Pipelaying

In many regions around the world, the seabed is laced with hundreds of pipe and power lines, mostly from platforms to shore and between platforms, but also from one country to another. These pipes and power lines are laid by special types of vessel, called pipe-lay vessels or barges. Some are self-propelled by highly advanced dynamic positioning systems. Others move themselves by winching in and out on steel wires attached to large anchors deployed on, and recovered from the seabed by one or more anchor handling tugs.
The costs of laying a pipe are so high that it must be placed correctly the first time of asking. Positioning of the vessel, tugs and pipe throughout the lay are of paramount importance.

route

As an integrated navigation system software package, QINSy includes several features specially designed for pipe and cable lay that make it easy to ensure the pipe or cable is laid along the prescribed route.
The pipe route can be imported into QINSy, or the line planning utility in QINSy is ideal for creating the path of the future pipe line. During laying operations, this route is shown on the navigation display, and used by QINSy to calculate the barge track, which is different than the pipe route itself, and dependent on the offset from the vessel’s reference point to the pipe’s “touch-down point”.

QINSy uses a layback method that takes the stinger length, stinger radius, water depth, launching angle, and other parameters into account in computing the touch down point.
During laying operations QINSy provides a dedicated administration tool to log events like field joints and other relevant occurrences.

anchors & tugs

For vessels that move by pulling themselves forward on anchors QINSy includes various anchor handling functions, including bi-directional exchange via radio telemetry of vessel and tug position, and transmission of target pickup and drop locations to the tugs. The QINSy operator assigns anchors to tugs, which then transport and drop the anchor at the specified anchor location. On the tugs, a simple bulls-eye display shows bearing and distance to the next pickup/drop location. Own tug, vessel and other tugs are all shown on the screen, as well as any DXF drawings available that show existing platforms, pipes, cables and other relevant features. None of the tugs requires a QINSy license to run the Tug Display.
An anchor spread is displayed in the navigation display together with the tugs that are moving the anchors. The user assigns, racks, and drops anchors with the user interface available in the navigation display.

Screenshots