Rock dumping vessel win for Keppel

Royal Boskalis Westminster, a Dutch dredging and marine contractor, has awarded Keppel Singmarine a contract to construct a 159m long rock dumping fall pipe vessel to be completed in late 2011, Keppel Offshore & Marine announced on 8 February 2010.

Rock dumping fall pipe vessels deposit large amounts of rocks in deep waters to protect and stabilize cables and oil and gas pipelines on the seabed. Boskalis said it intends to deploy the vessel for offshore oil & gas projects once fabrication is complete.

The DP-2 newbuild will have a carrying capacity for 23,000 tonnes of rock and will have propulsion machinery and special rock handling equipment supplied by Boskalis to carry out precise rock depositing works at water depths exceeding 1000m. This vessel will also have an ROV. Rocks are lowered through the fall pipe at a controlled rate, while the vessel moves along its track under dynamic control. The ROV is controlled from the ship, and can be precisely positioned above the job.

Boskalis operates the Seahorse and Sandpiper fall pipe vessels.

by: Jennifer Pallanich,
jpallanich@offshore-engineer.com