Challenge

Fred Olsen's installation vessels must constantly stay at the forefront of the development of offshore wind turbines, which are continuously increasing in size to generate more power. Therefore, the jack-up vessel Blue Tern needs to undergo an upgrade with an extension of the crane boom.

One of the major challenges of such an operation is effectively managing the numerous interdependent activities, which are often highly complex and must be completed within a tight timeframe.

Solution

The entire crane arm, weighing 220 tons, is removed from the crane and lowered down for disassembly into smaller sections. A 65-meter section weighing 100 tons is transported to the workshop facility at the repair shipyard Fayard to provide optimal working conditions for extending the crane boom.

Subsequently, the extended crane boom is transported back to the vessel, welded together with the rest of the crane arm, and hoisted aboard. Liebherr completes the crane installation on board the ship and equips it for load testing and subsequent departure from Odense Port.

Result

The crane's boom was extended by an additional section of 12 meters section, giving a total boom length of 108 meters. This enables Blue Tern to fulfil the requirements for larger wind turbine components in future installation projects.

The expertise and crane capacity at Fayard, along with the facilities and crew at Odense Port, enable the achievement of a highly satisfactory result, with the entire operation completed in just 13 days.

Thanks to meticulous preparation and detailed project planning, the crane extension proceeds smoothly and without delays.