MacGregor wins offshore industry award
14 March 2014
MacGregor's three-axis motion compensated offshore crane has won the Offshore Support Journal's (OSJ) Innovation of the Year award.
The award is presented for products, systems or services that have a significant impact on offshore support vessels. This could include product design or operation, a spokesperson said.
The award was presented to MacGregor's Offshore Advanced Load Handling team during the OSJ's fifth Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference and Awards event in London, UK, on 19 February 2014.
MacGregor’s three-axis motion compensated offshore crane was designed for Siem Offshore’s new infield support vessel Siem Moxie. The vessel will be used for carrying out installations, repairs, maintenance and general service in the offshore renewable energy markets. Tasks will also include transferring containers of tools and equipment to the top of offshore windmill foundations, a company spokesperson added.
Tom Svennevig, MacGregor vice president for Advanced Load Handling, said, “It is an honour to receive such a prestigious prize from one of the most reputable forums in the international offshore sector. It is also an important recognition of our capabilities from peers across the offshore industry.”
Baard Alsaker, MacGregor research and development director, Advanced Load Handling, said, “MacGregor's standard active heave compensation technology, supplied though a crane's winch, compensates for a vessel's vertical movement, assuring accurate load handling. When transferring equipment to the top of offshore windmill foundations, which are about 20 metres above the water and only 4 square metres, even more precision is required.”
"As a result, our engineers developed new technology that compensates for vessel movements in the horizontal plane (pitch and roll) as well as in the vertical plane. Compensating for the horizontal motions ensures that the crane's pedestal remains vertical in relation to the seabed, so that it will always be parallel to the windmill structure. Thanks to this three-axis compensation, the crane can perform extremely accurate load positioning operations. The crane can be used for a variety of other purposes, including ship-to-ship operations. It can also be specified for certification for personnel lifts, further enhancing its flexibility,” Alsaker explained.
This is the second OSJ Innovation of the Year award for MacGregor. The first was for Chain Wheel Manipulator.
