Patent ID: 8056492

Claim:
A vessel for handling subsea equipment, said vessel comprising: a hull, a subsea equipment hoist system including a winch and a hoist cable for lowering and retrieving subsea equipment in a hoist area of the vessel, and a subsea equipment motion restraining and guidance system for restraining subsea equipment motion relative to the vessel in the hoist area as the subsea equipment is lowered into the sea and retrieved from the sea, said system including: a main trolley, an auxiliary trolley, a vertical trolley guide structure mounted on the hull of the vessel that allows for vertical travel of the main trolley and the auxiliary trolley, wherein the subsea equipment motion restraining and guidance system further comprises: a top end engagement member, which is movably supported by said main trolley and which is adapted to engage on a top end of the subsea equipment, one or more rail engaging members mounted on said auxiliary trolley, each adapted to engage on a vertical rail mounted on said subsea equipment as said subsea equipment passes vertically by said auxiliary trolley.