What is a floating hose?
A floating hose is what people also call an offshore loading discharge hose, or marine floating hose designed and manufactured to meet the standard requirements of modern dredging and suitability for a variety of working conditions. In case these marine floating hoses are damaged, there will be a set repair procedure aligned with each issue occurring. Floating hose repair in Malaysia is somewhat similar to floating hose handling procedures used in other countries.
In crude oil transportation, floating hose plays a non-replacement role as it is the only channel for crude oil to travel and collect from offshore facilities like floating production storage and offloading and jack-up oil production platforms.
The floating hose will act as a mediator between the oil terminal and the transhipment tankers as well as withstanding the heavy transportation artery.
Structure of a floating hose
A floating hose consists of 3 components – similar to a hydraulic hose:
Inner Tube: NBR and SBR
Reinforcement: High tensile strength fabric
Outer Over: NBR
Here is the detailed formula of the raw materials making up the floating hose:
- The internal lining is made of synthetic rubber used to prevent fluid from overflowing.
- Nylon cord, polyester cord, steel cord, and other materials are the material for the reinforcing layer to provide a tensile strength of the hose structure.
- Winding steel wire reinforcement layer is made of carbon steel wire to produce the purity of the hose and ensure the hose’s negative pressure resistance.
- Microporous foamed floating material that does not absorb water, bends, or break to give the hose a floating ability is used to make the floating layer of the hose.
- The outer layer is conducted from synthetic rubber or polyurethane material, famous for its ageing resistance, to protect against corrosion from abrasion, oil, and seawater.
- The overall floating hose is covered in a layer of synthetic rubber material and acts also as a floating agent.
What are they used for?
With a wide application in sea-related operations, they are used in ports, docks, seawater, silt, and sand, discharge floods, oil transportation… More specifically, floating hoses are suitable for large stormwater areas for construction.
The most common applications of the floating hose are to reload oil in ports, transfer crude oil from an oil rig to a ship, dredge…
Moreover, floating hoses are perfectly visible even in adverse weather conditions. As they are made of foam that does not absorb water or sink in any operating conditions.
Additionally, there is a second kind of floating hose called the double carcass. This kind of hose is designed to protect the environment with 2 layers or pipes. It is a floating hose inside a larger hose and all of the fluid like oil will travel through the smaller internal hose. In case of leakage, the fluid will leak into the space between the 2 hose layers. Preventing the oil from polluting the sea.