Within the Handling Equipment department, we create solutions that service almost all maritime industries; from Renewables and Telecommunications, to Oil and Gas and even the Defence sector. It is the responsibility of the Handling Equipment to safely transfer operating subsea equipment and small sub-vessels from a ship deck to the water surface and to the sea bed.
The Handling Equipment comprises a Launch and Recovery System which is generally an A-Frame arrangement to overboard a vehicle, a stabilizer to control the motion of the vehicle and a winch to lower it through the splash zone and to the sea bed.
The most recent project was delivered to an Asian-Pacific Navy in the early part of 2022 and was the Launch and Recovery Equipment for a Submarine Rescue System. This system is responsible for the rescue of submariners in the event of a ‘dead’ submarine event.
The challenges within this project were primarily driven by space available onboard the naval vessel as well as dealing with a number of equipment suppliers with critical interfaces with the Launch and Recovery system and Submarine.
As an Engineer on a project of this nature you would be involved from day one in the concept design where there will be different levels of interaction with the customer and other equipment suppliers. As the project progressed you would then finalize the design with agreement from all parties and begin the procurement of equipment and materials, following on you would assist the assembly team to build, commission and test the equipment and finally, oversee the installation on board and assist in training the end-user.
As part of the design activities the Engineer would be expected to develop calculations from first principles, employ the use of 3D modelling software and stress analysis software and even develop a training package through a gaming platform with the use of virtual reality.
As a Handling Equipment strategy going forward we are looking to focus on markets showing high growth potential for the next 10+ years; namely the renewables and defence sectors where subsea cable laying and damage prevention will be key to ensuring that the delivery of green energy continues to grow worldwide.
