Aquatic enables Visser & Smit Hanab to get the job done for Southern Water

11/08/2008

Aquatic, an Acteon company, has enabled Dutch specialist cable and pipeline installation contractor, Visser & Smit Hanab, to support the delivery of a £15m project for Southern Water to replace pipes under the Solent, delivering drinking water to the Isle of Wight.

Aquatic, the leading independent operator of modular lay equipment for the global Oil & Gas and subsea industries, has extensive experience in both off and onshore installations, trans-spooling, recovery and decommissioning works. “Whilst our strategy is to expand the business to meet the growing demands of our global customers,“ says Chris Brooks, President of Aquatic, “we are equally focused on maintaining our momentum as the supplier of choice in our traditional equipment rental and back-of-boat services market in Europe.”

Southern Water’s project began in 2003 and reached the final stage of laying the new pipes under the seabed of the Solent during April 2008. In February, two type 9.8m reels, an AQPR02 drive system complete with an AQPRTS track system and a two tracked tensioner unit , were seafastened to the deck of a dumb barge (the NP300) at the North Base quayside in Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, for transit to Denmark. The new pipes, made by the Danish company NKT Flexibles, were trans-spooled from the quayide onto the reels before the barge, complete with installation spread, was towed to the Solent for the product installation. During this installation phase, the NP300 was moored alongside the lay barge ‘Pontra Maris’ which supplied installation support, product burial and accommodation/services for the duration of the project.

Aquatic’s operations team joined Visser & Smit Hanab’s people on board the barge to ensure the operation went smoothly, enabling the pipes to be laid successfully. During the installation the pipes were trenched to protect them from potential damage in this busy stretch of commercial water.

Eric van der Poel, Project Manager Visser & Smit Hanab (UK) Ltd, commented, “This has been an exciting and challenging project that we have been happy to carry out for Southern Water. Working alongside Aquatic, using their specialist equipment, and enjoying the support of their offshore teams, has been a very successful partnership and we look forward to future projects where we can work with them again.”

Mike Gaskin, VP Projects, Aquatic, added, “We are pleased that we have been able to develop a strong working relationship with Visser & Smit Hanab during this project for Southern Water. It is essential that we are able to maintain key customer, partner and operator relationships during the management and delivery of their projects, and I am confident that the success of this partnership will be repeated in the future.”

The entire project was undertaken by Southern Water’s contractors 4Delivery Ltd (4D) with the assistance of their specialist contractors Visser & Smit Hanab (UK) Ltd and engineering designers Halcrow Group Ltd. Southern Water and its contractors worked together to set up webcams to capture the installation; go to the Southern Water site to see recordings of the work Aquatic was involved in.

For more information, please contact:
Deborah Bartlett
Head of Marketing & Communications
Aquatic
Riverside House, Riverside Drive
Aberdeen
AB11 7LH

Tel: +44 1224 224100