The invention relates to marine equipment, namely a system to ensure the lifting and the processing of submerged solid objects from water area bed, and the disposing of solid and liquid substances, including hazardous items in order to clean up water area bed from contamination, including highly reactive chemical and toxic substances, the unloading of the sunken vessels, their dismantling, lifting etc.

The known (US, Patent 4059148) abovewater platform, used for installing drilling equipment, and performing boreholes, and extracting oil from water area bed.

The disadvantages of the known above-water platform consist in its narrow scope of application even though this well-known above-water platform is installed so as drilling equipment can be lowered and lifted.

The known (RU, Patent 2379460) floating platform for drilling and operating offshore wells in the Arctic, which contains drilling rigs, pumps, drilling and casing pipes, rock-cutting tools, tubing and pumping rods, submersible oil pumps or submersible beam-pumping units, oil tankage, connected to the pipeline and the submersible pump plunger, mounted between the wellhead, and connected to the floating platform with a riser casing fixed on its outer surface along the entire length of the buoyancy elements, as well as an ice-breaker to protect the platform from destruction and displacement with regard to the wellhead within an infinite field of drifting ice, and a compressor station.

The disadvantages of the known floating platform consist in its narrow scope of application even though this well-known floating platform is installed so as drilling equipment can be lowered and lifted, as well as enabling oil-pumping from the seabed.

In the course of our search for patent information, any analogues for these technical decisions were not found.

The technical task, to be resolved by the proposed technical design, consists in developing auxiliary equipment to be applied for various kinds of work operations related to the safe removal and disposal of explosive devices or carriers containing chemically hazardous substances, including chemical bombs, shells and mines, and other carriers of toxic substances, from the seabed to the surface, and/or the safe disposal of chemically hazardous substances on the seabed and/or on the platform, and the organization of safe packaging and transportation of highly explosive and processed objects to the shore.

The technical results obtained by implementing the invention consists in improving environmental safety and maximum robotization and automatization of searching, lifting, processing, packaging and transporting such hazardous sunken objects and carriers of various substances, including hazardous items and disposed chemically hazardous substances with the participation of human individuals only for commissioning works when these work operations have been launched at such technological sites, and for managing remote control of these technological operations.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned technical results, we propose using an abovewater platform designed to lift sunken objects from water areas beds, and process sunken objects containing hazardous solid and liquid substances, including toxic chemical warfare agents.

The above-water platform of this developed design is adapted to moving over water surfaces, and contains the facilities for dynamic positioning and fixation of its location, and as well as the system for pumping water from the bottom layer at the place where underwater work operations are being performed, and this system consists of at least a water inlet and a pipeline, located between the platform and the water area bed, a pump, mounted on the platform, and/or at the end of the pipeline on the water area bed, and/or in any other place on the pipeline, and as well as preferably the sensor system for tracing impurities in the water, and also for controlling chemical reactivity and radioactivity, and these sensors should be installed along the entire length of the pipeline and on the inner wall of the water inlet, which is itself installed at the end of the pipeline, and on all technological abovewater objects and other objects arranged on the platform, which are attached to a single automated control system, installed on the platform itself, and as well as mechanisms to lift loads from the water area bed are mounted on the platform, including robotic, and automated, and hermetically sealed from the external environment technological modules, interchangeable in relation to assigned tasks, and ensuring the processing of lifted from the water area bed objects, their packing, and the disposal of chemically hazardous substances on the water area bed and/or on the platform, forming a unified processing treatment and/or disposal, and the isolated from the environment system for pumping and recycling released gases, formed during technological operations on the platform, and as well as power sources, installed on the platform, and as well as the system ensuring accurate underwater navigation, and as well as the underwater telecommunications systems managing robotic means and robotic complexes, working on the water area bed, and as well as a remote control system managing the platform through radio channels.

The platform may be designed and installed on a vessel's hull, but with enhanced stability through technical solutions to counteract rolling movements, preferably resemble a catamaran, equipped with at least one well, and pulling-and-running mechanisms for lowering and hoisting robotic supports, which will be working on the water area bed, and remotely-operated floating transport facilities of shuttle type, which can be either a separate section of the platform, or on-board equipment, providing safe transportation to the port of packaged items and of tanks for temporary storage of hazardous substances, and/or for re-loading onto another transport carrier. W

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The system for disposing of hazardous active toxic substances can be made in the form of at least one single technological module based at the water area bed or on the vessel.

In order to move the platform along the water surface, the module may contain any kind of well-known propulsion thrusters, for example, propelling, water-jet, etc., as well as a steering system.

The means for hoisting loads from the bottom can be performed by any suitable variant: a rope with a winch and a block, an endless chain with hooks for suspending transport containers, an endless cassette transporter, etc.

When carrying out near-bottom work operations and disturbing the bottom sediment, and consequentially, stirring up muddy water due to rising water suspension, which prevents visual inspection of these work operations, a water pumping system is used to remove roiled water from the workplace. It is especially true to prevent water pollution due to chemically active substances, which are hoisted from the bottom by carriers, and hoisted from the water areas bed, or the disposal of waste materials at the water area bed.

