2
ND
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MARINE WASTE WATER DISCHARGES
MWWD
2002
-
ISTANBUL SEPT
.
16-20
SUBSEA PIPELINE INSPECTIONS
James R Dale MEng BSc(Hons) CEng MICE(
1
)KEYWORDS
subsea, pipelines, inspections, diving, diver safety, underwater engineering, inshore
ABSTRACT
The paper will discuss diving safety, practical considerations and methods for the subsea inspection of inshorepipelines. The author’s experience over many years as an internationally known diving engineer, maritime civilengineer and inshore pipelines engineer will be highlighted with several examples of inspections and designs formaintenance on wastewater outfalls, cooling water intakes/outlets and other marine structures. A range of standard and new inspection techniques will be discussed. Reference will be made to a variety of regulations,diving safety codes and guidelines. The paper will not cover oil and gas related offshore diving.
INTRODUCTION
The world of diving is fascinating but the amazing fact about it is that not many people know about it. Is it stillone of those dark secrets? For the diver it is most of the time. The majority of commercial inshore diving is inlow to nil visibility water. For the client or non-diver looking at the diver’s reports of what he saw (or what hethought he saw or felt) it is a mystery to understand what the report means. How does the diver convey what hehas seen or touched into a written engineering report? There is a world of difference between a report written bythe average diver and one written by a diving engineer. Having an engineer do a subsea pipeline inspection on(or even in) the pipeline, can make a huge difference to the impact of the report. The diving engineer has aknowledge of materials, structural analysis, pipeline hydraulics and is trained over many years in design andconstruction.So what is this paper all about? It will try to inject common sense, illustrate some experiences and mostimportantly be very practical; all with an engineering flavour. Some basic procedures, guidelines and standardswill be suggested. A review of diver health and safety will be followed by plant and equipment, dive pre-planning, operations and a look at different pipe materials. Then a discussion on a wide variety of inspectiontechniques, some “tips ‘n tricks” and will precede a review of work experiences and a practical view of designing for maintenance together with a vision for the future. The whole idea of a subsea inspection is to tellthe client what is down there in the most professional way and advise on the best way to maintain an expensiveasset.
HEALTH AND SAFETYDiving Medicals
- A commercial diver using surface demand diving equipment (SDDE) has to carry numerousitems of gear with him as he enters the water. This total extra weight that a diver has to carry is in the region of 25-30 kg out of the water, which can amount to an extra 25-40% of the diver’s body weight. In order to be ableto dive with this load, the diver must be fit and to check this the diving regulations in most developed countriescall for rigorous annual commercial diving medicals. These medicals involve assessment of the heart, lungs,body joints, ears, eyesight and various other tests. Ventometer and audiometric tests are performed together witha full electrocardiograph before and after a standard short physical. The hyperbaric medical specialist will thenissue a medical certificate saying the diver is fit to dive and enter the outcome plus expiry date and signature intothe diver’s logbook. Many divers in developing countries do not have annual medicals. It is most essential thatprocedures for it should be considered in the interest of the diver and his employer. An experienced diver is notsomeone an employer should wish to lose. During a diving facilities project assessment in Pakistan both diversand doctors (who wished to be trained in hyperbaric medicine) were tested for their diving medical knowledge.
1
Consulting Engineer, Horsham, UK - E-mail: james@dale-consulting.co.uk
Page 1 of 13
MWWD
2002Diver first aid courses and diving medicals were recommended for the divers and a special commercial divingmedical course in Australia recommended for the doctor, who would then be qualified to perform divingmedicals for the divers
i
.
Diving Regulations
- The current UK Diving Regulations
ii
iii
in force since 1997 have greatly improved thesafety of divers. They were designed to be less prescriptive and more goal setting in principle than the previous1981 Regulations and include a set of approved codes of practice for different areas of commercial diving (e.g.inshore, offshore, media, etc.) Diver training grades in UK are now offshore diver, inshore air diver andprofessional SCUBA diver (for fish farming, etc.). Diving using self contained underwater breathing apparatus(SCUBA) is now considered not a valid option in UK for commercial divers (inshore and offshore) unless thereare good reasons like excellent visibility and minimal risk. One of the main points of the regulations is the risk assessment, which should be highlighted in the Dive Plan. This is to be considered an important documentwhich, if every diving contractor completed, would go a long way towards a far more efficient diving operationsthan presently occur in some parts of the world.
Diver Training
- Basic training for divers is another area where great emphasis has always been placed. Majorinternational diver training facilities exist in various countries around the world such as UK, USA, France,Singapore, Australia and South Africa. The training covers a wide range of tasks in and out of water. Uponcompletion the diver is awarded a lifelong diver training certificate. One of the items removed from the UKdiving regulations is the requirement for a diving first aid course. This may suit the diver working in UK where‘on call’ emergency services are reasonably close. However, for divers working in foreign lands such medicalfacilities and expertise may not be readily available. It is therefore recommended that all divers attend aspecialised diving first aid course at least every three years during their working life. Whistler and Larn’s manual
iv
and the Submex’s handbook
v
are excellent guides to diving for the novice diver.
