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Underwater Technology Convention Held in Hamburg
Monday, April 07, 2008
"Joining and Cutting" are key procedures for the maintenance of technical underwater installations. They are indispensable for harbor construction, hydraulic engineering and flood defense, ship operation as well as offshore installations and pipelines.
More than 80 experts attended the two-day Underwater Technology Convention Joining and Cutting in Hamburg. On the agenda were twelve presentations dealing with current joining and cutting procedures. Possible application procedures and limits as well as quality assurance and health and safety requirements during underwater operations were discussed by the participants.
Dr Peter Szelagowski, a German engineering consultant for underwater technology, explained the state of the art technology in comparison to international developments. During his presentation he pointed out that well-structured training of the welders is of great importance. "Welding under water can be compared to driving - you need a lot of practice," Szelagowski said.
Daniel Engel, Head of Competence Centre Materials and Products at Germanischer Lloyd, informed about classification requirements for underwater welding in shipping. "The requirements include experience in underwater welding plus references, corresponding technical equipment as well as an audit carried out by a GL surveyor under operating conditions," Engel explained. By showing typical case studies he also demonstrated how the mending procedures are executed.
Claus Mayer, Nordseetaucher GmbH, and Peter Rischmüller, IMPaC Engineering GmbH, held a presentation on "Repairing underwater pipelines." In 2005, they successfully applied the underwater welding technology on pipelines in South African Mossel Bay. Due to an anchor maneuver, three pipelines of the worldwide largest gas liquefaction installation had been damaged. "Prior to the works commencing, broad tests including underwater trial welding had been carried out," Mayer and Rischmüller explained.
The 1st Underwater Technology Convention "Joining and Cutting" was organized y Germanischer Lloyd, the German Association for Welding and Associated Procedures (DVS) and the Welding Institute of Research and Training in Hanover.
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