Subsea technology company Seatools has been awarded a contract by Jan De Nul for the design and delivery of a Fall Pipe ROV (FP-ROV) that will form a key system of the Belgian contractor’s recently ordered subsea rock installation vessel, the George W. Goethals.
The ROV will play an essential role in the vessel’s mission to protect critical subsea infrastructure by enabling highly accurate and controlled rock placement around cables and foundations, safeguarding assets that underpin global energy transmission.
The Fall Pipe ROV will be installed at the lower end of the vessel’s vertical fall pipe and is responsible for the accurate horizontal positioning of the pipe’s outlet.
In addition, the ROV will be used to perform detailed pre, intermediate, and post-lay surveys, supporting precise subsea rock installation and verification operations.
This enables precise subsea rock installation, a critical operation for the protection and stabilization of subsea infrastructure such as cables and pipelines.
Seatools FP-ROV will feature the company’s proprietary ROV Dynamic Positioning (DP) system, which provides automated and highly accurate subsea positioning. The DP system integrates advanced functions such as Auto-Track, allowing both the ROV and the vessel to automatically follow a predefined track during rock installation.
Delivery of the FP-ROV system is scheduled for 2027.
To remind, Jan de Nul ordered a rock installation vessel, specifically built to strengthen the protection of offshore energy and subsea data infrastructure.
The vessel will be the company’s largest rock installation ship to date, with a carrying capacity of 37,000 tonnes. It will be equipped with ultra-low emission technology and engines capable of running on biofuel and green methanol.
“We are proud to support Jan De Nul with this Fall Pipe ROV, which represents another step in our longstanding contribution to subsea rock installation technologies.
“The system’s advanced automation features will help ensure efficient, predictable, and precise operations. We greatly value the collaboration with Jan De Nul and look forward to a successful delivery,” said Jan Frumau, Managing Director of Seatools.