The Netherlands-headquartered BigLift Shipping has transported a 11,700-tonne jack-up platform from Flushing to West Africa using its heavy transport vessel BigLift Barentsz.
The jack-up platform, which had an overall breadth of 75 m and legs measuring 133 m tall, was loaded onto the vessel’s 125 m x 42 m flush deck.
With a short lead-time – only three weeks between signing the contract and starting the loading operations – all design and engineering, procurement and construction was completed by the in-house project team.
For load spreading purposes, 60 cu m of timber used for cribbing was positioned on the deck of BigLift Barentsz.
As the platform waited in the water at the port of Flushing, BigLift Barentsz was partly submerged slowly. Once the vessel had been lined up with the frames of the jack-up platform, the vessel was positioned underneath the structure for it be lowered and secured on the deck.
Both the loading and discharge operations were completed in one day.
