Patent ID: 7713000

Claim:
A method for positioning an end of a pipe section relative to an end of a pipeline, the end being supported above the water line by a pipeline laying vessel, the pipeline being suspended from said vessel and extending from the pipeline laying vessel to a seabed, the method comprising: (a) prepositioning the end of the pipe section near the end of the pipeline, defining a connection area comprising the respective ends of the pipe section and the pipeline; (b) performing a measuring process comprising a plurality of measuring steps, each measuring step comprising: (b1) moving a sensing device relative to the pipe section and the pipeline to a location near the connection area, (b2) automatically measuring the location of the sensing device relative to a reference location; (b3) automatically measuring point positions of points on the ends of the pipe section and the pipeline relative to the sensing device location, wherein the measuring takes place directly on the pipe section and the pipeline; (c) determining a target position of the end of the pipe section relative to the end of the pipeline on the basis of the measured point positions; and (d) moving the pipe section or the pipeline in order to obtain the target position.