CABLE INSTALLATION BUOYANCY

CABLE INSTALLATION BUOYANCY

SEAFLEX Standard Product

Model No: SeaSerpent

Description:
Seaserpent is a tubular buoyancy system
designed for handling cables in shallow water;
usually shore endings or river crossings.
Supplied in sections of 50m, 100m, or 200m
that can be coupled to make up any desired
length, SeaSerpent sections are supplied in
‘lay flat’ form, tightly wound on a drum.
This is mounted just above the cable where
it exists the cable engine and by attaching it
to the cable as it passes below the drum and
introducing air from the free end, floating
cable can be deployed in any length. Once
the required length is afloat and a pressure
differential applied to one end, the cable can
be laid on the seabed under complete control
from the surface. if necessary the laying
operation can be slowed, stopped or even
reversed by simple control of internal air
pressure. For one off applications, SeaSerpent
sections are supplied on timber drums or
flaked into crates that are adequate for one
BUOYANCY SOLUTIONS
recommended to fit a Deployment /
Recovery Unit (DRU). These can be fabricated
by customers to drawings (available from
Seaflex Ltd.) or can be supplied by us on a
hire or sale basis.
Using SeaSerpent:
While the principle is simple it is important
that users of the system familiarise themselves
with the notes on usage and particularly
attention should be paid to the recovery and
handling of the equipment after it is released
from the cable. With the tube re-wound onto
it’s drum, it is very compact and safe from
damage. If allowed to lie around on the beach
or on the seabed deflated, it is very susceptible
to damage.
Storage:
Normal requirements - out of direct sunlight,

CABLE INSTALLATION BUOYANCY

preferably not in an un-shaded container and
or two deployments. If the units are to be
safe from rodent attack or accidental damage
used repeatedly, then steel drums are
by forklift trucks etc.

Dimensions:
Type Lay Flat Width Inflated O.D. mm Buoyancy kg/m Weight kg/50m Drum Diameter
section & Width
2650-1-3 1318 830 545 143 770 x 1500
2650-2-7 655 430 132 76 770 x 800
2650-3-10 434 275 60 54 770 x 550
2650-4-13 324 205 33 43 770 x 450
2650-5-16 258 164 22 37 770 x 450
2650-6-20 213 137 15 32 770 x 450

152 Gunners Circle, Epping Industrial, Cape Town, Eppindust P.O. Box 895, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 534 3600 • Fax: +27 21 534 3610 • sasales@uniquegroup.com • www.uniquehydra.com PAGE 1 of 2
Iss 01/2013 B4
 CABLE INSTALLATION BUOYANCY
SEAFLEX Standard Product
Model No: SeaSerpent
The controlled way to install cables in shallow water:
Instead of using multiple floats to support a
submarine cable during installation in shallow
water, the SeaSerpent is a continuous
inflatable tube attached to the cable at 1m
spacing. While its support and control of the
cable is excellent, perhaps its most
advantageous characteristic is the operational
flexibility it allows the installer. Supplied in
‘layflat’ form on a transport, deployment,
recovery(TDR) drum the tube is inflated as it
unwinds and is attached to the cable just
before the launch point.This allows rapid and
near continuous deployment. When the
correct length of cable is afloat and positioned
accurately on its line, the air is vented from
one end of the tube allowing the cable to
sink progressively into the desired position.
This sinking process is under complete control
and maybe slowed, stopped or reversed at
will.The form stiffness developed by the
SeaSerpent decreases kinking tendencies
and eliminates sagging between floats and
the requirement to keep constant tension on
the cable.This characteristic, coupled with
the un-rivalled control of the sinking process,
Illustration:
152 Gunners Circle, Epping Industrial, Cape Town, Eppindust P.O. Box 895, South Africa
Tel: +27 21 534 3600 • Fax: +27 21 534 3610 • sasales@uniquegroup.com • www.uniquehydra.com
BUOYANCY SOLUTIONS
allows installers much greater flexibility in
procedures. It is for instance possible to park
the cable on the bottom during adverse tidal
periods and re-float it when required, or tow
sections of cable to installation sites several
kilometres from the launch point.The
SeaSerpent eliminates losses of individual
buoyancy units and saves a huge amount of
space and man power at the launch point.
With only1.5m2 of deck space required for
1km of buoyancy, the SeaSerpent offers
significant savings in transport, storage and
replacement costs as well as the operational
advantages of speed and control. Seaflex can
manufacture SeaSerpent for individual
buoyancy requirements although most cable
weights are applicable to Seaflex’s Standard
Range. The table shows Standard Range
SeaSerpent specifications. SeaSerpent and
ancillary transport, deployment and recovery
systems are available for hire or purchase.
CABLE INSTALLATION BUOYANCY
Since 1996 Seaflex Limited have been
certified to ISO9001 by Lloyds Register Quality
Assurance for -‘Themanufacture, repair and
hire of heavy duty flexible
THE INTELLECTUAL CONTENT OF THIS DRAWING IS THE COPYRIGHT
OF SEAFLEX LTD. CONTENTS ARE ACCURATE AT TIME OF
GOING TO PRESS, BUT MAY CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE
PAGE 2 of 2
Iss 01/2013 B4