Temporary Lifting Solution - FPSO Cidade de Marica

Modular lifting for every offshore lifting challenge

SBM offshore (Single Buoy Moorings) sought assistance from Conbit to develop a solution to add temporary lifting capacity on the Cidade de Marica FPSO (Floating, Production, Storage, and Offloading). The temporary lifting capacity was mobilized on the mooring tensioning system to ease the handling and lifting of auxiliary equipment and loose items.

Watch how we prepare and execute

Proposed solution for temporary lifting capacity

Conbit capabilities

Conbit offers unique lifting solutions for offshore lifting challenges. That is why SBM Offshore requested Conbit to supply a lifting system that provides temporary lifting capacity for handling and lifting components on the FPSO Cidade de Maricá.

Cidade de Maricá is a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit. It is located approximately 270 kilometers from the coast, at a water depth of 2,120 meters. For difficult-to-access locations, suitable solutions and equipment are essential for the replacement and maintenance operations to succeed.

Lightweight materials

Conbit has developed a modular lifting system for difficult-to-access locations where regular cranes are inaccessible or are very expensive to mobilize (e.g. a specific location on the FPSO).

Conbit’s system can be used to build a crane at any location, simply assembling the modular components and making it fit for purpose. The main advantage of its lifting system is that it can be manually installed. This enabled customers to install or replace almost any structure or equipment at any location without worrying about getting it into the wrong position.

The Conbit engineers completed the temporary adaptable lifting solution with structural calculations and load tets. They performed load testing in Conbit’s warehouse before packing. The temporary lifting device is a slewing lift boom. Slewing must be operated with tirfors connected to the top of the boom and the existing platform structure.

Lifting was performed using a hydraulic winch and luffing together with a manual chain host. After installing all necessary items by the temporary lifting device, the team disassembled the lifting equipment in the reverse order as it was during the installation.

Light rigging equipment was used for the disassembly. From the lay-down area next to the mooring porch, components of the lifting device and the light rigging equipment were transferred to the main lay-down area using trolleys and pallet trucks.