VIDEO: Time-Lapse Of JLS Beam Installation On Pioneering Spirit

Offshore contractor Allseas has released a video of the jacket lift system main beams being installed on its massive heavy lift, decommissioning, and construction vessel, the Pioneering Spirit.

Allseas said that two and a half years after the first steel was cut, the two colossus jacket lift system (JLS) main beams were placed in position on Pioneering Spirit’s main deck.

Using a combination of SPMT arrangements and skidding systems, one by one, the structures were aligned and driven forward onto the aft deck. The final move-in of the last few meters, to position the main hinges between the hang-off frames, was a meticulous task with only millimeters of clearance on either side of the 13-meter-wide beams. In a time-lapse video, you can see the installation of the beams.

Allseas added that the most critical phase in the entire procedure was aligning the four hang-off eyes with the beam’s two main hinges to insert the 1.3-meter diameter hinge pins.

“To perform this operation, the beams were placed on the same skid system that was used to position the New Safe Confinement dome over the fourth Chernobyl reactor two years ago,” explains Florian Wasser, Manager of capital projects at Allseas. “With the ability to manipulate the position of thousands of tons within tens of millimeters, the pins went in accurately and smoothly.

“It was in this very moment that the design, fabrication, and quality control of parts made and assembled across South Korea, China, Austria, Italy, Poland, the USA, and the Netherlands all checked out within microns of millimeters,” he added.

Allseas emphasized the assistance of Mammoet and its crew and office which all participated in completing the operation within half the foreseen time.

In addition to the beams, many other systems and components manufactured across the globe were finalized over the past few months. These include the ballast box frame by Carope in China, the main hoist blocks by Asturfeito in Spain, and the grillages by Remazel in Italy – all of which are on their way to Rotterdam. Delivery of these items kicks off the final installation phase onboard Pioneering Spirit.

To contact the author, email bojan.lepic@rigzone.com