GB2024111A

GB2024111A - Improvements in or relating to the recovery of survival capsules from the sea

Info

Publication number: GB2024111A
Application number: GB7922350A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: KINGSTON MARINE TECHNOLOGY Ltd; OFFSHORE WORKBOATS Ltd
Current assignee: KINGSTON MARINE TECHNOLOGY Ltd; OFFSHORE WORKBOATS Ltd
Priority date: 1978-06-30
Filing date: 1979-06-27
Publication date: 1980-01-09
Also published as: GB2024111B

Abstract

A rescue vessel 10 for recovering a survival capsule 40 from the sea has a ramp and a sled 20, which can be hauled up and down the ramp by cables, is arranged to be floated off the bottom end of the ramp whilst remaining anchored adjacent the ramp by the cables. A buoy and line attached to the capsule having been picked up by the vessel, the vessel is steered into the wind, the sled is launched and the capsule is floated into the confines of the sides of the sled, drawn by a cable attached to said line, and is secured. The sled with the capsule thereon, is then drawn up the ramp. The sled may be equipped with wheels for this movement and may have a guide element movable into locked engagement with a slot extending along the ramp and deck to prevent the sled from being washed off the vessel by heavy seas. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Improvements in or relating to the recovery of survival capsules from the sea This invention relates to the recovery of lifeboats survival capsules and other survival craft, hereinafter called survival capsules, from the sea.

No satisfactory method of recovering survival capsules from the sea in the most severe gales has hitherto been devised. The rescue vessel cannot approach very closely to the capsule for fear of having the capsule thrown suddenly against the vessel and damaged; the relative movements of the vessel and capsule make the use of a crane jib unsatisfactory because the jib must be long enough to suspend a cable over the capsule and in consequence a small angular movement of the vessel produces a very large vertical movement of the outer end of the jib, even if the capsule is motionless, and the attachment of a crane hoist to the capsule in these conditions presents unacceptable risks having regard to the fact that the persons inside the capsule are relatively safe in even the roughest seas.

According to the present invention, a method of recovering a survival capsule from the seal comprises drawing the capsule into a floating sled by means of a line attached to the capsule, which sled is disposed at one end of and is attached to a rescue vessel at the foot of an inclined ramp on the vessel, and hauling the sled, with the capsule thereon, on to the vessel along the ramp.

The invention also provides a rescue vessel having at one end thereof a ramp which is inclined or is capable of being inclined upward from the water, and a sled which has a base and upstanding sides and which is capable of being launched into the water at the bottom end of the ramp and disposed with the base of the sled submerged, said sled being attached to the vessel e.g. by one or more cables, the constuction and arrangement being such that a survival capsule can be drawn floating within the confines of the sides of the sled and that the sled, with the capsule thereon, can then be hauled up the ramp.

Preferably the sled is adapted to float when launched from the bottom end of the ramp.

The invention will now be described in more detail with reference by way of example to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figures 1 to 8 show the sequence of events in recovering a capsule from the sea by a method according to the invention, Figure 9 is a side elevation of a sled used in the method, Figures 10 and 11 are respectively end views of the sled on the planes 10-10 and 11-11 of Fig. 9, Figure 12 is a plan view of the sled with parts of the structure cut away to show the construction, Figure 13 is a side view of the rear end portion of a rescue vessel according to the invention, Figure 14 is an end view on the line 14-14 of Fig. 13, and Figure 15is a partial view corresponding to Fig. 13.

Referring first to Figs. 1 3 to 15, the rescue vessel 10 has at its stern an inclined ramp 11 flanked at intervals along its length by pairs of support brackets 12, 13, 14. The central section of the ramp has a side shallow convergent channel 1 5 in it the sides 1 6 of which channel serve to guide inverted T-section skids on the sled shown in Figs. 9 to 1 2 into respective complementary slots 1 7 in the deck at the upper end of the ramp.

The sled 20 which is adapted to be hauled up the ramp 11 on to the deck of the vessel by a winch or winches is shown in Figs. 9 to 1 2 to which reference is now directed. The base of the sled comprises a frame constructed from longitudinal side beams to which are secured spaced transverse beams 23 which carry longitudinally extending fender strips 24. Upstanding side frames 26 and a forwardly inclined front frame 27 mounted on the base frame have outside fender strips 26a and 27a and have upper and lower fenders 28, 29 secured to their inner sides. The fenders 29 on the front frame comprise two upper and lower pairs, which pairs are laterally spaced for a towing cable 30 to be passed between them. Two pneumatic-tyred wheels 31 are carried on axles 32 mounted on the inclined front frame at opposite sides of the sled.The sled has also optionally a rear frame 34 which is pivoted by its bottom edge to the base frame and can be lowered from its closed vertical position into a downwardly inclined open position shown in chain lines in Fig. 9. Cables or jacks (not shown) may be provided for operating the rear frame. The towing cable 30 is attached to an anchorage 36 on the front frame 27 and extends forwardly substantially along the centre line of the vessel to a double winch 37 on the deck (Figs. 3 to 8). Skids 38 are provided on which the base frame rests when the sled is on the ramp or deck of the vessels, and are of inverted T-section to engage in the slots 1 7 in the deck, being guided into engagement with the slots by the sides 1 6 of the channel 1 5 in the ramp.

