submarine cable laying with aid of sea-bed plough - preceded by detector of profile and of obstacles to be avoided by course correction

摘要

The cable-layer (1) tows the plough (5) at the end of a hawser (3) independent of the cable (2), which is laid in a furrow of uniform depth behind the ploughshare (6). Between 2 and 100 m ahead of the plough (5) a profile sensor (4) is attached to the hawser (3) and carries detectors of tractive effort, longitudinal and transverse slopes and metallic obstacles. Messages are sent to the cable-layer (1) to instigate course changes in time to avoid obstruction. ADVANTAGE - Risks of damage to the plough and cable from underwater obstacles or uncharted changes in sea-bed profile minimised.