New large offshore cranes from Huisman

Huisman, a specialist in lifting, drilling and subsea solutions based in the Netherlands, has introduced a new series of large offshore cranes.

The new 600 and 900 tonne capacity AHC Subsea Crane models, are based on the 200/400 tonne offshore mast crane.

The main hoist of the new cranes will be outfitted with either a 300 or 450 tonne traction winch. A storage winch will be located in the hold of the vessel to keep the centre of gravity as low as possible. This winch can either store 200, 400 or 600 metres of wire rope. The wire rope can be reeved into two falls to achieve the maximum capacity, the company said. In addition, Huisman has also developed an anti-twist device to lower the risk of twisting of lower block and wire rope during subsea lifts.

Heave compensation on the main hoist is achieved by using a combined active and passive system, a company spokesperson added. The system increases the weather window and performance at lower power consumption.

Huisman has already received two orders for the new models. DOF Subsea, Norway, has ordered a 900 tonne AHC subsea crane for the VARD (formerly STX OSV) shipyard in Norway. The crane will be installed on a 161 metre offshore subsea construction vessel (OSCV). A second order, made by Subsea 7, was for a 600 tonne AHC subsea crane. The crane will be installed on a new 160 m DP3 heavy construction and flexible pipelay vessel, which is being built by Korean shipyard Hyundai Heavy Industries (HHI).