Where there are oil drilling rigs and gas production platforms, there is always the likelihood of the seabed being washed out on which they are installed. To combat this, the Dutch company Van Oord, specializing in dredging (one of the five largest companies in the world with this line of business), has several stone dumping vessels.

Vessels of this type are used to create the foundation of platforms, to strengthen drilling rigs or to level the pipelines by the method of leveling off the sea or ocean floor.