Jan De Nul has announced the order of a new subsea rock installation vessel, George W. Goethals. The company said the new vessel will be deployed primarily in the North Sea and Southeast Asia.
The George W. Goethals will have a carrying capacity of up to 37,000 tonnes and will be fitted with a flexible vertical fall pipe and an inclined fall pipe system to install extra-large rocks at water depths reaching 400 metres.
Jan De Nul said the vessel will be the third rock installation ship in its fleet with a capacity above 30,000 tonnes.
Jan De Nul is also building two extra-large cable-laying vessels, Fleeming Jenkin and William Thomson, each with a cable-carrying capacity of 28,000 tonnes.
The company stated the vessels are designed to install cables over longer distances with fewer subsea connections, supporting interconnector projects that link electricity grids internationally.
The George W. Goethals will be equipped with dual exhaust filters, biofuel and "green methanol" compatible engines, and a hybrid power plant. The vessel will also feature four electric excavators to support loading operations.
Jan de Nul noted that the ship is named after George Washington Goethals, the American engineer of Belgian descent who oversaw the construction of the Panama Canal.