Subsea rock installation record for Van Oord vessel

Van Oord’s flexible fallpipe vessel Nordnes has installed 20 million tonnes of rock, a record that the Dutch company said was unparalleled in the subsea rock installation market.

Nordnes has been installing rocks on the seabed since 2005 and has now installed 20 million tonnes of rock in total.

The milestone was achieved while the 167-meter-long vessel was working on the Ormen Lange project.

Van Oord said that its fleet of flexible fallpipe vessels is equipped with a unique flexible fallpipe system and remote operating vehicles (ROVs) allowing them to install rock at a high level of accuracy.  

“The OLP3 Project would like to recognise Van Oord and the Nordnes on reaching an amazing 20 million tonnes of installed rock since 2005,” said Alf Roger Hellestø, Project Manager Power & Installation, Ormen Lange Phase 3 (OLP3) Project, at Shell.

“Van Oord has been a key player in the OLP3 project since we entered the execution phase. With its outstanding safety standards, excellent upfront planning and efficient execution, Van Oord has really inspired and supported the other key players in the project and are a main contributor ion to project performance and deliverables.”

To remind, Van Oord reported in May that it had set a new world record by carrying out subsea rock installation works in a water depth of 1,364 meters, a distance said to be comparable to almost five times the length of the Eiffel Tower.

The activities were conducted by the flexible fallpipe vessel Stornes at the Sangomar field in Senegal.