Tugboat Ocean Towing

Crane Vessel

History

USS Kearsarge as Crane Ship No. 1

In medieval Europe, crane vessels which could be flexibly deployed in the whole port basin were introduced as early as the 14th century. In 1920, the 1898-built battleship USS Kearsarge (BB-5) was converted to a crane ship when a crane with a capacity of 250 tons was installed. Later it was renamed Crane Ship No. 1. It was used, amongst other things, to place guns and other heavy items on battle ships under construction. Another remarkable feat was the raising of the USS Squalus (SS-192) in 1939.

In 1942 the Crane Ships aka "Heavy Lift Ships" SS Empire Elgar (PQ16), SS Empire Bard (PQ15), and SS Empire Purcell (PQ16) were sent to the Russian Arctic ports of Archangel, Murmansk and Molotovsk (Since renamed Sererodvinsk). Their role was to enable the unloading of the Arctic Convoys where port installations were either destroyed by German bombers or were non existent (as at Bakaritsa quay Archangel)

In 1949 J. Ray McDermott had the Derrick Barge Four built, a barge that was outfitted with a 150 tons revolving crane. The arrival of this type of vessel changed the direction of the offshore construction industry. Instead of constructing oil platforms in parts, jackets and decks could be built onshore as modules. For use in the shallow part of the Gulf of Mexico, the cradle of the offshore industry, these barges sufficed.

In 1963 Heerema converted a Norwegian tanker, the Sunnaas, into a crane vessel with a capacity of 300 tons, the first one in the offshore industry that was ship-shaped. It was renamed Global Adventurer. This type of crane vessel was better adapted to the harsh environment of the North Sea.

SSCV Thialf in Norwegian Fjord

In 1978 Heerema had two semi-submersible crane vessels built, the Hermod and the Balder, each with one 2000 ton and one 3000 ton crane. Later both were upgraded to a higher capacity. This type of crane vessel was much less sensitive to sea swell, so that it was possible to operate on the North Sea during the winter months. The high stability also allowed for heavier lifts than was possible with a monohull. The larger capacity of the cranes reduced the installation time of a platform from a whole season to a few weeks. Inspired by this success similar vessels were built. In 1985 the DB-102 was launched for McDermott, with two cranes with a capacity of 6000 tons each. Micoperi had the M7000 built in 1986 with two cranes of 7000 tons each.

However, in the mid 1980s the boom in the offshore industry was over, resulting in collaborations. In 1988 a joint venture between Heerema and McDermott was formed, HeereMac. In 1990 Micoperi had to apply for bankruptcy. This enabled Saipem in the beginning of the 1970s a large heavy lift contractor, but only a small player in this field at the end of the 80s to take over the M7000 in 1995, later renaming it Saipem 7000. In 1997 Heerema took over the DB-102 from McDermott after discontinuation of their joint venture. The ship was renamed Thialf and, after an upgrade in 2000 to twice 7100 tons, it is now the largest crane vessel in the world even if all the world's lifting records belong to the Saipem 7000 (12150t of Sabratha Deck).

Largest crane vessels

Vessel

Company

Capacity (mT)

Type

Thialf

Heerema Marine Contractors

14,200 (2 * 7100 tons)

Semi-submersible

Saipem 7000

Saipem

14,000 (2 * 7000 tons)

Semi-submersible

Svanen

Ballast Nedam

8,700

Catamaran

DCV Hermod

Heerema Marine Contractors

8,165 (1 * 4536, 1 * 3629)

Semi-submersible

Balder

Heerema Marine Contractors

6,350 (1 * 3629, 1 * 2722)

Semi-submersible

Borealis

Acergy

5,000

Monohull

Oleg Strashnov

Seaway Heavy Lifting

5,000

Monohull

DB 50

J. Ray McDermott

3,992

Monohull

Rambiz

Scaldis

3,300

Catamaran

Asian Hercules II

Smit International

3,200

Monohull

DB 101

J. Ray McDermott

3,175

Semi-submersible

DB 30

J. Ray McDermott

2,800

Monohull

LTS 3000

Larsen and Toubro/Sapuracrest

2,722

Monohull

Sapura 3000

Sapura/Acergy

2,700

Monohull

Stanislav Yudin

Seaway Heavy Lifting

2,500

Monohull

Saipem 3000

Saipem

2,177

Monohull

OSA Goliath

Coastline Maritime

2,000

Monohull

See also

Jackup rig

List of historical harbour cranes

References

^ * Michael Matheus: "Mittelalterliche Hafenkrne," in: Uta Lindgren (ed.): Europische Technik im Mittelalter. 800-1400, Berlin 2001 (4th ed.), p.346 ISBN 3-7861-1748-9

^ J. Ray McDermott ends HeereMac joint venture

^ American Bureau of Shipping Record, Thialf

^ GustoMSC

^ Ulstein Sea of Solutions BV

^ GustoMSC

^ AsianH1.indd

^ Scaldis Salvage & Marine Contractors NV

^ GustoMSC

^ Ulstein Sea of Solutions BV

^ Acergy - Sapura 3000

^ GustoMSC

^ http://www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIX/2010jan00270.html

External links

Heerema Marine Contractors

J. Ray McDermott Marine Installation

Micoperi Marine Contractors

Saipem Offshore Construction

Seaway Heavy Lifting

A Gigantic Muscle of Steel: it picks up a sunken tugboat from the harbor bottom as easily as you'd lift ten pounds off the floor, Popular Science monthly, February 1919, page 67, Scanned by Google Books: http://books.google.com/books?id=7igDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA67

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Types of Cranes

Container crane Crane vessel Gantry crane Level luffing crane Sidelift Straddle carrier Tow truck

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Modern merchant vessels

Dry cargo

Barge Bulk carrier Car float Coaster Collier Container ship Hopper barge Heavy lift ship Lighter aboard ship Reefer ship RORO ship Train ferry

Tankers

Oil tanker Chemical tanker LNG carrier FPSO unit

Passenger

Cargo liner Cruise ship Cruiseferry Ferry Train ferry Ocean liner

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