
- a laying tower moveably hinged about an axis, the laying tower extending above and below the axis and comprising:
- a supporting structure extending along a longitudinal axis and comprising a plurality of guides parallel to the longitudinal axis,
- a first U-shaped clamp mounted on the supporting structure and selectively arrangeable in a first position along the longitudinal axis and in a second position remote from the longitudinal axis, the first U-shaped clamp configured to selectively clamp and release the pipeline at a designated point along the longitudinal axis, the first U-shaped clamp comprising a U-shaped structure, a first jaw, and a first actuator supported by the U-shaped structure and configured to actuate the first jaw from an open position to a closed position, and
- a second clamp movable along a path that extends along a first section extending above the first U-shaped clamp and a second section below the first U-shaped clamp and partly below the supporting structure, the second clamp configured to selectively clamp and release the pipeline along the path.
A laying method for laying a pipeline on a bed of a body of water, the method comprising:
- keeping a free end of the pipeline in a designated position with a first U-shaped clamp arranged in a supporting structure of a laying tower;
- joining a multiple joint to the free end of the pipeline in the laying tower above the first U-shaped clamp;
- clamping the pipeline with a second clamp, wherein the second clamp is movable along a designated path which extends along a first section above the first U-shaped clamp and along a second section below the first U-shaped clamp and partly below the supporting structure, wherein when the multiple joint has a length corresponding to a length of the first section, the second clamp is above the first U-shaped clamp and when the multiple joint has a length corresponding to a length of the second section, the second clamp is below the first U-shaped clamp;
- releasing the first U-shaped clamp from the pipeline;
- arranging the first U-shaped clamp from a first position along the path to a second position remote from the path;
- and
- laying the pipeline by a stroke of the second clamp along a portion of the path.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.