Jacket lift system beams arrive in Rotterdam

The two huge steel beams for Pioneering Spirit’s  new Jacket lift system (JLS) have arrived in Rotterdam after a weeklong tow from the fabrication yard in northern Italy.

Now starts the exciting challenge of installing these 6000-tonne mega steel structures on board Pioneering Spirit. This highly complex operation involves skidding the beams, inch by inch, over the aft deck to a final resting place where they will be aligned and connected with the hang-off frame and upend system.

The contrast between beam size and installation tolerances is incredible – the final alignment requirements of the 170-metre beams is less than 2 millimeters, the width of a paperclip!

Over the next couple of weeks, colleagues from our engineering offices will support the vessel crew to execute the latest milestone in the realisation of this revolutionary new lift system.

Built to install and remove entire jackets up to 20,000 tonnes in a single lift and able to operate in hostile weather conditions, our new technology offers a safer and faster alternative to conventional systems.

Pioneering Spirit – the energy market’s total solution for offshore heavy lift work.