Device and method for installing pipes at very great depths
AssigneeCoflexip
InventorHervé de Varax
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A device for laying flexible pipes from the moon pool of a laying vessel comprises an inclinable tower arranged in and essentially a great height above the level of the moon pool, designed to place therein a certain length of pipe to be laid, and two members with clamping jaws mounted on moving carriages capable of travelling the height of the tower.
Claims13
A device for laying a tubular pipe from a pipe laying vessel, the device comprising
- the vessel having a deck;
- a moon pool extending through the vessel deck;
- an inclinable tower at the deck and inclined along a length of the tower up from the moon pool, the tower being adapted to support a length of pipe to be laid, the pipe supported along the length of the tower;
- at least two moving carriages on the tower spaced apart along the length of the tower and each carriage capable of movement along an entire length of the tower, and a respective pipe holding member at each of the at least two moving carriages for holding pipe.
A method of laying pipe through a moon pool of a vessel, wherein the vessel has a deck with a moon pool therein which communicates beneath the vessel and the vessel has an inclinable tower at the moon pool for receiving pipe on the tower which pipe is to lowered through the moon pool into the water, and the tower further having at least first and second clamping carriages thereon, one above the other, and each of the clamping carriages being movable up and down along the tower,
- the method comprising
- the clamping carriages being selectively and alternately displaceable along the tower to clamp to the pipe, in hand over hand successive gripping for lowering lengths of relatively rigid pipe along the tower and through the moon pool.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.