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The Metals Company and Allseas Announce Successful Deepwater Commissioning of Riser Pipe and Jumper Hose Designed to Lift Polymetallic Nodules from Seafloor to Surface
The riser and flexible jumper hose were deployed from the Hidden Gem vessel and the jumper connected to the robotic nodule collector vehicle at depths of
About this update from Tmc The Metals Company Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"The riser and flexible jumper hose were deployed from the Hidden Gem vessel and the jumper connected to the robotic nodule collector vehicle at depths of around 745 meters.This completes the acceptance test program for the vessel, nodule collector and riser system.Upcoming trials in TMC’s NORI-D contract area are expected to include deployment of a four-kilometer-long riser, an umbilical that provides power and control during seafloor operations, and a 500-meter-long jumper hose to connect to the collector vehicle. NEW YORK, May 19, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TMC the metals company Inc. (Nasdaq: TMC) (“TMC” or the “Company”), an explorer of the world’s largest estimated undeveloped source of critical battery metals, today announced the successful deployment of a riser system and flexible jumper hose which, alongside the robotic nodule collector vehicle, represent key components of the pilot nodule collection system designed by the Company’s strategic partner and shareholder, Allseas Group S.A. (“Allseas”). Engineers aboard the Hidden Gem vessel deployed the flexible jumper hose, connected it to the base of the riser and then launched the pilot riser, lowering the assembly to a depth of around 650m meters. Using the remotely operated vehicle (ROV) installed on the Hidden Gem, engineers then made a sub-sea connection between the jumper hose and collector vehicle which was previously deployed to the seafloor in 745m water depth. Allseas used the derrick onboard the former drillship for at-sea construction of the pilot riser system which will ultimately extend to 4km deep when deployed later this year in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean. The pilot system being tested by Allseas will be the basis for TMC’s first commercial production system, and in March the companies announced a non-binding term sheet outlining the terms for developing and operating the world’s first commercial system to collect deep-sea polymetallic nodules to meet surging demand for critical battery metals. “Straight off the back of our collector trials, Allseas have once again shown why nobody else in the offshore business can think as big, or move as fast,” said Gerard Barron, CEO & Chairman of The Metals Company. “With the first deep-water deployment of the riser system and subsea connection between the collector and the riser successfully u...