Hazards
- The hazards on subsea pipeline inspections are generally similar to those on any river or marinestructure. As long as there is good access, the diver has plenty of air and the communications work, the diveshould be a safe one. However that is not always true. In river control structures high flow velocities near gatescan be a huge danger to divers, trapping the umbilical and forcing the diver against a gate. A fatal accidentoccurred in Pakistan where a diver on SCUBA with only a rope to the surface became jammed under a partiallyopened gate behind a dam. With velocities in excess of 20m/sec. it was impossible for him to extricate himself and drowned within metres of his team. No amount of pulling on the rope helped him. Other hazards includelong, small, old culverts; shipping; debris; visibility; pressure to complete the work; busy site; cranes; marineconstruction crafts. Diving is dangerous and the hazards need to be understood.
Key Diver Safety Points
– There are many factors which contribute to either a safe or a non-safe dive. The tablebelow illustrates the various elements of a diving operation, which the diving engineer/inspector/contractor willneed to consider.Water depth Work (Technical) Equipment (Type) Plant (HP bank/LPCompressor)Supervision Weight/Buoyancy Hazards (Ships,Debris)QualificationsSafety Harness Site conditions Knife FinsWaves Access First aid Mask typeSafety line Air supply Dry suit CommunicationsEmergency procedures Visibility Tidal/River current WeatherTable 1 – Diver Safety PointsWhich four are considered to be the most important? Many diving supervisors were asked which four diversafety points they considered to be the key ones. The resulting answers are to be found at the end of this paper.These key diver safety points highlight the serious nature of commercial diving. It is not just about the work tobe done
vi
.Page 2 of 13
2
ND
INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON MARINE WASTE WATER DISCHARGES
MWWD
2002
-
ISTANBUL SEPT
.
16-20
PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
In order to ensure the diver has air, communications and feels safe, an array of plant and equipment is required tosupport both the diver and the diving team.
Plant
- The major plant items normally required include a vessel (see Figure 1), high and low pressure aircompressors, air banks, control panel and decompression chamber (if needed). Maintenance of the compressorsand testing of cylinders and calibration of gauges should be a regular task.Figure 1 – A diving vessel offshore Lebanon
Diving Equipment
- As a typical example the commercial diver would wear a dry suit, a safety harness(including lead weights), an emergency bail-out cylinder, a full face band mask or hat with communications(comms.), a knife, fins (or boots if working in one area), gloves, an umbilical containing his main air, comms.,pneumo and safety line. If the umbilical is the twisted lighter weight type, no safety line is required. Checks onwear and tear should occur on a weekly or monthly basis.
Diving Masks
– There are only a limited number of companies specialising in mask design and manufacture.Some practical comments on those masks, which are in common use, is given below.
Interspiro or Aga Divator Mk II
– An old favourite with many die hard divers but not as common in use as theKMB10. Once got used to, it is a great and simple mask with positive pressure to steady the mask and very user-friendly generally. It is not good for heavy work though. Interspiro Ltd is the designer and manufacturer.
AH5
– Divex’s latest hat in the AH range with improved visibility, waterproofing, flexibility and ideal forpolluted waters
vii
.
The Exo26 and ExoBR
– A favourite with a few but not as popular as it should be with commercial divers, whofind it too fussy on the regulator needle settings. The new BR version has solved that problem with a newbalanced regulator. However the EXO26 is a wonderful lightweight mask and easy to put on or take off. It canbe used with SCUBA (plus communications) and SDDE.
KMB10
– The original standard mask for commercial divers. In great use all over the world, even though KirbyMorgan Dive System Inc. have stopped manufacture. Spares are still available.
KMB 18B and 28B
– The new masks are very similar, replacing the KMB10. Generally better and lighter thanthe KMB10 and easy to take apart and replace items and comms. They can be used for both air and mixed gasdiving.
KMB Superlite 17B
– This hat is for use on construction sites. It is very safe having a hard shell to protect thediver’s head and the comms. are excellent.The mask must be clean and must fit snugly and firmly. Masks do leak and the diver therefore needs to be awarethat this, in itself, is not a problem as long as he has air and the leak is tolerable. However, if water leakage intoa diver’s mask occurs when the diver happens to be working on an inspection inside a pipeline, it is more seriousand the dive should be aborted. In some situations diver retrieval back to a shore dive station or a large divingPage 3 of 13
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Recommended
More From This User
Notes
Load more
