Seabed Scour Control Systems Frond Scour Protection Systems

Seabed Scour Control Systems (SSCS) manufactures environmentally approved frond scour protection systems.

Our systems went into commercial use for new and existing oil and gas development sites in 1986. This decision followed product development and on-site trials to test functionality and performance.

Durable frond scour protection mats for sediment capture

Scour is eliminated by our frond mats as soon as installation is complete. They provide permanent protection without the need for maintenance.

The frond mats reduce current velocity, which stabilises the seabed. It also decreases related turbulence, preventing the conditions that create scour.

Fronds capture the sediments that are being transported by the current and deposit them within the mat. This scour protection is also combined with a fibre-reinforced, compacted sediment sandbank in the fronded area, providing further stability.

As a result of the natural tidal motion of the viscous drag created by the buoyant fronds, the protection extends beyond the boundaries of the mat, which means a greater area of the seabed is protected. Frond mats are also not susceptible to edge scour damage.

Environmentally approved scour control systems

SSCS products are environmentally friendly and do not harm marine life. We are fully approved by Defra and other regulatory authorities and environmental groups. We have received certified approvals from DNV and Lloyds.

SSCS products have received endorsements from clients, including Krystian W Pilarczyk of the hydraulic engineering division of Rijkswaterstaat in Delft and Ryszard B Zeidler of the Institute of Hydro-Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences. "Based on the artificial seaweed concept of ‘arrested sedimentation’, [the] SSCS system (mat) suffers none of the drawbacks of similar previous systems," said Mr Zeidler.

"It has superb positional stability, it is not prone to phytoplankton colonisation, it requires no special tools or skills for installation and it actually serves to enhance its own effectiveness and that of other conventional sea defence forms.

"In conjunction with this action, at relatively shallow water the fronds also interfere with wave-induced orbital forces, effectively causing waves to break early and thus reducing the impact on threatened shorelines, breakwaters.

"Environmentally acceptable, the sandbank contours follow and blend into the river or seabed, and does not affect marine life or vegetable growth or fishing."

The Fleetwood Fish Producers Organisation has also praised SSCS fronded solutions, saying they are ‘the only technique we are able to endorse as being compatible both with the fishing fraternity and the environmental lobby’.

Multi-function frond mat solutions

SSCS frond mats have been installed worldwide to protect numerous installations, including:

• Drill rig cans, foundations and templates
• Platform piled and gravity base foundations
• Pipelines
• Subsea protection structures, templates and manifolds
• Power and telecoms cables and umbilicals
• Wind turbine foundations and cables
• Nearshore and inshore pipelines
• Marine and civil installations

Self-maintaining scour control systems

Our frond systems are self-maintaining, and do not require maintenance.

The two main areas for significant cost-saving when using SSCS products are during installation, when frond mats can be installed using small and inexpensive vessels, and during post installation, when frond mats are self-maintaining.

The savings are approximately 30%-50% compared with other methods. The removal of maintenance costs results in further annual savings.