Sonsub, Inc. has been awarded patent no. 6,350,085 B1 for a cable deployment system and method that is ideally suited to efficiently install 4D seismic cables on the seafloor. This patent allows precise placement of the long seismic cables needed to form large-scale 4D arrays and incorporates a built-in anchor for the second end of the cable as well as an armored riser cable to the surface. The system incorporates direct connection of the seismic cable to the riser cable to the surface and does not require an electrical or fiberoptic swivel.
The system is designed to operate with a single ROV, which is used to set the first end of the cable and then monitors the payout of the cable and controls the location of the cable as it is deployed. The system can be used with or without burial of the seismic cable. The system can be deployed from a typical
Diver Support Vessel (DSV), and bends in the cable during placement of the array are performed on the seafloor so that large excursions of the
surface vessel are not required.