The SSCV ''Thialf'' is a huge semi-submersible crane vessel operated by

Heerema Marine Contractors Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) is a contractor headquartered in the Netherlands most notable for operation of three of the largest crane vessels in the offshore industry. History Heerema Marine Contractors was formed in 1948 by Pieter Schelte ...

, and it was the largest

crane vessel A crane vessel, crane ship or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction. Conventional monohulls are used, but the largest crane vessels are often catam ...

in the world until the became the largest in 2019.

History

The ship was constructed in 1985 as ''DB-102'' for McDermott International by Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co., Ltd. In 1997, it was taken over by

after discontinuation of their joint venture with McDermott, HeereMac, and renamed ''Thialf''.

Layout

The ''Thialf'' has two cranes with a combined maximum lifting capacity of 14,200 metric tons. It is equipped with a class III

dynamic positioning Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompass ...

system. Propulsion and position keeping is by six 5,500 kW retractable azimuthing thrusters. For shallow waters there are 12 Flipper Delta anchors, 22.5 t, with 2,500 meter, 80 mm mooring wire. The hull consists of two pontoons with four columns each. Transit draught is about 12 metres. For lifting operations it will normally be ballasted down to . This way the pontoons (with a draught of 13.6 metres) are well submerged to reduce the effect of waves and swell. It is able to accommodate 736 people. Lightship weight is 72,484 t.

Noteworthy projects

* Installing the pylon of the

Erasmus Bridge The Erasmusbrug (English: "Erasmus Bridge") is a combined cable-stayed and bascule bridge, construction began in 1986 and was completed in 1996. It crosses the Nieuwe Maas in the centre of Rotterdam, connecting the north and south parts of this ci ...

in 1995. * Decommissioning of the

Brent Spar Brent Spar, or Brent E, was a North Sea oil storage and tanker loading buoy in the Brent oilfield, operated by Shell UK. With the completion of a pipeline connection to the oil terminal at Sullom Voe in Shetland, the storage facility had cont ...

in 1998. * In 2000 it set a world record of 11,883 t by lifting Shell's Shearwater topsides, beaten by

Saipem 7000 The ''Saipem 7000'' is the world's third largest semi-submersible crane vessel, after the and the . It is owned by the oil and gas industry contractor Saipem S.p.A. Construction The vessel was designed by Gusto Engineering during 1984. The v ...

in 2004 with the Sabratha deck lifting of 12,150 t. * In 2004 it installed the topsides on BP's Holstein, at the time the world's largest

spar SPAR, originally DESPAR, styled as DE SPAR, is a Dutch multinational that provides branding, supplies and support services for independently owned and operated food retail stores. It was founded in the Netherlands in 1932, by Adriaan van Well, ...

. The lift was a record for the Gulf of Mexico: 7,810 t. The current record for Gulf of Mexico is now held by the ''Saipem 7000'' with the 9,521 t of PEMEX PB-KU-A2 deck installed in March 2007. * In 2005 it installed the heaviest single piece foundation piles: 2.74 meters diameter x 190 meters long, weighing 818 t each for Chevron's Benguela Belize compliant tower. * In 2009 the ship became involved in the

Alpha Ventus Alpha Ventus Offshore Wind Park (before renaming known as Borkum West Offshore Wind Park) is Germany's first offshore wind farm. It is situated in the North Sea north of the island of Borkum. History The application for construction of the wi ...

project, the first German

offshore windfarm Offshore wind power or offshore wind energy is the generation of electricity through wind farms in bodies of water, usually at sea. There are higher wind speeds offshore than on land, so offshore farms generate more electricity per amount of c ...

. * 2017-2018: The Thialf was involved in the installation of the platform sections of the Johan Sverdrup Complex—part of the development of the Johan Sverdrup oil field.

Footnotes

External links

Heerema's ''Thialf'' page

Actual position, status, weather and other updates from SSCV Thialf

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thialf, SSCV Ships built by Mitsui Engineering and Shipbuilding Ships of the Netherlands Crane vessels Semi-submersibles 1985 ships