This document provides information about the Solitaire, the world's largest pipelaying vessel. It can lay pipes from 2 inches to 60 feet in diameter. It stores up to 22,000 tons of pipe and has a multi-purpose crane that can lift 300 tons. The Solitaire uses a complex GPS system with multiple antennas to precisely position pipes from the surface to the seabed, avoiding danger areas and laying pipes through tiny corridors. It requires specialized hardware, software and human operators to complete its tasks of laying pipes from beaches to subsea locations.

2. Positioning Solitaire
From surface to seabed
By Marco Kwanten
Hydrographic Society Benelux
Wednesday, 14 October 15

3. Allseas fleet
SolitaireSolitaire AudaciaAudacia LorelayLorelay
TogTog MorMor Calamity JaneCalamity Jane Pioneering Spirit

4. Solitaire is the world’s largest pipelayer
5 Boeing 747-400s

5. Solitaire specification
Length (incl. stinger) :
Length (excl. stinger) :
Breadth :
Stinger length :
Minimum radius :
Installed power :
Maximum speed :
Tension capacity :
Pipe diameters :
Pipe storage :
Multi-purpose crane :
Accommodation :
(1302 ft)
(984 ft)
(135 ft)
(459 ft)
(394 ft)
(69,063 hp)
(2315 kips)
(661 kips)
397 m
300 m
41 m
140 m
120 m
51,500 kW
13.5 knots
1050 t
2” to 60’’
22,000 t
300 t
420 persons

6. Tasked to lay pipe from A to B

7. From beach to fork

8. From subsea target box to target box

9. Avoiding ‘danger’ areas

10. Laying through tiny corridors

11. Crossing rock berms

12. Lay around pre-installed counteracts

13. Displacement initiator

14. Buckle initiators

15. Lay inside lay corridor

16. Requirements
• Hardware
• Software
• Human touch

17. GNSS antenna locations
Main mast
Gantry mast
Stinger cantilever

18. Main mast and gantry mast
Two sets of 2x GNSS receivers with:
• 2x L-band corrections (each)
• 1x GNSS antenna (each)
• Input from one of the 2 Inmarsat domes
• QC computer
• NTRIP corrections (Network Transport of RTCM
data over IP)

19. GNSS setup

20. During unguided lay, heading is very important. With a layback of 600 m in shallow waters,
0.4° heading difference (Octans precision of 0.1° seclat at 1σ translated to 60°N at 2σ)
amounts to a 4.2 m difference on the seabed.
In deeper waters the layback may increase to several kilometres, but next to heading, the
current starts playing a role. Corridors are usually wider in deeper waters.
Heading

21. • PPP heading shows 0.1° difference, roll induced as
height difference between antennas is 15 m
• LD7 heading is noisier that Octans heading
• PPP heading is noisier than LD7 heading
• Octans units do not seem to drift >0.05° from LD7
On pipeline
heading

22. • PPP heading shows -0.2° difference, roll induced as
height difference between antennas is 15 m
• LD7 heading is noisier that Octans heading
• PPP heading is noisier than LD7
• All 3 Octans units have different drift, but well
within their specs within this period
In a curve

23. Stinger tip monitoring

24. ROV from support vessel

25. ROV on board Solitaire

26. Layback is calculated from the bead stall to touchdown and is
dependent on lay vessel tension:
•Pipe parameters (wall thickness, coating, steel grade etc.)
•Stinger settings (radius, departure angle)
•Client/DNV criteria
•Depth
•Dynamics (shifting TD point)
Varies from ~400 m to 3500 m
Layback

27. Online display

28. Helmsman display

29. ROV over pre-lay during touchdown monitoring

30. Polarled animation

31. Questions?