Key points
- The umbilical winches were designed and built by Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd. (SMD), based on standard oil and gas industry technology.
- Each of the three winches weighs approximately 85 tonnes and stores 2,500 metres of armoured umbilical cable carrying copper wire and fibre optic cables.
- The umbilical cables were designed and adapted for Nautilus by German manufacturer Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke (NSW).
- CEO Mike Johnston said the winches will have the umbilical cable installed later this year before being dispatched to the shipyard for integration onto the production support vessel.
UMBILICAL WINCHES FOR NAUTILUS’ SPTS SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETE FAT
Nautilus Minerals Inc. has been advised by Soil Machine Dynamics Ltd. that the umbilical winches for the three sea floor production tools have successfully completed factory acceptance testing.
Mike Johnston, Nautilus’s chief executive officer, commented: “Completion of FAT on the umbilical winches marks another significant step in the journey towards sea floor mining in 2018. The winches are now ready for the installation of the umbilical cable. When this task is completed later this year, the winches will be dispatched to the shipyard for integration onto the vessel.”
Umbilical winches: what they do
The Solwara 1 winches are approximately 85 tonnes and manage the feed out and recovery of the sea floor production tools’ umbilicals. There is one winch for each SPT. The winches store 2,500 metres of armoured umbilical, with the umbilical providing the power and control systems to the sea floor production tools through copper wire and fibre optic cables embedded within the armoured casing. The umbilical winches will be installed on the production support vessel.
The umbilical winches were designed and built by SMD. The winches are based on standard oil and gas industry technology and are utilized throughout the world in deepwater construction and related activities.
The umbilical cables that will be installed in the winches were designed and adapted for Nautilus’s use by a German company, Norddeutsche Seekabelwerke. NSW is a world-leading manufacturer of communications, submarine, overhead, power and offshore cables, as well as engineering plastics and environmental products. For over a century now, NSW has been a pioneer in the area of submarine cable technology and communications.
