Dutch offshore services provider Boskalis has embarked on a mission to slide into place many tens of thousands of tons of rock for Norway’s state-owned energy giant Equinor in the North Sea, using a subsea rock installation vessel, which previously worked mostly in Taiwan and Australia.
Boskalis’ Seapiper subsea rock installation vessel, which recently arrived in Europe, is making its debut on the continent by starting its first installation project in the North Sea, which enables the Dutch player to execute the work for Equinor in a joint venture with DEME Group .
The ship recently loaded more than 13,800 tons of rock in Norway, said to be a special occasion for the vessel, which was mainly active in Taiwan and Australia before its new chapter in Europe. While this is the first time the Seapiper ship has set sail to Europe in its current form, the continent is not unfamiliar territory for this vessel.
“The last time the vessel was active in Europe, it sailed under a different name – Fjell – as a semi-submersible heavy transport vessel. In that role, the vessel transported dozens of heavy cargoes across the world. Since then, however, a lot has changed,” elaborated Boskalis.
According to the company, the hull was modified to reduce resistance when sailing and maneuvering as a subsea rock installation vessel, the accommodation was upgraded, and the deck received a complete makeover, encapsulating the installation of a moonpool, a fall pipe tower, and an inclined fall pipe on the aft deck.
“Thanks to an advanced multi-cylinder mechanism, this fall pipe can rotate to an angle of no less than 225 degrees. That is impressive and unmatched in the industry,” underlined Captain Rob de Lange of the Seapiper.
“This allows us to literally reach further than similar vessels also operating in Taiwan, and it also gives us much more flexibility during rock installation for an offshore wind farm.”
The start of this assignment comes shortly after Boskalis shed light on the role one of its semi-submersible heavy-lift and transportation vessels is playing in the transport of a recently converted floating production unit (FPU) to Angola.