Jan De Nul and crane provider Huisman have developed a new tool that will be integrated within the heavy lifting equipment on the offshore wind contractor’s Les Alizes and Voltaire vessels.
Huisman, which secured an order last year to supply cranes for the vessels, has designed a new type of connector for the hoisting equipment with input from Jan De Nul Group’s operational and engineering team.
The Universal Quick Connector (UQC) is a “smart, modular and robust clamp” mounted inside the crane’s lower block.
It allows lifting of objects through a direct connection, without rigging, and is hands-free.
Huisman chief technology officer Henk Weterings said: “We are delighted to have Jan De Nul Group as launching customer for our UQC tool.
“By refining this concept with the operational and procedural expertise of Jan De Nul’s engineering teams, we have created an integrated tool which will increase safety and workability on board. We envision that this tool will be the first of many in the offshore lifting industry.”
The tool’s automated process “creates a safe environment in which the personnel’s safety is not compromised,” said Huisman, as opposed to manually assisted de-rigging.
The UQC is fitted with an active rotation device increasing operational control when attaching the load.
It allows rotation of the load to finetune its orientation without additional taglines, enabling accurate positioning of heavy components as well as wind turbine components with strict bolt pattern tolerances.