Saipem 7000 and Thialf

[Magnus]

Since I am anyway for the moment into big things (except for the Mini then ;) ) I thought I would tell you something about these two cranes aswell. Btw i always wonder why they do not make programs about machinery like this on Discovery and likes. Hmm...
Saipem:
Length: 198 m
Breadth: 87 m
Depth to main deck: 45 m
Transit draft: 10.5 m
Operational draft: 27.5 m
Main blocks tandem lift: 14,000 t (at 43 meter radius...)
Aux.1 block: 2,500 t revolving at 74 m rad.
Aux. 2 block: 900 t revolving at 115 m rad.
It actually lifts 900 mt at 115 meters radius!!!
The crane naturally have everything when it comes to equipment and it also accomodation for over 805 pps. A friend of mine stayed on it for a week while he waited for them to finish the gas platform he is now working on in the North sea. each crane is fitted with an engine of 15600 hp. The booms reaches almost 200 meters up.
the crane also come swith a cinema and a hospital. Since a few years back there is zero tolerance to alcohol in this industry so unfortunetaly there is no proper bar :) Everythin in these machines is about redundance, redundance and redundance. they have several packups for every critical system.
The Saipem have the world record for heavy lifting today with 12150 mt, allthough the Thialf is rated at 200 mt more.
The Thialf is a few meters longer, and a little wider.
I would like to rent one, since it would be really cool, but as far as I recall the bill is intimidating, so I guess I have to stick with my little 35 tonner...
Very fascinating though me thinks :D

[airshifter]

That's huge!

I recently saw one of the newest Marine Travelifts on a Discovery show, though the show had a number of other things. I think it was one of the "Worlds Biggest" type shows. I remembered your liking of cranes when I watched it.

They now have mobile lifts in the 1,000 ton range.


http://www.marinetravelift.com/images/products/lg/AlaskaLaunch4.jpg

[Magnus]

Yeah, i would like to have one of those, makes boat handling sooo much easier than with mobile cranes!

[leopard]

I think movable crane have waay better flexibility.

While movable crane can roll on and off the object from and to wherever desired space available, wondering how far that marine travelift coverage can reach? :)

[leopard]

Heavy lift ship i think a lift equipped vessel that offers feature to the more efficiency to speedy self loading and unloading cargo, would be more useful in emergency status compelling vessel docking at inadequately equipped ports or somewhere mobile crane is unavailable.

It have capacity to enable lifting another ship or acting as offshore cranes to put something underwater that ordinary vessel and land crane cannot perform the jobs.

[Magnus]

As you probably know Lepslep, these cranes(saipem and likes) are used in the oil- and gasindustry for building platforms and laying pipes. Sometimes they are used also for other projects, but they are so extremely expensive that it is seldom done.

[leopard]

Yep Manus, in case the underwater pipes project lies in deep ocean, it must operate such crane. But to dredge mud from shallowing river the crane only need a raft.

[Magnus]

But they do not operate the cranes when laying pipes, instead they use a pipe-layin system called J-lay, if my memory doesn´t fail me.
When it comes to dredging that is a different industry, and has nothing to do with Saipem oc Thialf.

[leopard]

How the J-lay concept works, doesn't it involve heavy equipments?

yeah, dredging mud only needs excavator.

[Magnus]

Yes it is rather heavy aswell... I think it weighs in at around 3000 mt, but they need not to use the cranes, except maybe for lifting storage of and onboard the ship. Lifting pipes seems somewhat overkill...

I have not seen how this particular equipment works, but normally it is like a huge welding station in which you insert pipes at one end, and join them togeteher at the other, at the same time the ship is pulling itself forward by the help of anchors. Since this system is developed for very big depths i guess they have abandoned the anchorsystem and uses some computerised controlsystem instead which coordinates the forces from the different AZ-pods inorder to move the vessel forward very slowly while the pipes are being welded.

They continuously measure the strain in the pipes, probably by measuring the resistance of the tube. It is the same system as most load indicators on cranes etc. where you measure the resistanne ove a short piece of metal. Naturally buckling the pipes is not what you get payed for...

Saipem was recently involved in laying pipelines in the Black sea, at big depth.

[airshifter]

I think movable crane have waay better flexibility.

While movable crane can roll on and off the object from and to wherever desired space available, wondering how far that marine travelift coverage can reach? :)

Vastly different machines, but really both are use designed for specific types of needs. Most cranes need more flexibility in their use in areas of reach and lift, with the driven platform adequate to support the lifts with maximum mobility they can design.

Marine lifts are much less flexible and designed for a very specific task, but also incredible machines. They can quickly do tasks that would require a lot of rigging on a conventional crane, and place the lifted vessels in very close proximity to each other once on the ground.