A subsea assist snubbing jack comprises bi-directional slip bowls and can hold light or heavy pipe loads, create clamping load internally without relying on pipe weight or the force of the subsea assist snubbing jack to develop clamping force; do not require pipe motion to unseat the clamp on the pipe; utilize smooth faced inserts that do not mark the pipe; and are suitable for subsea control by wire operation. In embodiments, it is also instrumented to directly measure the pipe weight being held by one or both slip bowls.