Record-Breaking Rockpiper will Support and Protect Pipelines

On 28 January 2012, Boskalis’ first newly built fallpipe vessel Rockpiper was named at Keppel Singmarine in Singapore after a building period of 24 months. This new 159 metre DP-2 vessel is the third fallpipe vessel in the Boskalis fleet, which will strengthen their position in the oil and gas market.

Rock dumping mother vessel

Fallpipe vessels are able to dump stones accurately at great depths. Rockpiper will use her fallpipe for dumping rocks to support and protect pipelines on the seabed. The offshore vessel was built according to a completely new ship design, fallpipe system and rock dumping system. This design consists of diesel-electric propulsion with three diesel engines of 4.5 MW each. The fore ship holds a large accommodation facility for 60 people. The rock dumping system and moonpool are located mid ship. In the aft ship the engine room can be found.

The cargo carrying capacity of Rockpiper is 24,000 tonnes and the rock dumping capacity is about 2,000 tonnes per hour. The maximum dumping depth is a record-breaking 1,500 metres through a fallpipe with an inner diameter of about 700 millimetres, which is enabled by the integrated Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). This remote-controlled system positions the end of the fallpipe just a few metres over the placement level, which is also a remarkable feature of this offshore vessel. It is classed by Bureau Veritas.

Dutch suppliers

Rockpiper is equipped with a flexible fallpipe and has an innovative ROV from Dutch Seatools B.V. at its disposal. This integrated ROV is a unique underwater robot that combines the functions of a survey ROV with those of a rock-dump ROV, resulting in saving valuable time and operational costs as both types of activities can be done in one single pass instead of two. Seatools developed the advanced software in-house, which enables the ROV system to be easily controlled from on board the vessel. The ROVs will enable highly accurate pre-programming of the routes along which the rocks are dumped and they will then follow meticulously. Besides Seatools many other Dutch suppliers contributed to Rockpiper’s construction: Draka, Econosto, Hatenboer, Heinen & Hopman, Huberts, Huisman, Imtech, Lankhorst Ropes, Mar- In Controls and VAF Instruments.

Future outlook

Rockpiper is suitable for rock dumping all over the world and especially for harsh environments like the North Sea. After delivery the vessel will be perform its first assignment.

Karen de Koning – Boodt