Revolutionary way of lifting offshore successfully tested

Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) has developed a globally unique, innovative way of lifting that will redefine the boundaries of lifting operations offshore. This ‘QUAD lifting’ was tested successfully on October 22, 2018 in the Gulf of Mexico. The QUAD lifting enables HMC to integrally install and/or remove oversized topsides or jackets. This revolutionary innovation is an important expansion of HMC's services and guarantees unmatched lower overall project costs.

The unprecedented QUAD way of lifting is suitable for installing topsides on any type of foundation; from jackets to floaters. "We are proud of the excellent test results with two dynamically-positioned vessels with four cranes working in parallel: Thialf and Balder, two of the world largest semi-submersible crane vessels, both owned and operated by Heerema. 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”, says CEO Koos-Jan van Brouwershaven of HMC. “We are looking forward to this with great confidence. 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.”

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. Thanks to this QUAD lifting operation, 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 QUAD lifting method offers the possibility to build the topside onshore as a total package including the commissioning. This results in substantially lower overall project costs.