Seaflex Kraken:Supporting Pipelines in Shallow Water
While Seaflex are the major worldwide providers of individual
Inflatable Buoyancy Units (IBUs) for pipeline installations
in shallow water, there are special cases where the long
tube Kraken© buoyancy system can be used to greater
advantage.
The patented system consists of a PVC coated fabric attached
to a pipe at 1.2m intervals to create a continuous buoyancy
member which produces very low stresses in the pipe. The
coated fabric tube is tough and resilient and with the
close spaced fixings, each attachment is only under a
very small load.
Kraken’s advantage over conventional IBUs is it’s
ability to float pipes in very shallow water, which can
in sometime dramatically reduce dredging costs, and it’s
low frontal area for long surface or mid-water tows.
