SPS Used for Pipe-Layer Upgrade
New top plates (Photo: SPS)
Prior to repair (Photo: SPS)
The 127,500dwt Solitaire has completed some of the most challenging projects in which heavy pipe has been laid in very deep waters.
Originally built in Japan as a mini-Capesize bulk carrier, the Lloyd’s Register-classed vessel was converted to lay pipe in 1998. She has full dynamic positioning and can carry a pipe payload of 22,000 metric tons.
Recently, however, the vessel’s operator Allseas decided to repair parts of the 550m2 tank top in hold number 6 which had corroded. After a detailed assessment was carried out, Allseas opted for SPS technology instead of steel renewal.
“Such a project undertaken in steel was neither practically nor economically feasible,” explains IE’s Nash. “It would have taken too long and would probably have proved too expensive. However, using SPS technology, we were able to complete the tank-top upgrade successfully in just 15 days, far less time than an equivalent steel repair would have taken. Off-hire was significantly reduced.”
The project, undertaken with LR class approval at United Stevedores in Amsterdam, involved blasting the existing tank top, attaching and welding bars and adding an additional layer of steel plate to create a cavity. This was then injected with Intelligent Engineering’s super-strong polymer which has a range of properties offering superior performance to mild and high-tensile steels.
Allseas’ Manager Technical Department, Quirien Grul, commented that the company was very pleased with the outcome and the professional and efficient execution of the work undertaken by IE personnel.
