Page 56: of Marine Technology Magazine (October 2016)

Products: Underwater Tools & Manipulators

Small Saab Seaeye Couger Conquers Big Task

Cutting off 194 grouting hoses from 97 structures in 24 Cougar and vessel crane. Once the clamp was secured to the days, DCN Diving deployed a compact version of a Saab Sea- grouting hose the ROV was pulled back from the clamp so eye Cougar XT, measuring just 1.3m x 0.78m, for a work task the hose was no longer connected to the ROV but only to the typically undertaken by much larger systems. vessel crane. “Our next step was to cut the hose as close as

The success of the project came from incorporating a tooling possible to the lower side of the hose, and the last highest cut package created by DCN Diving into their Cougar XT Com- just underneath the coupling. At this time the hose was no lon- pact, a robotic system specially designed for handling strong ger connected to the structure and the vessel crane recovered currents around wind farms with its six thruster power and the hose to the deck where it was stored in an open-top con- low pro? le structure. Netherlands-based DCN’s low cost so- tainer until off-loaded in port. “Depending on how close we lution for removing the grouting hoses following installation could position the cutter to the couplings, the remaining hose of transition pieces on top of the mono-piles at the Godewind lengths were about 6m long and weighed about 300kg each.” 1 & 2 Windfarms, came from combining a Seaeye hydraulic From the start, DCN Diving were con? dent they could cre- power pack with a miniBOOSTER and a TNT Rescue ‘Jaws atively exploit the Cougar’s technological architecture and of Life’ hydraulic rescue cutter to create a uniquely powerful windfarm-relevant design for their needs by harnessing the and effective system. The task for the compact Cougar also in- vehicle’s exceptional power, precise control and low-pro? le cluded of? oading 58 tons of the grouting hose into containers. design that minimizes the effect of current and a small diam-

The result was a task completed on time, within budget, and eter tether that reduces the effect of drag – all of which enable to the full satisfaction of the customer, says Fred Bosman, the Cougar XT Compact to handle strong currents whilst un-

ROV operations manager at DCN Diving who explained the dertaking a wide range of tasks.

technique used: “We ? rst attached an hydraulic clamp on the www.dcndiving.com upper part of the grouting hose, which was connected to both www.seaeye.com ‘Jaws of Life’ cutter at work.

Photo: Saab Seaeye

October 2016 56

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MTR #8 (50-64).indd 56 9/27/2016 7:04:43 PM