This article focuses on the active management of the umbilical of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) for shallow water exploration. The objective is to increase the ROV maneuverability by exploiting the mechanical model of the cable that links the ROV to an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV). The efforts applied on the umbilical are studied in simulation. The numerical models implemented under Simulink TM and Vortex TM are used to define new strategies of control for the winch, the USV and the ROV in order to manage the umbilical.