Ship of the Day brings us the Saipem 7000;
Today’s SotD is world’s second largest crane vessel Saipem 7000 (IMO: 8501567, Port of Registry: Nassau, Bahama’s) with a lifting capacity of 2 x 7,000 tonnes. Only Heerema’s Thialf is larger with its lifting capacity of 2 x 7,100 tonnes, however the crane radius of Saipem 7000 grant a lifting capability of 14000 t at 42 meters while Thialf can only lift 14200 at 31.2 meters; for this reason, the Saipem 7000 retains the world lifting records. The Saipem 7000 is 198 metres long, has a free deck area of 9,000 sq. m. and a transit speed of 9.5 knots. The vessel is equipped with 10 azimuth thrusters for exact manoeuvring.
