System for handling riser pipe

Abstract

Method and system for handling riser pipe on an offshore vessel, comprising taking the pipe from the stack of riser pipes using two trolleys placed on opposite sides of the stack, each trolly having means to engage with a respective end of the pipe, and loading the pipe into the cradle of a lifting device for lifting the riser pipe from the storage zone onto the deck of the vessel.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD[0001]The present invention relates to a movement method for tubular elements according to the characteristics of the pre-characterizing part of claim 1.[0002]The present invention also relates to a movement system for tubular elements on a vessel according to the characteristics of the pre-characterizing part of claim 5.[0003]The present invention also relates to vessels according to the characteristics of claims 35 to 39.Definitions[0004]In the present description and in the appended claims the following terms must be understood according to the definitions given in the following.[0005]In the present description and in the appended claims by the general expression “vessels” one will indicate ships, boats, rigs, floating structures in general and in particular drillships, semisubmersible drilling rigs.[0006]In the present description and in the appended claims by the general expression “tubular elements” one will indicate both real pipes suitable to be laid on the se...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

The solution presented in this patent provides an efficient and safe way to handle and move tubular elements in a vessel. It eliminates the need for traditional lifting members and allows for a higher degree of automation and economics. It also reduces risk and exposure to danger for operators. The solution automatically locks the tubular elements in place, eliminating the possibility of suspended loads. It allows for easy transfer between different types of machines and reduces the need for operators to manually handle the driving means. It also facilitates inspection and maintenance of the tubular elements, and reduces the risk of damage during transportation and assembly. Overall, the solution improves operational efficiency and safety in the movement of tubular elements.

Problems solved by technology

First of all in the prior art solutions in which the tubular elements or risers are stored in a covered hold and the movement of the tubular elements occurs by means of bridge cranes there are both safety problems concerning the movement of loads suspended over a vessel and efficiency problems in the exploitation of the space available in the hold of the vessel. In fact, the bridge crane arranged inside the hold occupies a great space for the entire length of the hold itself and this space, intended for the movement of the bridge crane over the stacks of tubular elements, is actually unused space for storage.

Furthermore, the movement of the tubular elements, which are very heavy, by means of bridge cranes and with suspension cables or rigid elements, exposes the tubular elements to impacts that may compromise their tightness or coupling.

Moreover, the presence of the operators in the control zones exposes the operators themselves to conditions of possible danger.

Furthermore, the poor automation of the process is often a serious problem in the phases of the operators' shift change.

In fact when, after about six months, the operators are replaced by a new crew, a reduction in the crew's performance occurs with a consequent slowdown in the operations of laying of the tubular elements.

Furthermore, the prior art solutions make the phases of inspection of the tubular elements prior to their taking out difficult.

Before the hold is definitively closed the bridge crane remains exposed to the weather and damage that may compromise its functionality before the launch of the ship.

At present the selection of the risers to be taken as well as their loading operations are carried out by the operators manually, exposing the procedure to errors that may have serious consequences from the environmental point of view or, in any case, slowdowns in the operations of taking out or loading of the risers.

Further drawbacks of the prior art solutions derive from the fact that all the devices involved in the movement of the tubular elements are often considered separately starting from the ship design phase, but also in the phase of fitting out of the ship and even in the phase of use of the devices themselves.

The movement activities of the tubular elements, particularly in the case of the risers, are often made complex due to the number of necessary operations and to the number of various machines involved, which are not coordinated or integrated with one another and which must be necessarily managed manually by single operators with all the risks connected to errors of movement, fall of suspended loads, impacts, damage, etc.

As a consequence, a drawback of the prior art systems is that the loading and the taking out of the risers generally occurs manually by the operators who establish the order of loading.

An error by those who are in charge of the loading may cause following delays in the laying phase for example in the case in which a riser suitable to operate at great depths (that must be taken before the others) has been loaded on a bottom rack and below with respect to a series of risers suitable to operate at shallow depths (that must be the last to be taken).

Furthermore, if the operators in charge of the laying do not notice the error, they might lay at great depths a riser that is not suitable to operate at such depths with the risk of breaks that may cause irreparable environmental damage and compromise the operators' safety.

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