Gall Thomson, a provider of marine breakaway coupling (MBC) technology, has developed an enhanced version of its Petal Valve MBC for the offshore hydrocarbon transfer market.

Petal17 is 20% lighter than the mean average weight of its current range which is already the lightest Petal Valve MBC on the market. The lighter Petal17 is designed to deliver improved buoyancy and handling advantages.

Like others in the range, the Petal17 MBC design has a full and uninterrupted bore, providing zero headloss and zero pressure drop during product transfer. 

The design features CNC manufactured precision Petals and improved low pressure metal seals for reliability and reduced risk of leakage on activation.  The Petal mechanism has no axles, shafts, hubs or bearings to seize and is totally failsafe.  Petal17 fits standard flanges at any recommended location in the hose assembly.

A number of options are also available which include Locking Petals to further reduce the risk of post-activation leakage when low pressure coincides with a harsh environment; and unit status indicators (USI) which allow the operator to conduct quantifiable visual integrity inspections of the MBC upon installation and during service without removing the device from the system. For easier handling during installation and post activation, lifting lugs can also be provided as an option.

Gall Thomson MBCs provide an identified safe parting point in marine hose transfer systems and automatically shut off product flow and prevent system damage in the event of an extreme pressure surge or undue significant tensile load on the hose system.

Gall Thomson MBCs therefore reduces risk to assets and transfer downtime, injury to personnel, clean-up costs, and environmental pollution.

Image: Petal17/Gall Thomson