Pipe-Lay Vessel (PLV)

A pipe-lay vessel (PLV) installs offshore pipelines, joining and lowering line pipe to the seabed by one of three methods: S-lay (pipe leaves over a stern stinger in an S-shaped sag, for shallow to medium water), J-lay (welded near-vertical from a tower for deep water), or reel-lay (pipe spooled onshore and unreeled at sea). The vessel carries the firing line of welding, NDT, and field-joint coating stations, tensioners, and an abandonment-and-recovery winch. DP2/DP3 station-keeping or a mooring spread holds the lay path against the catenary tension.