Disclosed is a system for the recovery of a surface marine craft by a carrier ship. The system included a lifting device with which the carrier ship is intended to be equipped and which included a lifting unit of the davit type, equipped with a lifting cable including, at one end, a connection interface, a pole bearing a guide cable, an anchor connected to one end of the guide cable, the connection interface for the lifting cable being coupled removably to the anchor, and a hauling cable. The system also included a receiving device with which the marine craft is intended to be equipped, the receiving device including a forward module.

A docketing device includes a docking station able to be hauled by a carrying vessel at a tow point (T), the docking station comprising a body comprising a beam extending parallel to a longitudinal axis (x) of the body and a stop allowing a movement of an underwater vehicle with respect to the body along the longitudinal axis (x) to be blocked, the dorsal beam extending longitudinally above the underwater vehicle in abutment against the stop, a center of gravity of the docking station and a center of buoyancy of the docking station being positioned, and the tow point (T) being able to occupy a docking position that is such that the docking station exhibits a predetermined docking negative pitch when it is fully submerged and hauled by the carrying vessel in the direction of the longitudinal axis at a predetermined speed.

An apparatus and method transports, launches, and recovers an unmanned undersea vehicle (UUV) on a boat. A pair of support rails secures the UUV to the boat during the transport across a body of water on the boat. The support rails support the UUV in sliding movement along the support rails during the launch from the boat into the body of water and during the recovery from the body of water onto the boat. A ramp is deployed that extends the support rails into the body of water through a stern of the boat. The ramp includes a pair of alignment rails for aligning the UUV with the support rails during the recovery. A winch pulls the UUV out of the body of water during the recovery, with the winch pulling the UUV into the alignment rails and then onto the support rails in the boat.

Devices and methods for recovering an unmanned underwater vehicle. The device includes a gantry mounted on a recovery vehicle, a frame, and a shaft extending between the gantry and the frame and configured to vertically move the frame relative to the gantry. Attached to the frame are a plurality of rotatable arms movable between an opened position and a closed position. A first end of each arm is attached to the frame at a pivot. A flexible strap extends between each of the second ends of the arm and the frame. As the arms are moved to the closed position around the unmanned underwater vehicle, the straps will support the unmanned underwater vehicle.

Multiple systems and methods for providing supervised control of subsea vehicles for offshore asset management as well as supplemental autonomous control behaviors are described herein. These systems and methods provide offshore support and alternative supervised control of one or more vehicle generally irrespective of where the vehicle resides in an oil and gas offshore field.

A docketing device includes a docking station able to be hauled by a carrying vessel at a tow point (T), the docking station comprising a body comprising a beam extending parallel to a longitudinal axis (x) of the body and a stop allowing a movement of an underwater vehicle with respect to the body along the longitudinal axis (x) to be blocked, the dorsal beam extending longitudinally above the underwater vehicle in abutment against the stop, a center of gravity of the docking station and a center of buoyancy of the docking station being positioned, and the tow point (T) being able to occupy a docking position that is such that the docking station exhibits a predetermined docking negative pitch when it is fully submerged and hauled by the carrying vessel in the direction of the longitudinal axis at a predetermined speed.

A submersible node and a method and system for using the node to acquire data, including seismic data is disclosed. The node incorporates a buoyancy system to provide propulsion for the node between respective landed locations by varying the buoyancy between positive and negative. A first acoustic positioning system is used to facilitate positioning of a node when landing and a second acoustic positioning system is used to facilitate a node transiting between respective target landed locations.

A submersible node and a method and system for using the node to acquire data, including seismic data is disclosed. The node incorporates a buoyancy system to provide propulsion for the node between respective landed locations by varying the buoyancy between positive and negative. A first acoustic positioning system is used to facilitate positioning of a node when landing and a second acoustic positioning system is used to facilitate a node transiting between respective target landed locations.

A cable-direction-adaptive ROV winch applied to non-DP-equipped motherships, includes a non-DP-equipped mothership, an A-shaped support and a winch cable-drawing roller provided on the non-DP-equipped mothership, and an underwater vehicle. A pulley is rotatably connected to the A-shaped support, the underwater vehicle is connected to an umbilical cable, the umbilical cable passes around the pulley to be connected to the winch cable-drawing roller, and a locating unit for guiding the umbilical cable is provided on the non-DP-equipped mothership. The A-shaped support is provided with a rod. The pulley includes a sliding section and a rotating section, and the sliding section is annular and slides on the rod along a direction of the rod. The rod has a groove, and a bulge portion is formed on the sliding section. The rotating section is rotatably connected to an outer circle of the sliding section via a shaft bearing.

Methods and apparatus for deploying an unmanned marine vehicle into water are disclosed. The unmanned marine vehicle includes a float and a glider connected by a tether. The float is selectively retained in a buoyant frame by a float clamp assembly. A glider retainer assembly is coupled to the buoyant frame and selectively retains the glider. The glider retainer assembly and the float clamp assembly execute a deployment sequence for deploying the unmanned marine vehicle from the apparatus. In some embodiments, the apparatus is self-propelled to permit remote operation and deployment of the unmanned marine vehicle.