In the pipeline: rock installation solutions

Stories Article Rock Installation Solutions Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam

Enhancing subsea infrastructure protection and offshore projects

In the field of maritime engineering and operations, rock installation has an important role in protecting subsea infrastructures, ensuring seabed stability and facilitating the installation of offshore structures. Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam has been designing solutions for the rock installation market for more than 35 years.

Rock installation vessels and equipment come in different forms and sizes, ranging from small barges with short rigid fall pipes to large vessels equipped with deep water fall pipes. These rock installation vessels are designed to transport and deposit rocks of various sizes, offering solutions for offshore construction such as safeguarding pipelines and preparing foundations for platforms and caissons. We delve into the realm of rock installation vessels and equipment, applications and engineering challenges operating in this domain.

Over the last decades, the demand for offshore rock installation increased as a result of the developments in the oil and gas industry, and more recently the renewable industry. The market has expanded from traditional oil and gas projects and coastal construction projects to a much wider portfolio including offshore wind. As the offshore renewable industry continues to evolve, the demand for customised rock installation solutions has grown, leading to the development of a wide range of specialised vessels and associated equipment tailored to specific projects and water depths.

Rock installation solutions

Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam has been closely involved in designing vessels and equipment for the rock installation market for almost four decades. Some of the portfolio includes the design of Jan de Nul’s rock installation vessel Simon Stevin and the Boskalis Rockpiper newbuild projects and on the other hand conversions have been executed,  such as  Boskalis’s Seahorse and Seapiper. These are all vessels with a significant cargo capacity, but also the conversion of an existing Platform Supply Vessel (PSV) into a rock installation asset is executed for a non-disclosed customer.  Besides this, the Rotterdam engineers were commissioned by a leading provider of dredging services in the United States to perform a design study for the conversion of an existing offshore barge into a self-propelled, manned, DP-barge with rock cargo holds and an inclined fall pipe dumping system.

Next to the design and conversion of rock installation vessels, associated fall pipe and rock installation equipment for dozens of other vessels also come from Vuyk’s engineering office. Over the last decade, significant technological advancements have improved the efficiency and effectiveness of rock installation techniques. “It is our ability to innovate in demanding circumstances”, states Marc Oele, Consultant at Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam. “During projects, we face challenges of pushing the boundaries of deep-water rock installation, for example by doubling both the water depth and installation capacity. These types of projects require the design of highly advanced fall pipe handling systems, being capable of fully automated assembly and retrieval of the pipes.”

“But the all-important strength of our company is that our expertise goes beyond the design of rock installation vessels and tools”, continues Marc. “We also provide support in solving the logistics of cargo handling on board: from loading rocks from the quayside to the final step of dropping rocks in the fall pipe. Special knowledge, typical for rock installation projects, built over all these projects include hydrodynamic analysis of fall pipes, analysis of rock installation processes, hull girder design to avoid fatigue and cracks, design of fall pipes and handling systems, design of side stone installation systems, and not insignificantly: the vessel integration. In summary: we offer our clients a synergy of expertise in vessel design, equipment design and the operational measures in the area of rock installation.

Rock Installation Method

The choice of installation method, equipment and vessel depends on factors such as the operating depth, seabed conditions, material characteristics, and equipment capabilities. Small scale vessels and barges with side dumping systems or inclined fall pipes are primarily used in water depths up to 25 meters and are designed to discharge rocks from the side. Going deeper, a tremie fall pipe is lowered to the seabed, up to approximately 50 meters. For deeper waters, an improved technique has emerged over the years: a flexible fall pipe consisting of individual elements, most comparable to bottomless buckets or that are modularly linked together, or pipe segments – reaching immense depths of up as much as 2000 metres. For all types of fall pipes applies: working in a marine environment sets immense challenges for the rock installation vessel and equipment. Due to ship motions and hydrodynamic loads on the fall pipes, concepts need to be carefully devised and analysed to prevent showstoppers in the later design.

With an extensive portfolio of rock installation solutions, Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam caters to varying water depths and installation capacities. “Our specialty covers the whole range, from installation just below the surface to deep water solutions”, Marc continues. “In most cases, customers determine the methodology and the equipment used to perform the operation. Our expertise is then used to verify that all parameters are correct to get the installation working properly to ensure efficient and safe operations. In other cases, mainly for shallower water, new customers with less experience and knowledge lean on our expertise. Leveraging our experience in vessel and equipment design, we deliver integrated solutions that meet all project requirements.”

Innovations in rock installation

The rock installation market has been on a trajectory of constant innovation, driven by an ever-growing significance of environmental considerations. There is a noticeable trend in subsea rock constructions where environmental requirements are taking center stage, allowing to minimise harm to marine life. This shift has profound implications on the specialised equipment used for installation. “Our commitment to staying at the forefront of industry advancements, is actively studying potential solutions to align with these emerging demands, to meet the evolving needs of customers seeking sustainable and environmentally responsible subsea rock installation solutions amid the changing landscape of offshore energy trends and regulatory requirements.”

A typical example of such a project has recently been executed. A solution was requested for dumping a gravel bed with a very high accuracy. This accuracy was demanded, as this gravel bed forms the basis for placing tunnel elements on the seabed. The existing proven systems in the market could not meet these strict requirements, so a completely new system and vessel was developed for this task. This resulted in a vessel with rock installation logistics on the vessel and a separate seabed frame, which is lowered to the seabed, from which the gravel is dumped at high precision.

Thus, innovative strategies are continually emerging to address the evolving demands of the industry. Automation has fundamentally transformed the rock installation process: it enables precise and accurate installation, minimising losses during the operation. This leap in automation aligns with the forward-thinking approach exemplified by Vuyk’s engineers in their endeavours: “the developments underscore our commitment to pushing the state-of-the-art designs further, ensuring that rock installation solutions remain efficient and effective for a wide range of offshore projects while continually exploring innovative ways to overcome challenges and deliver exceptional results”.

About Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam BV

A synergy of maritime engineering specialisms is represented at Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam. Our department Vessel Design and Conversion focuses on (concept, basic and detail) design and conversion of work vessels. Our department Equipment Design and Upgrades specialises in developing advanced mission equipment. We find solutions for complex issues or upgrades to facilitate high performance operations. Our departments Methods Engineering and Temporary Steel Design focus on optimizing efficiency and safety of maritime operations with development of methods, design of temporary steel structures, sea fastenings, hydrodynamic analysis and workability studies. Our specialisms are working together as one team, enabling us to provide our customers complete design packages. Vuyk Engineering Rotterdam has all the in-house expertise to support innovative projects in various maritime markets: rock installation, dredging, subsea, offshore wind, renewables and the heavy lift market.

www.vuykrotterdam.com