Safe, motion compensated offshore lifting
Successful testing campaign for the Barge Master
Officially launched in December 2012, Barge Master is an innovative solution to the common problem of sea-induced motions during offshore installation work.
M
artijn Koppert, creator and director of Barge Master, explains how the success of a
test campaign at MARIN paved the way for the start of this pioneering product, which is already being warmly welcomed by the industry as a solution for safe, motion com- pensated offshore lifting. Headquartered in Rotterdam, Barge Master develops and produces wave compensated platforms for the marine and offshore instal- lation industry. The first Barge Master, the S700/C400 can carry a 400mt crane or, alternatively, compensate loads up to 700mt when used as a supply platform. The first Barge Master, BM-001, is now on the mar- ket for commercial use. Barge Master asked MARIN to prove the concept could work by carrying out both scale model tests and numerical modelling.
Martijn Koppert, creator and director of Barge Master
Spending his whole career in marine services and marine construction, Mr Koppert was well aware of the problems of crane loads starting to swing when there is a swell. He drew on his engineering knowledge to for- mulate a possible answer to the problem. “For some time, jack-up barges have been used offshore but these are a fixed and very expensive solution and difficult to mobilise.” “Around five years ago I asked, “Why not solve the problem with hydraulics?” This was the start of Barge Master and his efforts to compensate the motions of the vessel using hydraulics, whilst taking roll, pitch and heave into account.
Huge potential Barge Master teamed up with drive and control company Bosch Rexroth to explore opportunities. The first major issue to be addressed by the partners was to check whether the Barge Master would influence the behaviour of a barge. “We wanted to make sure that it wouldn’t exaggerate vessel motions and we needed to analyse whether the combination of a barge or a crane, plus the Barge Master, could result in a stable platform.” And as well as determining the whole stability of the configuration, Barge Master wanted the tests at MARIN to show people that the
concept worked from the scale model to convince the market and investors of its huge potential. Mr Koppert was already familiar with the work of MARIN because several former col- leagues worked there, so it was a natural choice for the tests. MARIN developed a model scale version of the Barge Master, where the hydraulic system was modelled with electronic motors and an electronic control system. This system mimicked the exact behaviour of the Barge Master’s hydraulics and its controls. The MARIN model facilitated the careful validation and fine-tuning of the Barge Master system. It was an enormous challenge, he admits. Barge Master had to hire the Shallow Water Basin for several days in February 2011. The scale model was tested with suspended loads in various wave periods and headings. Working with MARIN was very easy, he comments. “We are very enthusiastic about MARIN’s performance.” Small project teams from each organisation worked closely together during development. “We speak the same technical language and MARIN has the right spirit! This is also an interesting project for MARIN and the Classification Societies because it is a complete first. Everybody wanted to make it happen.”
Results better than expected Tests with the crane showed that the hook and the load were perfectly still and this was proven in real life during sea trials in the North Sea. The results were even better
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