Pipe-laying vessel

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10859185-B2
Application number	US-201716324184-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 17, 2017
Priority date	Aug 18, 2016
Publication date	Dec 8, 2020
Grant date	Dec 8, 2020

Abstract

The disclosure provides a pipe-laying vessel including a pipe-laying tower extending upwardly from the vessel, and the vessel includes at least three separate workstations spaced apart along the length of the tower. The disclosure also provides a pipe-laying vessel including a pipe-laying tower extending upwardly from the vessel, and the vessel includes at least two clamping assemblies for clamping a pipeline, the clamping assemblies being mounted along the length of the tower, and at least one workstation mounted on the tower. The workstation is mounted on the tower below a lowermost clamping assembly. The disclosure also provides a method of J-laying pipeline from a vessel, a method of abandoning a product from a vessel, and a method of recovering a previously abandoned product to a vessel.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A pipe-laying vessel including a pipe-laying tower extending upwardly from the vessel, the vessel comprising:
at least two clamping assemblies for clamping a pipeline, the clamping assemblies being mounted along the length of the tower, and
at least one workstation mounted on the tower, wherein the workstation is mounted on the tower below a lowermost clamping assembly,
wherein the lowermost clamping assembly comprises a hang-off clamp; wherein a the lowermost workstation is configured to attach a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline.

2. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly is at or above deck level of the vessel.

3. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 1 , the vessel comprising at least three separate workstations spaced apart along the length of the tower.

4. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an uppermost workstation is mounted on the tower above an uppermost clamping assembly.

5. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the uppermost workstation is configured to weld a lower end of a pipestring to an upper end of the pipeline.

6. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 4 , wherein the uppermost clamping assembly comprises a pipeline clamp or tensioner arrangement.

7. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 1 , wherein an intermediate workstation is mounted on the tower in between the two clamping assemblies.

8. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 7 , wherein the intermediate workstation is configured to perform pipeline coating operations.

9. A method of J-laying a pipeline from the vessel according to claim 1 , the method including:
passing a rigid pipeline down a length of a J-lay tower; and
attaching a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline with the workstation that is configured to attach the flexible conduit alongside the rigid pipeline.

10. A pipe-laying vessel including a pipe-laying tower extending upwardly from the vessel, the vessel comprising:
at least two clamping assemblies for clamping a pipeline, the clamping assemblies being mounted along the length of the tower, and
at least one workstation mounted on the tower, wherein the workstation is mounted on the tower below a lowermost clamping assembly,
wherein the workstation below the lowermost clamping assembly is configured to attach a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline.

11. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly is at or above deck level of the vessel.

12. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 10 , the vessel comprising at least three separate workstations spaced apart along the length of the tower.

13. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 10 , wherein an uppermost workstation is mounted on the tower above an uppermost clamping assembly.

14. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the uppermost workstation is configured to weld a lower end of a pipestring to an upper end of the pipeline.

15. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 13 , wherein the uppermost clamping assembly comprises a pipeline clamp or tensioner arrangement.

16. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 10 , wherein an intermediate workstation is mounted on the tower in between the two clamping assemblies.

17. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 14 , wherein the intermediate workstation is configured to perform pipeline coating operations.

18. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the lowermost workstation is thus capable of attaching a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline and enabling piggyback pipe-laying operation of the pipeline and the flexible conduit.

19. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the lowermost workstation is a flexible product attaching station capable of attaching a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline.

20. The pipe-laying vessel as claimed in claim 10 , wherein the lowermost workstation is thus capable of attaching a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline and enabling the flexible conduit to be layed out simultaneously with the pipeline.

21. A method of J-laying a pipeline from the vessel according to claim 10 , the method including:
passing a rigid pipeline down a length of a J-lay tower; and
attaching a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline with the workstation that is configured to attach the flexible conduit alongside the rigid pipeline.

22. The method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, as claimed in claim 21 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly is at or above deck level of the vessel.

23. The method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, as claimed in claim 21 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly comprises a hang-off clamp.

24. A method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, the method including:
passing a rigid pipeline down a length of a J-lay tower extending upwardly from the vessel, the vessel comprising at least two clamping assemblies for clamping a pipeline, the clamping assemblies being mounted along the length of the tower,
wherein the J-lay tower includes a workstation mounted on the tower below a lowermost clamping assembly; and
attaching a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline with the workstation that is configured to attach the flexible conduit alongside the rigid pipeline.

25. The method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, as claimed in claim 24 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly is at or above deck level of the vessel.

26. The method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, as claimed in claim 24 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly comprises a hang-off clamp.

27. A method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, the method including:
passing a rigid pipeline down a length of a J-lay tower extending upwardly from the vessel, the vessel comprising at least two clamping assemblies for clamping a pipeline, the clamping assemblies being mounted along a length of the tower, wherein a lowermost one of the at least two clamping assemblies comprises a hang-off clamp; and
wherein the J-lay tower includes a workstation mounted on the tower below the hang-off clamp; and
attaching a flexible conduit alongside the pipeline with the workstation that is configured to attach the flexible conduit alongside the rigid pipeline.

28. The method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, as claimed in claim 27 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly is at or above deck level of the vessel.

29. The method of J-laying a pipeline from a vessel, as claimed in claim 27 , wherein the lowermost clamping assembly is at or above deck level of the vessel.

Assignees

• Saipem Spa

Inventors

• Moceri Liborio
• Coppi Valerio
• Huot Emmanuel

Classifications

• F16L1/206

  Apparatus for forming or coating the pipes · CPC title

• F16L1/19 Primary

  the pipes being J-shaped · CPC title

• F16L1/205

  Pipe-laying ships (F16L1/225, F16L1/23 and F16L1/235 take precedence) · CPC title

• F16L1/207

  Pipe handling apparatus · CPC title