Allseas’ new pipelaying barge preparing for its first project

Allseas’ newly converted shallow-water pipelay barge has begun preparations for its first commercial project, following sea trials offshore Malaysia.

The crew is mobilizing the flat-bottomed barge called Sandpiper for its first commercial project which kicks off next month, following a period of 18 months of transformation and sea trials offshore Johor in Malaysia.

According to Allseas, the barge is the first in its fleet to be fitted with an in-house developed automated anchor positioning system, designed to maximize safety and efficiency when operating its anchor mooring spreads in shallow waters.

A team of 25 engineers and 50 crew, supported by some 300 subcontractors, participated in the upgrade design and engineering process to modify Sandpiper for an S-lay spread.

“The system replaces the old manual set-up where multiple operators control winches individually with joysticks. Now, a central console serves as the interface for the 10 winches. Enter a setpoint and the software does the rest. It speeds up positioning operations and eliminates operator errors,” said Daniel Marón Blanco, Senior Naval Architect.

The overhaul included structural strengthening in certain areas, most notably upgrading the original stinger with a new design that allows continuing laying pipe in extremer sea states, Allseas said, adding that the updated firing line includes the latest version of the company’s Phoenix automated welding equipment, and will include the phased array ultrasonic testing technology Dolphin and automated field joint sheet wrapping machine.

During pipelay trials, the crew load-tested the A&R system and tensioners, followed by integrated tests, including welding a string of pipe, performing a few pipe pulls and studying how the positioning system behaved together with the firing line and pipe string interface.