New Mass Flow Excavator

James Fisher Subsea Excavation – part of James Fisher and Sons – has brought the world’s most powerful tool to the market to support clients with large scale excavations.

The SP12000 produces more than 6 tonnes of thrust at full power and a significant volume output of 12,000 liters of water per second, making it ideal for large seabed preparation projects, sandwave clearances, freespan rectifications and large diameter pipeline trenching.

James Fisher Subsea Excavation’s expert team recently completed an extensive re-engineering project on the SP12000. Advanced hydrodynamics and improved efficiency have been combined to give an excellent flow regime, which produces the cleanest cut trench possible by a mass or controlled flow excavator. Despite its size, the fully-controllable SP12000 is also capable of smaller-scale, precision excavation.

This new technology is also being applied to the company’s existing extensive fleet of mass flow excavators, also known as controlled flow excavators, around the world.

Graham Murdoch, technical director of James Fisher Subsea Excavation, is part of a team that has been responsible for the successful completion of more than 400 projects over a period of 18 years. He said:

“We already had the most diverse and well-proven range of mass flow excavators available. Adding the SP12000 to our range means we can support our clients on an even wider range of projects. The SP12000 is a massive step forward in mass, or controlled, flow excavation.”

James Fisher Subsea Excavation’s equipment is used for applications including pipeline and cable trenching, deburial, rock dump dispersal and seabed clearance and preparations. The mass flow excavators are ideal for moving materials such as sand, silt and mud, drill cuttings, clay and rock dump.