MacGregor’s three-axis motion compensated offshore crane has won the Offshore Support Journal’s (OSJ) Innovation of the Year award.
The news, announced at OSJ’s fifth Annual Offshore Support Journal Conference and Awards event in London, UK, was presented to MacGregor’s Offshore Advanced Load Handling team in front of an audience of over 500 people at the conference’s gala dinner.
The award is given for a product, system or service which is judged to have made the most significant impact on the design, build and/or operational aspects of offshore support vessels.
“In 2012 we also received the OSJ Innovation of the Year award; on that occasion it was for our Chain Wheel Manipulator,” said Tom Svennevig, Vice President, Advanced Load Handling. “Winning it for a second time is especially remarkable, particularly in the face of such notable competition from the shortlist of nominees in the category.”
This crane is a first-of-its-kind, not just for MacGregor, but for the offshore industry as a whole. MacGregor was approached by Siem Offshore to develop an innovative type of crane for its newbuild infield support vessel Siem Moxie.
The crane will be delivered to Siem Offshore in March 2014. The vessel will operate in the offshore renewable energy markets, carrying out installations, repairs, maintenance and general service duties. One specific task for Siem Moxie will be to transfer containers of tools and equipment to the top of offshore windmill foundations.
MacGregor’s three-axis motion compensated crane employs new technology that compensates for vessel movements in the horizontal plane (pitch and roll) in addition to heave compensation in the vertical plane.
Compensating for the horizontal motions ensure that the crane’s pedestal remains vertical in relation to the seabed, so that it will always be parallel to the windmill structure, allowing the crane to perform extremely accurate load positioning operations.
Press Release, March 3, 2014
