EP1578661B1 - Installation for the recovery of a polluting fluid contained in at least one transverse section of the tanks of a sunken vessel - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an installation for the recovery of a polluting fluid contained in at least one transverse vessel slice of a cast vessel.

Following the recent sinking of ships carrying polluting fluids, it was proposed in the patent application WO 02/057131 filed on behalf of Environment Technological Group and designating Mr DABI as inventor, a simple and reliable recovery system of a polluting fluid contained in the tanks of a sunken ship.

This recovery system includes a compartment in each vessel of the ship failed, this compartment containing several flow pipes and a float element capable of being ejected out of the sunken ship. More specifically, for each compartment, this system comprises a pollutant fluid discharge pipe having a first end connected to the tank and a second end connected to the float element. This second end can then be eradicated at a sufficient distance from the cast vessel using a cable to which the float element is attached. For each compartment, this system also has a suction pipe and an injection pipe both connected to the discharge pipe and respectively provided with a first end floating on the surface of the polluting fluid contained in the tank, and a weighted first end disposed in the bottom of said tank. Finally, for each compartment, this system comprises a connecting pipe coming from a rescue ship on the surface and having, on the one hand, a first end connected by interlocking in the second end of the discharge pipe, and on the other a second end connected to a pump installed on the rescue ship. In operation, pressurized water is injected from the rescue vessel into the bottom of the tank via the injection pipe. The polluting fluid is then sent back to the rescue vessel via the suction pipe, the discharge pipe and the connecting pipe.

This recovery system nevertheless has a drawback consisting in the fact that, when the ship has sunk, it is not easy to access from outside the compartments housed in the tanks. Another disadvantage lies in the fact that, although it is possible to provide for the installation of such compartments in the tanks during the construction of the ship, it is however very difficult to carry out such an installation on an existing ship. Moreover, the compartments being stored inside the tanks, sealing and safety problems can be raised. In addition, this system necessarily providing, on the one hand, to remove the second end of the discharge pipe out of the tank, and secondly, to raise the second end of the injection pipe to the surface, it As a result, the connection between the connecting pipe and the discharge pipe is relatively complex to achieve. Finally, it is not necessary to ballast the second end of the injection pipe since the density of the water introduced under pressure is higher than that of the polluting fluid.

The present invention aims to provide an improvement to the recovery system described above, and consists of an installation for the recovery of a pollutant fluid contained in at least one transverse vessel slice of a sunken vessel, this installation comprising means for introducing pressurized water into the wafer and means for discharging the polluting fluid to the outside of the wafer, at least one connecting pipe coming from a standby vessel that can be connected to one of the discharge means, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of fixed pipes each having a first and a second end, these fixed pipes being positioned so that their first ends open at least at each of the corners of the ends of the the slice of tanks and that their second ends are each attached to a valve which, on the one hand, is housed in a compartment fixed to the above the waterline of the sunken vessel, and secondly, can be controlled from outside the sunken ship, each of said fixed pipes being able, according to the grounding position of the sunken ship, to constitute a means of introduction pressurized water inside the wafer or means for discharging the polluting fluid to the outside of said wafer.

Indeed, each of the compartments containing valves being located above the waterline of the sunken vessel, a ROV (remote controlled submarine robot) or a diver can access these compartments much more easily and thus proceed to the connection operations and control. In addition, these compartments being preferably fixed on the deck of the ship, implantation on an existing ship is relatively easy, and any problems of sealing and safety are solved. Moreover, given, on the one hand, that the end of a fixed pipe opens into each corner of the ends of the transverse vessel slice, and on the other hand, that each fixed pipe is connected to a valve at its second end, it is no longer necessary to provide the rise of one end of the injection pipe to allow the introduction of pressurized water from the ship of help. Indeed, the ROV or the plunger can directly control the opening at the choice of one or more valves housed in compartments accessible from outside the ship. The fixed pipe or pipes associated with this or these valves therefore act as introduction pipes, the hydrostatic pressure seawater rushing through said valves, then penetrating along each of these fixed pipes, and finally being introduced into the transverse tank slice. Since seawater has a density higher than that of the pollutant, it follows that the latter is discharged by the seawater to the highest point of the transverse vessel slice. This polluting fluid is then introduced into at least one other fixed pipe, acting as a discharge pipe, the first end of which is in the highest end corner of the transeversal cell slice. This pollutant fluid is then discharged along this fixed pipe towards the associated compartment, then discharged along the connecting pipe, to which the second end of the fixed discharge pipe is connected, in the direction of the surface where the vessel is located. rescue, and finally can be poured from the connecting pipe into the tanks of the emergency vessel using a pump mounted on it.

Preferably, a pair of fixed pipes may be connected to each compartment containing two valves, each pair of fixed pipes comprising, firstly, a first fixed pipe of reduced length opening in the upper part of the slice of tanks, and other second, a fixed pipe opening in the lower part of the slice of tanks and having a length greater than the height of the tanks. Advantageously, four separate compartments containing valves are associated with each transverse vessel slice of the vessel.

