System and method for grit blasting an annular junction portion of a pipeline and laying vessel comprising said system

A launching vessel comprising:

• a system configured to grit blast an annular junction portion of a pipeline extending along a longitudinal axis on board a laying vessel, the system comprising:
• a carriage configured to advance along an annular path about the pipeline;
• a centrifugal turbine supported by the carriage and configured to project grit towards the pipeline and rotate about a rotational axis lying on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis;
• and
• a feed device comprising:
• a hopper coupled to the carriage, the hopper extending along an axis and defining a feed chamber, and
• a guide device configured to operate with the hopper to feed the grit to the centrifugal turbine in each of a plurality of operating positions of the carriage.

A method of grit blasting an annular junction portion of a pipeline extending along a longitudinal axis, the method comprising:

• advancing a carriage along an annular path about the pipeline;
• projecting grit towards the pipeline via a centrifugal turbine configured to rotate about a rotational axis lying on a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal axis;
• and
• in each of a plurality of operating positions of the carriage, feeding the grit to the centrifugal turbine by a feeding device comprising a hopper coupled to the carriage and a guide device.