Seaway 7 ASA says it is too early to determine whether delivery of its new heavy crane installation vessel, Seaway Alfa Lift, will be delayed after the company disclosed an incident with the vessel’s main crane during its construction in China.
The Seaway Alfa Lift is being built by China Merchants Heavy Industry and is scheduled for delivery in 2022. But on Monday, Seaway 7 said an incident involving the vessel’s crane could affect the delivery schedule, although it is too early to say.
“Today we have been informed of an incident involving the folding A-frame of the main crane on the Alfa Lift, currently under construction in China. No personnel have been injured and the unplanned movement of the folding A-frame is currently under investigation,” the company said in a stock exchange update.
The vessel’s HLC 150000 main crane is manufactured by Liebherr in Rostock, Germany. With a maximum lifting capacity of 3,000 tons at 30 meters, the crane is specially designed to install monopiles and jacket foundations for some of the world’s largest offshore wind turbines.
“The incident is a matter between the shipyard and the crane supplier, and it is too early to indicate whether this will have an impact on the vessel’s delivery schedule,” Seaway 7 said in its update.
Designed by Ulstein, the Seaway Alfa Lift is a 48,000 dwt heavy lift transport and installation vessel with dynamic positioning for the offshore wind industry. The design combines the advantages of a semi-submersible vessel with a large capacity main crane, allowing heavy lift operations to be performed with the main deck submerged.
The vessel and crane were initially commissioned by Oslo-based Offshore Heavy Transport (OHT), which recently combined with Subsea 7’s renewables business to create a pure renewables company called Seaway 7.
In 2019, Alfa Lift was awarded a contract to transport and install the foundations for the world’s largest offshore wind farm, the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, with work due in 2022 and 2024.
