May 28 - Customised heavy lifting equipment manufacturer Modulift has designed and developed the world's highest capacity single point lifting beam.
Modulift worked with client Harland and Wolff (H&W) to optimise the single point lifting capacity of its Samson gantry crane and broke two world records in the process, claimed the company.
The ability to lift 700 tonnes from one lifting point was required to move the steel structure jacket section of an oilrig.
The project began in 2010 when Modulift supplied the first tandem lifting beam to H&W, which was used to join two gantry crane hooks resulting in a load capacity of 500 tonnes. Four years later the original beam was being hooked up alongside an additional custom-made Modulift tandem lifting beam, which brought the third gantry crane hook into play to achieve the target lift of 700 tonnes.
The configuration was tested using 22 water filled bags and in doing so achieved a world record in heavy lifting capacities for non-fixed lifting beams, claimed Modulift.
"As far as we are aware, this is the heaviest capacity non-fixed lifting beam in existence," said Modulift's operations director and head of engineering Sue Caples, adding that it was a unique challenge for the Modulift engineering team to design a lifting beam that could link up with an existing beam structure.
"Modulift also provided the slings and an 800 tonne 8 m spreader beam to carry the two lines of water bags for the proof load test. We are very pleased to have been involved in this milestone project, and be party to the world record water bag test carried out by Seaflex," she added.
