July 28 - Certex (UK) has used two modified spreader beams from Modulift's heavy, off-the-shelf range to lift two halves of a helipad in the Dutch sector of the North Sea.
Certex, a supplier of steel wire ropes, lifting products and services to the oil, gas, industrial and renewable markets, designed and supplied the below-the-hook solution for loading the helipad using a 300-tonne capacity crane on board a barge.
The hexagonal helipad, which when fully assembled measures 44 sq m, was lifted from the gas rig in two sections; the heaviest piece weighed 89 tonnes, while the smaller section weighed 35 tonnes.
Certex used a MOD 110H spreader beam at an outreach of 6 m for the heavier section and a MOD 110 at 6.5 m for the smaller section. The former can lift up to 170 tonnes at 11.5 m, while the latter provides 110-tonne capacity at 14 m.
The beams were combined with different rigging equipment, including wire rope slings and shackles, also supplied by Certex, for each lift.
"Pad-eyes were required on the side of the end units so they could be connected to winches on the barge crane to control manoeuvring of the helideck during positioning into place," explained Jason Griffen, technical sales at Certex. "We provided calculations in advance of the project so Modulift could weld the modifications accordingly."
The modifications were required to eliminate the use of guide ropes and the requirement for personnel to work in proximity of the loads as they were landed on the supply vessel, says Modulift.
