April 20 - Jumbo Shipping's latest ship, Jumbo Jubilee, has completed the loading, transport and discharge of four 700 tonne spud cans from Dubai, UAE to Arendal, Norway.
The spud cans were discharged in single lifts into the water and transhipped onto two tugboats, which brought them to the quay for further handling by Master Marine ASA.
To handle the 700 tonne spud cans, each with a diameter of 21 m and a height of 8 m, Jumbo used a project-specific shackle. While Jumbo's standard onboard lifting gear includes 500 tonne shackles, the new shackle, weighing 1.5 tonnes, can carry loads up to 1,000 tonnes.
The Port of Arendal is half open to sea and, while there was barely any swell, there was a current, sometimes as strong as 2 knots.
To keep the cans in control, mooring winches were installed at the side of the Jumbo Jubilee. With these winches, the cans were kept in the correct position during overboarding and after discharge in the water.
After final adaptations by Master Marine, the add-on spud cans will be put on the seabed in approximately 25 m water depth off the Norwegian shore where they will be used as a foundation for a jack-up platform.
Keen watchers of heavy lift activity will be pleased to hear that a short video is available at Jumbo's You Tube channel. Click on: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s5dsnE3TE_w or go to:http://www.youtube.com/user/jumboheavylift
