Rock Solid Boost To DEME
On 28 April 2010 the next-generation fallpipe vessel Flintstone was launched at Sembawang Shipyard in Singapore. The launching ceremony was presided by Mrs. Nora Kassam, the Lady Sponsor of the day. Built under Ice Class Notation The Flintstone is the third and biggest fallpipe vessel of Tideway, with a carrying capacity of 19,000 t and can place rock with high accuracy at depthts of up to 2,000 m.
The Flintstone is built on behalf of Tideway, the offshore subsidiary for oil & gas activities of Belgium’s Dredging, Environmental and Marine Engineering (DEME) Group. Already a first assignment has been secured for the Flintstone with the Russian company Sevmash: the installation of scour protection around the Prirazlomnaya Platform in the Barents Sea southwest of Novaya Zemlya.
The EUR 115 million investment will provide a further boost the oil & gas activities of Tideway. DEME CEO Alain Bernard was recently on the record as saying that in the next years the Group will focus amongst others on oil & gas related activities, the mining industry and energy utilities. Recent trends in the market (including the increased price of crude oil) have made deep sea pipe laying and deep sea pipeline protection better affordable. The search for deeper offshore oilfields in Brazil, West Africa and the arctic regions is offering new unseen opportunities. In this respect, Flintstone has some very important features.
Expected for delivery in the first quarter of 2011, Flintstone is equipped with Dynamic Positioning (DP2); a highly sophisticated active heave compensated Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV); and state-of-the art survey equipment. The vessel is fully certified for working in arctic conditions by means of its Ice Class notation. The capability to place rock with high accuracy to depths of up to 2,000 m, is a competitive advantage in itself. Her cruising speed of 15 knots is also a valuable asset, since the run to and from the quarry becomes less time consuming – leaving more operational time on the project site. The ‘green design’ Flintstone was built under Lloyds Environmental Protection Code, which means amongst others the full implementation of energy-saving measures and the limitation of NOx emissions to the absolute minimum.