It should be understood within the meaning of the present invention that each pipe of reduced length may not lead into the transverse vessel slice with which it is associated. Indeed, when a compartment is positioned near one of the end corners of the transverse vessel slice, the reduced length pipe may consist of a channel formed inside the compartment, this channel having a first end in the form of a single hole made in the bottom of the compartment at a level end corner of the wafer, and a second end accessible from outside the compartment.

An installation according to the invention can be adapted to any type of transverse vessel slice, for example a transverse vessel slice comprising several vessels that can communicate with each other after opening valves provided in walls separating said tanks. Preferably, these valves are positioned in the lower part and in the upper part of each of the walls separating the tanks of a slice.

Of course, if the tanks can not communicate with each other, it is sufficient to provide that a first end of a fixed pipe opens into each corner of each tank. In this case, each tank can be drained independently of the other tanks of the same transverse slice.

Alternatively, it may be provided that each tank is separated from an adjacent tank by a partition, and that this partition is passed through, in the vicinity of each of its corners, by a fitting on which is reported a valve weighted fit, according to the positioning of the ship, to close or unclog the passage section of said fitting.

Preferably, the valves housed in the compartments, and if necessary, the valves provided in the walls separating said tanks, are guillotine valves.

• La figure 1 est une vue schématique de dessus d'un navire comprenant plusieurs tranches de cuves transversales, équipé d'une installation selon l'invention ;
• La figure 2 est une vue schématique partielle en perspective de deux tranches de cuves transversale du navire représenté à la figure 1 avec omission des cuves centrales ;
• La figure 3 est une vue schématique en coupe selon la ligne III-III de la tranche de cuves transversale représentées à la figure 2.
• La figure 4 est une vue schématique de l'installation selon l'invention après raccordement d'un tuyau de liaison provenant d'un navire de secours sur un compartiment du navire échoué.

The invention will be better understood with the aid of the detailed description which is explained below with reference to the appended drawing in which:

• Figure 1 is a schematic top view of a vessel comprising several slices of transverse tanks, equipped with an installation according to the invention;
• Figure 2 is a partial schematic perspective view of two transverse vessel slices of the vessel shown in Figure 1 with omission of the central tanks;
• FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic sectional view along the line III-III of the transverse vessel slice shown in FIG.
• Figure 4 is a schematic view of the installation according to the invention after connecting a connecting pipe from a rescue ship on a compartment of the ship failed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view from above of a vessel 1 having five slices 2 of transverse tanks of substantially parallelepiped shape to which compartments 3 are connected.

More specifically, each slice 2 of transverse tanks contains a polluting liquid 4, and consists of a central tank 5 and two side tanks 6, these different tanks 5, 6 can communicate with each other after opening the guillotine valves 7 provided in the walls separating these tanks 5, 6. The opening of each of these valves 7 can be controlled from outside the vessel 1.

The compartments 3 are positioned on the deck (not shown) of the ship 1, and are connected to the side tanks 6 of the end slices 2 and the side tanks 6 of the intermediate slices 2. Thus, regardless of the stranding position of the vessel 1, each of the slices 2 of transverse tanks can be emptied via at least two compartments 3.

With reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be seen that a metal or flexible fixed pipe, of reduced length, and a fixed metal or flexible pipe T, having a length greater than the height of the tanks 5, 6, connect each compartment 3 to a side tank 6 of a slice 2. In section, the diameter of a fixed pipe t is identical to that of a fixed pipe T.

More specifically, each fixed pipe t of reduced length has, on the one hand, a first end 8 opening in the vicinity of an end wedge located in the upper part of the associated wafer 2, and secondly, a second end 9 connected to a guillotine valve 10 housed in the compartment 3 and accessible from outside the vessel 1 via a quick connector 11.

Each fixed pipe T of large size has, on the one hand, a first end 12 opening in the vicinity of an end corner located in the lower part of the associated wafer 2, and secondly, a second end 13 connected to a guillotine valve 14 housed in the compartment 3 and accessible from outside the vessel 1 via a quick coupling 15.

In order to facilitate the understanding of the invention, the ship 1 represented in FIG. 4 has only a single slice 2 of lateral tanks according to FIG. 3. When the ship 1 has sunk and rests on the bottom 28 of the sea 29, an emergency vessel 30 is positioned substantially vertically to the vessel 1 after locating it. A connecting pipe L is then arranged between the emergency vessel 30 and one of the accessible compartments 3 of the ship 1. More specifically, this connecting pipe L has, on the one hand, a first end connected to a pump 31 installed on the rescue ship 30, and secondly, a second end 32 which is connected, by an ROV or a plunger, to the quick connector 11 of the guillotine valve 10 itself connected to the second end 9 of the pipe fixed t of this compartment 3.

