ALE, specializing in heavy transport and lifting, completed a nearly 3,000-tonne lift—one of the largest land-based crane lifts ever performed, according to the company—during its contract to lift and install modules for Total’s Egina FPSO module integration project in Nigeria.
ALE was contracted to lift and install six modules from its fabrication yard onto their final positions on the FPSO. The lift weights were between 335 and nearly 3,000 tonnes. For the 3000-tonne lift, the AL.SK350 crane was rigged in its biggest configuration with a 124-m A-frame main boom, a 49-m ballast radius, and a newly developed 38-m heavy duty jib for additional outreach, along with a heavy winch system and a 4,000-tonne ballast. ALE said the jib, which was used for the first time on this project, boosted the crane’s overall lifting capacity and extended the outreach so that it could be strategically positioned to lift from one location.
As the fabrication yard has restricted space, ALE said the configuration helped reduce the overall project schedule.