June 14 - FG International Holland BV says its Single Pole Lifter (SPL) was very useful for Willt
While the jack-up in question has two sizeable deck cranes, neither could reach the enclosed area where the gearboxes are located.
Rather than place a huge land-based crane on the quayside, FG built, supplied and operated a flexible temporary lifting construction - SPL50, designed around the accessibility problem and the strong points of the platform.
Thanks to the combined efforts of Willtéco and FG, the five weeks that were planned to complete the work was actually cut to three.
FG says that the SPL50 can be applied on every type of jack-up, or other construction, where a limited surface area and/or insufficient crane capacity needs to be overcome.
Several jack-up drilling companies and classification societies have already shown a keen interest in the system, recognising the importance of maintaining gearboxes in the aging jack-up fleet.
