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.
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)
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
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