Featured case study
Rapid Deployment Oil Recovery System
Contract
Client · Oceanus Co. Ltd (South Korea)
Oceanus Co. Ltd awarded Aurion+ a contract to design, procure and supply a highly transportable, high-pressure flexible oil recovery system.
The core requirement was a multi-use system that could be easily mobilised by air to any global location.
Solution
Following a feasibility study, Aurion+ selected a 4-pipe bundle system using 9" fully composite pipe from Deepflex.
Deepflex was chosen for:
- Innovative, lightweight and strong composite design
- Dedicated professional engineering support
- Fast six-month manufacture-to-delivery timeframe
- Adaptable management suited to changing project needs
Global engineering collaboration
The success of the system relied on specialised components from a network of global partners.
Aurion+ acted as the Main Contractor managing the project.
Deepflex
Supplied the flexible pipe, manufactured at their Manitowoc plant starting in late 2011.
Deep-down Incorporated
Supplied transportation carousels specifically designed to fit inside an Antonov 124 cargo plane.
Cuming Flotec
Manufactured 14 buoyancy modules in Boston that provided buoyancy and clamped the quad pipe bundle together.
KPC
This Oceanus sister company in Ulsan, South Korea, produced the 3-tonne flange connections, which were flown to Chicago and trucked to Manitowoc for final assembly.
The heavy-lift operation
- 01
Logistics
After final Factory Acceptance Testing was complete, a 10-day window remained to spool and transport the equipment to Michigan's Sawyer International Airport. Four 23.5-tonne carousels were barged downriver from the Deepflex quayside, then trucked to the 3000m runway of the former US Air Force base.
- 02
Loading
On July 13th, a Polet Airways Antonov 124, one of the world's largest cargo planes with a 120-tonne capacity, “kneeled” to receive the 94-tonne combined cargo.
- 03
Precision
Because the 13" outer diameter pipe left only centimetres of clearance inside the hold, engineers used 3D modelling to ensure a perfect fit.
- 04
Winching
A specialised rail system and 30-metre ramp were assembled, allowing the carousels to be smoothly winched into the cavernous hold.



