Patent ID: 9663193
Date: 2017-05-30
CPC Classifications: B63B,F16L,F17D

Claim:
1. A system for protecting subsea pipeline from excessive stress and/or fatigue loading, comprising: a plurality of lifting buoyancy modules capable of being attached to a subsea pipeline in a normally non-activated state and having an activation mechanism associated there with; wherein the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules has sufficient buoyancy when at least a portion of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules is activated to lift the subsea pipeline off the seabed to a predetermined height over a predetermined length; wherein each of the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules is further capable of being reversibly attached to an anchor in the seabed by an anchoring tether such that the lifting buoyancy modules are constrained from lifting the subsea pipeline; and wherein the activation mechanism associated with the plurality of lifting buoyancy modules comprises detaching at least a portion of the anchoring tethers such that at least a portion of the lifting buoyancy modules are unconstrained and thereby lift the subsea pipeline.