The Saipem 7000 pictured arriving at Damen Verolme Rotterdam in 2018. Photo: Damen
A video of Thursday’s lifting accident on board the Saipem 7000 heavy lift crane vessel has made it onto the web, revealing what appears to be a wire failure that caused one of the crane’s main blocks to crash down onto the load.
As we reported, the Saipem 7000 listed heavily after what was described as a lifting accident in a Norwegian fjord near Stavanger. No injuries were reported and the crane vessel was righted afterwards, but a barge it was lifting capsized and could be seen overturned in the water next to the vessel.
An update from Saipem has now shed some light on the incident, revealing that the lift was part of a main crane load test for classification society DNV:
“After having completed DP trials as per DNV testing program, Saipem 7000 was performing the planned 5 years main cranes load test, under the attendance of Classification Authority.
“Further to a preliminary assessment, it would appear that the main block wire broke during the test lifting operation and the testing load (two cargo barges) with the main block were released in the water.
“The unit, after an initial tilting caused by the load release, promptly returned in a stable position and safe condition. A crane assessment is ongoing.“
Footage of the accident can be seen in the videos below:
Here’s the accident from another angle:
Built in 1987, Saipem 7000 is a dynamically-positioned semisubmersible crane vessel operated by Italian offshore contractor Saipem S.p.A. The vessel is one of the most capable ships of its kind in the world, with two twin 7,000 metric tons capacity cranes for tandem lifts up to 14,000 mt.
In 2019, the Saipem 7000 set the Gulf of Mexico lifting record with an 11,100 mt lift of a gas compression topside for a platform in the Ku Maloob Zaap oil field in Mexico’s Bay of Campeche.
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