To do this, a water inlet with a pipeline is installed from the work area at the bottom to the platform, and the pump, located on the platform or at the end of the pipeline at the bottom, or any other place where the pipeline may be situated, pumps polluted water out of the work zone. At the same time, sensors, situated on the underwater robotic complex, inside the water inlet and the pipeline, which are connected to an automated system of chemical control and analysis, situated on the platform, continuously monitor the composition of the pumped-out water. If the pumped-out water does not contain other impurities, except for muddy sand particles, the pumped-out water is returned to the water area at some distance from the initial workplace. If the evacuated water is heavily polluted, it is purified of mechanical impurities, and is then returned to the water area. But, if the water has been contaminated with chemicals, the automated system immediately transfers it to be disposed of by having it treated in a plasma reactor or any other way, or to containers, which will transport it to another purification or disposal plant.

In the preferred version the tanks of water, which were evacuated from the water area, are made of chemically inert material. This should prevent them from being damaged or destroyed, which may cause the polluted water to burst from the tanks and flow back into the water area.

These tanks may be produced from a material with a density less than unity. For example, if they should fall into the water in cases of overloading, this will allow them to stay afloat even if they are full of contaminated water.

To ensure power for mechanisms, which are used on the platform, sources of electrical energy with multiple redundancy are installed on the platform in order to ensure the stable functioning of the platform.

To make usage more convenient on the platform, at least one well is installed so that underwater equipment can be easily lowered and hoisted, and it also ensures that the pipeline system passes through it, technological recycling modules, used to perform work at the water area bed, can be lowered and raised, and sediment loads can be hoisted from the water area bed. The shape and location of the wells depends on the operating conditions on the platform itself, as well as on the type and size of the robotic complex used on the water area bed, and the loads hoisted from the water area bed.

The platform should preferably be equipped with a number of separate technological modules, each of which performs a special function such as classification of raised substances, separation of liquids, or division of substances into groups, transport between substance modules and object modules, including transport to the place of packaging or to the disposal centre, opening the carriers filled with hazardous substances and disposal, etc. It is best to use technological modules, produced so that it is possible to connect them in a uniform and hermetic way to similar modules. It allows to solve the problem of isolation of technological processes from the external environment and to increase the number of modules designed for the disposal of chemical substances.

All technological modules are equipped with chemical controls, and are connected to a single automated monitoring system.

The platform may also comprise facilities for securing an accurate location of the platform at a given point in the water area thanks to a dynamic positioning system, which allows us not to expose the pipeline and the pulling-and-running mechanisms to excess loads. Positioning may be ensured by an automated movement control system, connected to satellite navigation and adjusting land-based means, as well as propulsion thrusters with a swivel mechanism, allowing the thrust vector of each machine to be 360 degrees changed.

The best version of the platform represents a platform, which is isolated from the external environment, and/or has at least one hermetic blast-proof module for storing packaged items, which will be transferred to other water transport carriers.

The platform may have a manipulator, including a remotely- operated one to move the loads lifted from the water area bed on the water craft, located just next to the platform.

The platform may also have different means such as remote video controls, monitoring workplaces on the platform and at the water area bed, technological module controls, installed on the platform or at the water area bed, underwater robotic management, remote control of platform movements, as well as external remote control of technical operations via radio channels or via underwater telecommunications networks from a remote control station on a vessel and/or a land-based station.

All these factors will contribute to protect the work area, prevent specialists' lives from being threatened or placed at risk, and optimize underwater work operations for the organization of lifting objects and/or disposing of hazardous substances. The platform is equipped with emergency and rescue means, including protection from chemicals.

The platform with such a developed technological design can be operated as follows.

To unload a sunken vessel or ship, the abovewater platform should be positioned above it, and the underwater technological facilities are lowered from the platform, including autonomous instruments, which will make detailed inspections of the object and of the surrounding area of the water area bed.

Having obtained detailed pictures of the sunken object and having created 3D maps with a grid chart showing precise geographic coordinates, including those based on various physical measurements, especially in case of silted object, we can identify the object and start planning dismantling work operations.

Dismantling the hull of the sunken object is done by using remotely- operated robotic instruments, capable of moving about freely in a water environment, fasten themselves to the objects where work operations are to be performed, and carry out underwater welding and metal cutting, harnessing loads and transferring them, and performing any other required underwater technical work procedures. These remotely-operated robotic facilities include hybrid underwater free-floating tracked remotely-operated robotic complexes, including the freely configurable with variable geometric bodies, which can ensure quality connection with the object under question and are equipped with all the required actuators.

In some planned places on the object, shackles can be welded on to the body to accommodate harnesses, which might need to be cut additionally in order to separate and hoist specific elements of the object via ropes, lowered from the above-water crane which is located on the platform or on any other above-water facilities. After that, desegmentation of the body of this object is carried out by cutting according to preliminary plans, and the cut-out elements are then hoisted onto the platform _. After removing obstructive elements from the sunken hull at the workplace, we introduce a remotely-operated robotic complex, equipped with manipulators, cranes, and winches, and other actuators, lighting and filming equipment, including a laser scanner, which will be able to work in turbid water, a system for supplying transport containers for packaging and hermetically sealing hoisted loads, as well as a reserve supply of transport containers for hoisting loads onto the platform, etc. A technological module can be installed at the bottom to dispose of bottom-based hazardous substances.

