Deep-water deployment

Getting a load through the splash zone is one problem; lowering it to deep or ultra-deep water is another. Now it’s about the long wire or umbilical, holding tension at depth through a tidal cycle and shedding the heat a continuous lower generates, decisions that have to be made against the vessel’s available power. We engineer the whole deployment system around those constraints, and will retrofit or upgrade an existing one rather than force a new build.

What we engineer

• Heat dissipation drives the architecture – a long continuous lower or a long hold at tension generates heat the system must shed. How much heat can be dissipated, and how much installed power the vessel has, is what decides between a constant-tension winch and a passive line tensioner.
• Electric, hydraulic or passive – constant-tension winches (electric or hydraulic) need substantial installed power; a passive air-spring line tensioner needs none in service. On power-limited vessels we steer toward the spring; we can retrofit a hydraulic or electric winch to constant tension, or build new. See active constant-tension and hydraulic constant-tension winches.
• Heave compensation, layered – passive heave compensation holds tension correct through heave and tide without continuous power; active heave assist adds active control to hold the load steady relative to the seabed before touchdown. See heave compensation.
• Umbilical handling & tension management – umbilicals carrying fibre, fluid or power must be held in a tight tension band – never over-tensioned, never slack – through the full lower and the tidal cycle; some loads use a high-tension lifting umbilical that makes the lift itself. Wire/umbilical lay and torque balance are specified to stop a suspended load spinning at depth.

Designed to the recognised marine-operations and lifting standards (DNV-ST-N001, DNV-ST-0378). System architecture chosen to the vessel, the depth and the power budget.