Recently, a naval auxiliary ship group under the PLA Southern Theater Command conducted an off-shore replenishment drill in waters of the South China Sea and completed the task of replenishing oil and water for island without docking.
During the drill, Petty Officer, Third Class Li Ming drove a small boat, towing the replenishment pipeline towards the receiving point on the island. The replenishment ship is several hundred meters away from the island dock, and the pipeline needs to be interlocked to form an at-sea transporting line.
Li said that it is not easy to link such a replenishment pipeline due to ocean currents' influence. They have taken many measures to improve the stability of the pipeline during the offshore operations. For example, they have tied lifebuoys to it to increase the buoyancy, and fastened the connecting line to the junction point of the pipeline and the ship hull, to relieve the pressure on the pipeline connection caused by the surge.
In setting up the pipeline, the replenishment ship, small boat, and the receiving point on the island need to cooperate closely. Besides, the sailors need to quickly adjust the site data according to the characteristics of various types of pipelines.
"The pipeline connection is successful. Start the replenishment now," Li reported to the ship after the inspection.
It is learnt that in order to improve the supply efficiency, the group has made efforts to innovate and optimize the replenishment pipeline setting.
