Huisman said its reliable and environmentally-friendly drive system provides control over crane and load movements, with low noise levels, reduced maintenance and no risk of oil spills. A real-time heave compensation and shock absorbing system further increases the operational weather window for safe and accurate installation of subsea infrastructure components.
Due to the crane’s ‘innovative’ design, the main and knuckle boom have a low construction weight, meaning the crane almost matches the load curves of a pedestal crane with a fixed boom. With the knuckle boom in an extended position the crane offers a high lifting height with full lifting capacity, which is normally only available with a fixed boom.
In addition, the hybrid boom design features a low suspension point and reduction of load swing – features that have made the knuckle boom crane one of the most popular tools for offshore and subsea construction activities.
In the coming weeks, the crane will undergo an intensive factory acceptance testing programme at the production facility in Zhangzhou, China., after which it will be shipped to Hyundai Heavy Industries in South Korea and then installed, commissioned and tested on board Subsea 7’s Seven Arctic.