Crane Tip Replacement - L7P Platform, North Sea

Project preparation 

The project preparation took quite some time. The crane boom tip was still in its original package at the Total yard in Den Helder. It was loaded onto a supply vessel and sea-fastened to make offshore lifting feasible. The new boom section needed protection during transport and the initial stages of the offshore lift.

The Conbit crew for this project includes a supervisor, riggers with rope access skills, and qualified bolting technicians. All team members were certified and well-prepared to deliver the best results.

Project steps

After the load out onto the supply vessel, the team completed the following steps:

▪ Erected load-bearing scaffold

▪ Created access points for bolting and reeving

▪ NDT (Non-Destructive Testing) Inspection of lifting eyes of existing tip

▪ Lifted the new crane boom tip on the deck of L7P

▪ Disconnected the existing crane boom tip and lift to the main deck

▪ Lifted the new crane boom tip and connected the bolts by torquing

▪ Installed the lifting and luffing lines

▪ Commissioned and load tested the new crane boom

The new crane boom tip arrived at the platform with the supply vessel. It was loaded onto the main deck by the platform crane. Besides the new flare tip, the crew also cleared the space to position the existing crane boom tip. They used the platform crane to perform the actual lifting. It had sufficient reach to lift the L7P6 crane boom tip from the supply vessel onto the deck and from the deck to its final position.

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