BELOW THE BOOM Ӏ SECTOR REPORT
Modulift’s MOD
250 Spreader Beam unloading monopiles in Colombia
types, new generations of rotor blades can be mounted at any time without retrofitting or even replacing the crossbeam. This investment security is unique."
LIFTING BEAM DEMAND Companies from the spreader and lifting beam sector are also expanding into the renewables sector. UK manufacturer Modulift, for example, says the rise in renewable energy sources has accelerated demand for its spreader beams to aid lift turbines, towers and monopiles at onshore and offshore windfarms worldwide. An interesting example of this comes from global ship operator
G2 Ocean which deployed a Modulift spreader beam to Colombia for the lift of a 63mt Nordex wind tower. Colombia provides good conditions for wind power generation, with wind forces of around 9m/s. G2 Ocean assembled a MOD 250 Spreader Beam on-site in the north of Colombia, the location of most wind farms in the country due to the position off the Caribbean coast. The cylindrical Nordex TS105 wind tower sections were successfully lifted from the Star Lysefjord vessel to Puerto Brisa, a small cargo terminal in the north. “Conditions at the port
were challenging,” said Richard Stannard, senior equipment manager at G2 Ocean “The remote location and lack of infrastructure at the port raised concerns about how we could safely lift and unload the tower sections. We were also working to a tight deadline, so time was of the essence. “The nearest port was Santa
Modulift’s new, lighter trunnion spreader beam
Marta but, due to issues with road transport from the port to the project site – largely clearance issues under bridges, we had to rethink how to get the tower sections to the site. Puerto Brisa was the next option but as it is a coal loading facility there were no
cranes available at the terminal.” To overcome this, the cranes
on-board the ship were used to carry out the lift. The cylindrical Nordex TS105
tower sections measured 36 metres in length, with a 4.3m diameter and weight of approximately 63t. Stannard said, “The heavier
sections were loaded further forward on the deck and unloaded using the ship’s cranes in tandem. However, the upper sections could only be reached with one crane, which was achieved using a single 75t crane.”
An additional challenge was low
headroom, so the rigging had to be as short as possible. Stannard continued, “There were limitations on the allowable sling angle at the load. We needed a 45-degree angle on the slings above the spreader beam.” Taking this into account, the MOD250 was rigged at 18 metres, with a SWL of 91mt and 45-degree sling angle. Using a modular spreader beam also sped up the turnaround time – with the longest strut at only six metres and total component weight of 4t, G2 Ocean were able to airfreight the beam to Colombia, transport it by road and easily assemble it on-site. Modulift has also just launched a revamped version of its range of
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