Supergrip (UK) Ltd have successfully completed the supply of a bespoke subsea ROV installed umbilical recovery clamp.

The clamp was designed to recover a bundle from the seabed comprising of 2-off 135mm diameter umbilicals. The umbilicals had experienced damage and are being recovered to surface to enable a jointing process to be performed onboard the vessel prior to re-installation. The umbilicals had been strapped together during the initial installation however the subsea orientation was unknown therefore the clamp had to accommodate horizontal or vertical positioning.

The clamp was rated to a 15mT SWL with a test load of 22.5mT and was also designed to be reused on future projects for single umbilical recoveries of upto 250mm diameter.As part of the design the clamp provided a “scooping” feature that lifted the umbilicals from the seabed into the clamp during the closing operation. The clamp was designed to be ROV installed and activated using industry standard torque tools.

The assembly was subjected to a full qualification test process which included the following activities:
• verification of the installation including the successful
operation of the scooping process
• activation of the clamp using ROV torque tool.
• load testing of the client in multiple directions and
orientations
• clamp removal
• post test inspection

Each aspect of the testing process was witnessed by client representatives from DeepOcean and the end client.

Gordon Conlon, director at Supergrip said “As a company Supergrip have been supplying ROV installed recovery clamps for approximately 20 years. This is yet another instance of Supergrips design and in-house manufacturing capability. We worked closely with our client to deliver a fast track solution that performed excellently during the comprehensive qualification process tto meet all the operational requriements. ”