The above requirements can be covered by one
vessel which we will call the “Swiss Army Knife”
model, which we will cover in the proceeding pages.
These Swiss Army Knife vessels are rare and costly.
Utilization, scheduling and operational restrictions all
need to be taken into account when considering this
type of vessel. They are generally deep draft vessels
that cannot operate in shallow water areas. However
they bring a lot of capability to the project in one
package.
A realistic method of installation is to break up the
work load and spread it across different specialty
assets to be mobilized and utilized at strategic phases
of the installation process.
For instance, a tug & barge can be the most valuable
asset for installation services since it can be utilized
as a flat bed truck for movement of material to/from
shore and worksite. It can likewise be utilized for near
shore installation of cables. Securing a barge unit in
the field can pose problems since they need to be
either tied up to another vessel or anchored in a 3 – 4
point moor arrangement for stability.