Remazel, Seatools engineering rock placement systems for newbuild Jan de Nul subsea vessel

Jan de Nul has awarded two engineering contracts for its newly ordered George W. Goethals subsea rock installation vessel.

Fincantieri subsidiary Remazel will design and construct equipment for transporting and placing rocks on the seabed, capable of operating in water depths of up to 400 m, with a production capacity of 2,000 t/hour.

The centralized control system will coordinate all equipment onboard the vessel, helping to optimize processes and supporting operational safety.

Seatools will design and deliver a fall-pipe ROV, which will be installed at the lower end of the vessel’s vertical fall pipe, performing horizontal positioning of the pipe’s outlet.

In addition, the ROV will be used for pre-lay, intermediate-lay and post-lay surveys, supporting precise placement of rock subsea, and verification operations to ensure stabilization of subsea cables and pipelines.

Seatools will work with Jan De Nul’s in-house vessel design team to ensure integration of the ROV system with the ship’s fall-pipe arrangement.

The fall-pipe ROV will include Seatools’ proprietary ROV DP system, with functions such as Auto-Track, which enables the ROV and vessel to follow a pre-defined track automatically during rock installation. This is said to minimize rock spillage with consistent coverage.