INNOVATIVE SHIPBUILDING SOLUTION

UNIQUE PLAN KEEPS COSTS DOWN TO SUPPORT UK SHIPBUILDING

When our client, the Wight Shipyard Company, needed a Twin City Liner catamaran moved on the Isle of Wight, we were asked to come up with a plan. This seemed like a simple project, but because these vessels weigh up to 112 tonnes, they need lifting with more-capable cranes. This gave us something of a challenge.

Instead of shipping cranes out on our own barges, we came up with a different plan that kept the project’s costs down for our client. We used the Isle of Wight ferry.

At first glance, this isn’t possible. The ferry can’t handle the combined weight of an LTM1800 and LG1550. But with some lateral thinking, we came up with an engineered solution that involved dismantling our equipment down.

THE SOLUTION: BREAKING DOWN OUR CRANES 

• To lift the first catamaran – a 112te Red Jet 7 – we stripped both cranes down to their basic parts, allocated extra support vehicles, and then shipped everything over to the Isle of Wight.
• Our LTM1800 and the LG1550, their supporting kit, our teams and a number of Self Propelled Modular Transporters were all sent over to the Isle of Wight using the standard passenger ferry.
• Once on the island, we rebuilt everything. This meant we could carry then out a basic tandem lift, lifting each boat from its cradle into the water.
• The second catamaran – weighing in at 72te – was designed with different lift-location points, so an identical lift wasn’t possible  Working with the lifting beam manufacturer, we came up with a bespoke plan that meant the lift be carried out by a single crane.

MARINE BACKGROUND, UNIQUE SOLUTIONS

With our marine background, we knew we had the ideal combination of expertise and equipment. Osprey has some of the UK’s most capable cranes, the right rigging and haulage partners, and the trained crews – but this was an unusual project.

We solved the problem by asking if there was ‘a better way’ to engineer the transport solution. That’s how we approach every job, getting involved as soon as we can to find the right options that will meet our clients’ needs.