Patent ID: 8628287

Claim:
Fallpipe stone dumping vessel for stone dumping through a fallpipe suspended from the vessel, comprising: a hull, a fallpipe section storage for storing fallpipe sections, a tower at least comprising a fallpipe support mechanism configured to support the suspended fallpipe, said tower being adapted for assembly and disassembly of the fallpipe by addition of a fallpipe section to the upper end of the suspended fallpipe or removal of a fallpipe section from the suspended fallpipe, respectively, a tower gimbal structure provided between the hull and the tower providing a pivotal mode for the tower wherein the tower is pivotable about at least one pivot axis with respect to the hull so that the tower—and the fallpipe suspended there from—has in a plane associated with said at least one pivot axis an orientation essentially independent from sea-state induced vessel motions, a hoist mechanism configured to raise and lower the suspended fallpipe, a fallpipe section handling mechanism, adapted to—while the tower is in its pivotal mode—advance a fall pipe section to the tower and to bring said fallpipe section in alignment with the uppermost end of the suspended fallpipe in order to assemble the fallpipe and adapted to—while the tower is in its pivotal mode—disconnect a fallpipe section from the uppermost end of the suspended fallpipe and advance it to the storage in order to disassemble the fallpipe, wherein the fallpipe section handling mechanism includes a head clamp adapted to clamp an end of fallpipe section, which head clamp is translatable up and down with respect to the tower in order to raise and lower the end of the fallpipe section, wherein the fallpipe section handling mechanism is adapted to present the end of a fallpipe section—which has been retrieved from the storage and is to be advanced to the tower—to the head clamp whilst the head clamp is held at an engagement position thereof, said engagement position being located on or in the vicinity of the at least one pivot axis of the tower gimbal structure, and wherein the head clamp has a main head clamp body adapted to be translated up and down along the tower and an articulated engagement head clamp part adapted to be brought into engagement with the end of the fallpipe section, wherein orientation mechanism is provided to bring the engagement part in alignment with the end of the fallpipe section presented to the head clamp whilst in its engagement position.