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MARINE & OFFSHORE ENGINEERING
semi-submersibles such as Thunder Horse and Atlantis, or
an open truss type deck similar to Na Kika. A deck box has
the benefits of additional stability reserve (a vital measure of
last resort in offshore column flooding mishaps), minimises
equipment damage from wave run-up during storms, and adds
structural strength.
Figure 8: HVS artistic rendering with deck box.
CONCLUSION
Compared with conventional semi-submersibles, Technip’s
new HVS semi design is a far superior, riser-friendly floater.
With significantly improved hull motions, riser fatigue life and
riser strength characteristics are greatly improved. And, equally
important, the HVS design is a more cost-effective and safer
solution. Whilst the HVS semi incorporates a novel hull shape, the
simplicity of the hull design translates into minimum innovation
risk and it is still inherently a semi-submersible and, therefore,
the barriers to market entry/first application are expected to be
much lower than for a completely new radical design. Many of
the design benefits, such as improved riser fatigue life in strong
persistent current environments and reduced infrastructure
requirements for construction, are particularly beneficial when
considering application to a Southeast Asia platform.
(This article is based on a paper authored by Qi Xu and Jim
Ermon, from Technip, and presented at the OFFSHORE ASIA 2012
Conference.
Organised by PennWell Corporation, OFFSHORE ASIA 2012, the
7th annual Offshore Asia Conference & Exhibition, was held at the
Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, from 21
to 23 February 2012).
Two specially-adapted
Potain MD 1100s working at
Indian shipyard
Indian engineering and manufacturing giant Larsen & Toubro
(L&T) is using two Potain MD1100 special application
cranes at its new shipbuilding facility near Chennai in India.
The customised cranes were built to L&T’s specifications
and designed by Manitowoc’s special application cranes
team. They have capacities of 32 t and 40 t.
The Kattapalli Shipyard, located near Ennore Port, is the
second facility for L&T’s shipbuilding division. It is designed
to handle both newbuild work and ship repair. Production
at the yard is designed around the flow of the shipbuilding
process, from the plate preparation shop to the plate
forming shop, panel preparation shop, assembly shops, and
finally, blasting and painting shops. When work is complete,
vessels are docked, undocked and launched at the
shipyard’s special shiplift facility.The two Potain MD1100s
are installed on the jetty and are used to handle loads for
both ship repair and construction.
When specifying the requirements of the cranes at the
yard, L&T was impressed with Manitowoc’s ability to meet
all of its needs in terms of capacity and size of the footprint.
The Potain MD1100 is a modular product and is available
in different capacity classes, depending on customer needs.
The 40 t capacity MD1100 is said to be the first crane of
its size in India to be mounted on a 12 m x 10 m chassis.
It is also the first MD1100 in India outfitted with a 70 m
jib. Another unique feature of the two MD 1100 cranes in
India is that they are the first two erected in the country
without climbing cages for the masts - working heights are
fixed at 47.2 m and 46.2 m.
According to L&T, despite the specialised design of the
cranes, erecting them at the shipyard was smooth. Each
step ran easily, and every component came with detailed
instructions that made for a smooth and hassle-free erection.
A Potain MD1100 special application crane, from Manitowoc, at L&T’s
new shipbuilding facility near Chennai, India.
October 2012 THE SINGAPORE ENGINEER
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