An experimental study on deepwater crane installation of subsea equipment in waves

Abstract

This paper presents an experimental study on deepwater crane installation operation in waves. Model tests with crane vessel, manifold and crane system were carried out at Ocean Engineering Basin of KRISO. To overcome the limitation of water depth in basin, new experimental method using truncated hoisting system is introduced. Lifting and lowering operations were evaluated under both regular and irregular wave conditions. At first, vessel motion and wire tension responses during deep-water lifting operation are investigated by white noise and regular wave tests. The effect of equipment weight is also studied by a series of tests. Then, lifting operation with passive heave compensator is considered. Discussions were made on the effect of passive have compensator on hoisting wire tension. Deep-water lowering operation was also performed under irregular wave conditions. Copyright ？ 2015 by the International Society of Offshore and Polar Engineers (ISOPE).