Dutch Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) announced the development of an innovative way of lifting ‘to redefine the boundaries of lifting operations offshore‘. The ‘QUAD lifting’ enables HMC to integrally install and/or remove oversized topsides or jackets, guaranteeing lower overall project costs.
This technique was tested successfully on 22 October 2018 in the Gulf of Mexico. The QUAD way of lifting is suitable for installing topsides on any type of foundation; from jackets to floaters, the company informed.
As soon as Sleipnir, the largest semi-submersible crane vessel ever built, is in full operation, we are ready to perform the ultimate QUAD lift using our two giants with a combined lifting capacity of Thialf’s 14,000 mT and Sleipnir’s 20,000 mT…With our QUAD lifting method, we definitely enter a new era with more flexibility and efficiency throughout the entire process – from engineering, procurement and construction up to and including the commissioning and installation of the jacket and/or the topside – with lower project costs as a result,
…says CEO Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven of HMC.
The new QUAD lifting method was preceded by a thorough preparation with, in parallel, the certification process for this technology carried out by DNV GL.
With this technique, topsides and jackets can now also be designed in a different way with more freedom for the engineers in terms of layout in relation to weight and dimensions. In addition, the method offers the possibility to build the topside onshore as a total package including the commissioning, resulting in lower project costs.