The survival capsule 40 is equipped with an inflatable buoy 41, inflation and launching into the sea of which can be actuated from within the capsule. The buoy is connected to the capsule by a long line 42.

When the rescue vessel arrives in the vicinity of the capsule, the buoy 41 is inflated and launched (Fig. 2). The rescue vessel manoeuvres into a position to pick up the buoy (Fig. 3) and a cable 44 from the double winch 37 aligned with the ramp 11 is led from the bottom of the ramp round the side of the vessel and is connected to the end of the line 42 (Fig. 4). The rescue vessel is then turned into the wind and is driven slowly forward to cause the cable 44, line 42 and the capsule to come into line behind the vessel (Fig. 5).

Long inflatable booms 46 of the kind used to contain oil spillage may be launched behind the vessel at this stage and held by lines 47 in positions divergent from each other. The sled which has up to now been carried on the ramp 11 of the vessel is lowered along the ramp and dropped into the water so as to be towed along behind the vessel by means of the winch cable 30, and the rear frame (where provided) of the sled is lowered. The sled floats with its base frame below the level of the bottom of the capsule. Winch cable 44 is now hauled in, pulling the capsule via line 42 into the sled and holding the capsule against the front fenders 29 of the sled. The rear frame (where provided) of the sled is now raised and locked and the deck winch 37 is operated to pull the sled against the rear of the vessel and up the ramp 11 and on to the deck.During this time the winch 37 is also operated to hold the capsule against the fenders 29. With the weight of the capsule carried by the sled, the necessary tension in the line 42 is not great.

If the sled has a rear frame 34, the line 42 can be kept merely taut during the hauling home of the sled, but is is preferable to avoid the expense and complexity of means for remote operation of the raising and lowering of the frame.

The engagement of the skids 38 in slots 1 7 effectively anchors the sled to the deck and prevents the sled from being slewed about on the deck by heavy seas.

The wheels 31 assist the initial hoisting of the sled on to the bottom end of the ramp 11.

One or more drogues may be towed behind the sled, while it is in the water, to stabilise it against lateral movement.

Whilst the invention has been described primarily in relation to wholly enclosed survival capsules, it is equally applicable to the recovery of lifeboats and other survival craft.

The ramp may be designed to be movable between its inclined position and a raised position in which it forms a flush continuation of the deck of the vessel.

Claims

1. A rescue vessel having at one end thereof a ramp which is inclined or is capable of being inclined upward from the water, and a sled which has a base and upstanding sides and which is capable of being launched into the water at the bottom end of the ramp and disposed with the base of the sled submerged, said sled being attached to the vessel, the construction and arrangement being such that a survival capsule can be drawn floating within the confines of the sides of the sled and that the sled, with the capsule thereon, can then be hauled up the ramp.

2. A vessel as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sled floats when launched from the bottom end of the ramp.

3. A vessel as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sled is mounted on wheels to enable the sled to be rolled up and down the ramp.

4. A vessel as claimed in claim 3, wherein the wheels are equipped with pneumatic tyres.

5. A vessel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the sled has fenders adapted to cushion a survival capsule within the confines of the sides of the sled from damage by the sides of the sled.

6. A vessel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sled has a gate or gates at its end further from the ramp when the sled is launched, which gate or gates can be opened to admit a survival capsule and can be closed to hold the capsule captive.

7. A vessel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the sled is attached to the vessel by cables which, in use of the sled extend from the sled up the ramp to a winch on the deck.

8. A vessel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the ramp has a guide slot extending along its length the slot having sides which, adjacent the lower end of the ramp, are divergent towards said lower end, and wherein the sled has a guide element adapted to engage in the slot.

9. A vessel as claimed in claim 8, wherein the slot extends at least part-way along the deck from the ramp.

10. A vessel as claimed in claim 9, wherein the sides of the slot are undercut and the guide element engaged in the undercut portions of the sides of the slot.

11. A rescue vessel substantially as here it before described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

1 2. A method of recovering a survival capsule from the sea comprising drawing the capsule into a floating sled by means of a line attached to the capsule, which sled is disposed at one end of and is attached to a rescue vessel at the foot of an inclined ramp on the vessel, and hauling the sled, with the capsule thereon, on to the vessel along the ramp.

1 3. A method of recovering a survival capsule from the sea substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.