After opening, on the one hand, guillotine valves 10, 14 housed in this compartment 3, and on the other hand, valves 7 provided in the walls separating the tanks 5, 6 of the same slice 2, water seawater 29 with hydrostatic pressure is introduced into the slice 2 via the fixed pipe T. The seawater 29 having a density greater than that of the pollutant fluid 4 contained in the slice 2, the latter is then discharged by the water of sea 29 through the fixed pipe t and the connecting pipe L, and finally discharged into the tanks of the relief vessel 30 with the pump 31. In case of very heavy fuel oil, it may be useful to connect a pump immersed at the level of the ship failed, to accelerate the ascent of said fuel oil to the surface.

It should be noted that it would be possible to achieve the same result by connecting this connecting pipe L, not to the fixed pipe t of reduced length, but to the fixed pipe T of great length. Indeed, in this case, the pipe t would act as a seawater introduction pipe 29 with hydrostatic pressure, and the pipe T would act as a discharge pipe of the pollutant fluid 4 to the outside of the vats 5, 6 of Unit 2.

In order to accelerate the recovery of the polluting fluid 4, it must also be understood that if several compartments 3 are accessible from outside the vessel 1, it is then possible to connect one of the two fixed pipes t or T of each of these compartments 3 to a separate connecting pipe L, the fixed pipe T or t remaining free being then intended to ensure the introduction of seawater 29 with hydrostatic pressure inside the slice 2 corresponding thereto.

Moreover, for example in the case where two compartments 3 of a slice 2 are accessible from outside the vessel 1, it is possible to connect a separate connecting pipe L to each two fixed pipes t, T of one two compartments 3, the two fixed pipes t, T of the other compartment 3 remaining free and then being intended to allow the introduction of seawater 29 under hydrostatic pressure after opening the corresponding valves.

However, to enhance the reliability of the installation, it may be advantageous to have a compartment 3 at each bowl corner 5, 6, even if guillotine valves 7 are provided to ensure communication between the various tanks 5, 6.

Although the invention has been described in connection with particular embodiments, it is obvious that it is not limited thereto and that it comprises all the technical equivalents of the means described and their combinations if they are within the scope of the invention.

Claims (10)

1. Installation for recovering a polluting fluid (4) contained in at least one transverse block (2) of tanks in a sunken ship, the said installation comprising means for introducing pressurised water into said block and means for forcing back the polluting fluid to the outside of the block, it being possible to connect at least one linking pipe (L) coming from a relief ship (30) to one of said forcing-back means, characterised in that said installation comprises a plurality of fixed pipes (t, T) each having a first and a second end (8, 9, 12, 13), the said fixed pipes being positioned in such a way that their first ends (8, 12) open out at least at each of the corners of the ends of the block and that their second ends (9, 13) are each linked to a valve (10, 14) which, on the one hand, is housed in a compartment (3) fixed above the water-line of the sunken ship and, on the other hand, can be controlled from outside said sunken ship, it being possible for each of the said fixed pipes to constitute, according to the grounded position of the sunken ship, a means of introducing pressurised water to the inside of the block or a means of forcing back the polluting fluid to the outside of said block.
2. Installation according to claim 1, characterised in that each compartment (3) containing valves (10, 14) is fixed onto the deck of the sunken ship (1).
3. Installation according to either of claims 1 or 2, characterised in that a pair of fixed pipes (t, T) is connected to each compartment (3) containing two valves (10, 14) .
4. Installation according to claim 3, characterised in that each pair of fixed pipes comprises, on the one hand, a first fixed pipe (t) of short length which opens out at the top part of the block (2) and, on the other hand, a second fixed pipe (T) which opens out at the bottom part of the block and possesses a length which is greater than the height of the tanks (5, 6).
5. Installation according to any of claims 1 to 4, characterised in that four distinct compartments (3) containing valves (10, 14) are associated with each transverse block (2) of tanks.
6. Installation according to any of claims 1 to 5, characterised in that each transverse block (2) of tanks can be divided up into a number of tanks (5, 6) which are capable of communicating with one another after valves (7) provided in walls separating the said tanks have been opened.
7. Installation according to claim 6, characterised in that the valves (7) are positioned at the bottom part and at the top part of each of the walls separating the tanks (5, 6) belonging to a block (7).
8. Installation according to any of claims 1 to 7, characterised in that each valve (7, 10, 14) is a guillotine-type valve.
9. Installation according to any of claims 1 to 3, characterised in that a first end (8, 12) of a fixed pipe (t, T) opens into each of the corners of each tank (5, 6).
10. Installation according to claim 9, characterised in that each tank (5, 6) is separated from an adjacent tank by a bulkhead (40), and in that the said separating bulkhead has passing through it, in the vicinity of each of its corners, a union (41) onto which is added a weighted flap (42) which is capable of stopping-up or unstopping the cross-section of passage of the said union, according to the positioning of the ship.

Images