Smit Transport & Heavy Lift is tearing apart two of its floating sheerlegs to create a new lifting flagship, the Taklift 10.
The 3,000t-capacity unit has been designed for for heavy lifts scheduled for the Terra Nova floating production, storage and offload (FPSO) platform off the coast of Newfoundland, Canada. A series of 18 lifts is scheduled for a two-week period next December, with loads of up to 2,300t.
Taklift 10 is formed from the pontoon of Taklift 8 and part of the lifting mechanism of Taklift 9, both of which saw action on the Storebælt bridge in Denmark. Taklift 8 installed caissons and lower pier sections; Taklift 9 lifted bridge girders into place.
The Taklift 8 pontoon will be enlarged by a longitudinal cut at midships and addition of a new section to make it 96m long and 41.5m broad.
Taklift 10’s lifting system will consist of an A-frame, 72m long and 65m high, with a 40m flyjib converted from Taklift 9’s bridge-mounted lifting system. With the fly-jib it will lift 1,600t at a height of 105m.
The Terra Nova will be the first FPSO to be deployed off Canada’s shore. It is being built by Daewoo in Korea and will arrive at Bull Arm, Newfoundland in early December 1999 for fitting out. Production is scheduled to begin in July 2000.
The initial concept for Taklift 10 was developed by a joint Smit Transport & Heavy Lift and Smit Engineering project team. Design consultants Vuyk and De Boer are working on detailed engineering development of the vessel and lifting system respectively. Tenders for the conversion work were invited in November.
“Our decision to proceed with Taklift 10 reflects a market need for greater lift capacity, to handle ever larger and heavier modules,” said Smit Transport & Heavy Lift sales manager Sander Korte. “Taklift 10’s capacity offers lifting solutions that save outfitting, hook-up and commissioning time.” Korte added: “Beyond the offshore market, Taklift 10 has a valuable role to play in expanding our activities in the global civil construction market – in sectors such as bridge-building. Taklift 10 is a highly flexible heavy lift system. The A-frame, for example, can be positioned at three locations: bow, 31m from bow and 55m from bow, according to the requirement for free deck space and the need to carry modules and other heavy items.”
