Sub sea pulling machine

TR Consulting

Double-click on pictures to enlarge.

SUB SEA PULLING MACHINE

The sub sea pulling tool (SSP) has been designed to solve two major problems :

	Assisting the diver or the ROV with sufficient forces to move or pull heavy loads along the seabed, to lift objects without the use of a vessel-based winch or by buoyancy.
	Pulling in umbilicals, pipelines etc to manifold stations, satellites, platforms etc. without using the surface winch.

This SSP gear is designed primarily to avoid the problem of pulling in umbilicals and pipes into the bell mouth of a manifold station with the assistance of a surface winch. It is well known that the surface winch on a vessel will be difficult to control while the vessel moves in the sea. Snapping actions in the pulling wire or friction variations on the pipeline may result in damages on the pulling head and the bell mouth.

The SSP, however will allow full speed pull-through from a surface vessel when the umbilical is far away from the bell mouth. At a distance of say 30- 40 feet, the SSP will take over, and pull the umbilical into the bell mouth under full control from the surface. After releasing the attachment to the umbilical, the machine will be lifted up to the vessel.

The capacity of these machines is tailor made to the capacity of the pulling wire. The pulling wire, however, should be of the compacted type in order to withstand the gripping action. A machine may be made to pull on a group of wires, a wire matrix, made up from a number of single strands, which may be easier to handle.

The sub sea pulling machine is equipped with its own control system and video equipment. It may be operated remotely from the vessel, from a diver or an ROV. To avoid the build-up of foreign objects in the grip housing or the machine, the whole unit is purged with high pressure sea water.

During idle conditions, the grip wedges are fully retracted, and is not in contact with the wire. Sensors will tell the remote operator the position of the grips, and the diver may see the wedge position as well as the pulling length by a ruler on the machine.

The remote control panel situated in the control cabinet on the vessel or the platform will tell the operator exactly what the SSP is doing. He may select automatic pulling, pay-out and limit the pulling force. He has control over purging and grip retraction, and on a monitor, he may see the machine working.

The sub sea pulling machine may be installed in various positions. In this case, is has been installed between the bell mouth and the wire block for the pulling wire. ( Click on the picture to enlarge.)

Yet another way of installing the sub sea pulling machine is to put it between the wire block and the vessel winch. This means that the pulling machine may be deployed and retrieved from the vessel ( or platform) simply by sliding it on the pulling wire.

Advantages :

	Allows smooth pull-in operations under full control and monitoring
	May act as a divers "muscle" holding, pulling or lowering objects on the sea bed or platform jacket
	May also be used as an ROV tool.

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TR Consulting, Joh. Falkb.gt. 10, 5538 Haugesund, Norway. Tel: +47 52729124, Fax: +47 52724196, C.E.O. Cell phone. +47 90 616969 e-mail: trcons@online.no or trcons@start.no

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