By using an underwater robotic complex, we can hoist and unload items, including those that are dangerous for subsequent packaging, hermetic sealing, and lifting onto the platform, or revealing and removing hazardous chemical substances. In this case, if hazardous items are revealed by the drilling of holes in the carriers' bodies, for example, aerial bombs, shells and tanks containing active chemical agents, and the washing-out of these hazardous substances is performed under the protection of an upper device like a "bell" in order to prevent the ingress of substances into the water environment and possible damages to the bottom-based technological devices due to a possible explosion of the object. The fore-mentioned technological operations will ensure that the removed chemicals will go directly to the technological module for bottom- based disposal through an additional pipeline and will be disposed of at the water area bed.

In order to search for and lift submerged carriers holding toxic substances in different areas, accurate underwater navigation systems are deployed from the platform, and detailed inspections of the district are carried out by remotely-operated autonomous water vehicles, searching for metallic items, and magnetometers and other acoustic instruments are used to grade the sediment, and as well these objects are identified and an electronic map of the area is drawn up, showing the exact locations of objects, which are meant to be hoisted onto the platform. If tanks containing chemical substances should be revealed at the water area bed, the underwater robotic complex is lowered and the bottom, where the containers might be arranged, is washed out and cleaned by means of a hydraulic water-jet. Also, before starting work, the pipeline, connected to the pump, is lowered through the well from the platform, and the near-bottom layer of water is pumped out with permanent control of the composition of impurities. In order to extract these identified objects from the bottom, all the other detected objects are also cleaned of silt deposits through the hydraulic water-jet. The robotic system captures the object at the bottom, removes it from the ground, places it into the transport container, and then seals it hermetically and lifts onto the platform.

If there is a signal marking the presence of impurities coming from these toxic substances, indicating at least a partial destruction of the original tanks or shells containing toxic agents, work operations are not suspended at the bottom of the water area, however, the outgoing channel of the pumping system is automatically switched to the reservoir, which receives and stores polluted water. These transport containers are hoisted onto the platform, and placed in the zone reserved for the disposal of toxic agents. The tanks containing poisonous agents are unsealed and washed out in a specialized technological module. After the tank has been washed, it is compressed and packed in a specialized secure transport container to be delivered to the disposal place on the shore. All liquid substances, removed from the tanks or collected during the washing-out process, are immediately disposed of in an automated mode.

A water intake pipe is also lowered to the workplace, and the lower flexible section of this pipe, namely water inlet, is gripped by the separate manipulator of the underwater robotic complex, and is always started up above places, where loads and substances have been manipulated in any way in order to pump out the contaminated water.

The opening, loading, closing, and sealing of transport containers during the packaging of loads at the water areas bed are carried out by the operator in an automated and/or remotely-controlled mode from a remote control station.

The transport containers are lifted onto the platform separately or by setting them on a single pulling-and-running elevator platform, which has a rigid frame, is enclosed by a wire mesh, equipped with emergency systems for variable flotation, and secured by a rope to the pulling-and- running mechanism, installed on the platform. The passage of the vertical elevator platform can be secured by directional propulsion thrusters, which are installed on the elevator platform and then lowered from the platform to a greater depth, as well as by an orientation system, equipped with sensors and beacons, which ensures a "soft" and accurate landing of the elevator platform on the docking unit, its safe passage through different wetting areas, and its final arrival at the platform.

Unloading and initial processing of transport containers should preferably be carried out in the technological module, installed for reception just above the well.

When the containers arrive at the reception module, they may undergo an X-ray examination in order to identify the object in the container more clearly and more precisely. After the contents have been identified and sorted out, the containers with highly explosive objects are sent by carriers to a separate protected processing module in order to enclose the object in specialized packaging and transfer it to a transport shuttle for transportation to the shore. The lifted from the water area bed objects, containing chemical substances, are transferred by the specialized carrier, isolated from the external environment, to technological modules where they are opened and washed out. These substances are disposed of in an automated and/or a remote control mode.

In order to ensure better security, technological operations for the recovering and disposing of hazardous chemical objects can be conducted on one platform, and lifting and transportation of highly explosive objects on the other.

The complex is managed by remote control from a remote control station on a vessel or land-based station designed for underwater work operations via radio channels from the control station to the platform, or via an underwater telecommunications cable, which is connected to the underwater communications system of the platform and to the control system of the underwater robotic complex, respectively. On the other hand, all the information, which is received at the underwater robotic complex, including the continuous film recordings and telemetry of the major systems, are transmitted along the communication channels to the remote control station managing work operations.

The abovewater platform of this developed design provides increased environmental security and maximum robotization and automation of lifting and processing objects, including hazardous items, with the participation of a human individual only at the commissioning stage when work is launched on technological designs and during remote control technological operations.