PALFINGER called on stage to present offshore lifting innovation

The International Offshore Crane and Lifting Conference is one of the most important industry events of the year. The 26th edition, which took place in Stavanger, Norway, from the 6th to 7th of June 2023, marked PALFINGER MARINE’s first return to the speech roster since 2017. Cyrielle Gorini-Gonçalves, one of our most talented application engineers, was shown the honor of presenting our almost 10-year development journey to fully electric jib cranes for future remote operation. And she had exciting news to share: the reaching of the technology qualification phase as a major milestone.

PALFINGER MARINE draws inspiration from customers

Every journey starts with an idea. In PALFINGER MARINE’s case these ideas are mostly driven by specific customer needs. So, when we registered a markable uptick in demand for cranes on unmanned installations – paired with an apparent desire for simplified systems that require less maintenance – we put our thinking caps on.

The concept we developed centered on fully electric jib cranes that allow for remote testing and operation from an onshore control location. This offshore lifting innovation features no exposed components, meaning the cranes are capable of withstanding even the harshest environments. Yet as we know, an idea is merely the beginning of a development story.

An idea driven forward by customer feedback

Cyrielle on stage at this year’s Offshore Crane and Lifting Conference in Stavanger, Norway.

“The idea to develop fully electric, remotely controlled jib cranes was born in 2015, during a project involving an offshore crane that was initially meant for onboard lifting only at the Oseberg Vestflanken oil field,” Cyrielle explains.

Three customer studies between 2018 and 2020 propelled development forward and paved the way for the jib crane concept that is, in a major milestone, now subject to technology qualification.

Customer feedback and lessons learned in the field have been major contributors to a development process that is nearing its final stages.

Cyrielle Gorini-Gonçalves, Application Engineer at PALFINGER MARINE

Technology qualification: a milestone explained

For PALFINGER MARINE, the technology qualification marked a major milestone in the ambitious offshore lifting project.

What exactly is technology qualification? Broadly speaking, it is a process that aims to prove that a new technology is capable of functioning reliably and effectively in an operative environment. Naturally, we are also eager to show that our new system offers major advantages for our customers. After the design stage was concluded, the software validated, and the motors and electrical cabinets inspected, the jib crane project entered a dynamic testing phase. This included, among others, full scale tests* with and without wire rope, as well as extensive endurance tests of the crane itself, the brakes, and the batteries.

“We are proud to report that all acceptance criteria were reached, allowing the whole crane system to proceed into the production stage. The success achieved is attributed to the outstanding teamwork internally at PALFINGER MARINE, as well as to the remarkable collaboration between PALFINGER MARINE, Equinor, Aker BP, Aibel, and DNV, with each party making a valuable contribution,” Cyrielle beams.

PALFINGER MARINE was represented at the Offshore Crane and Lifting Conference by highly skilled application enginerring experts. From left: Jan Silgjerd, Cyrielle Gorini-Gonçalves and Radamés Augusto Fonseca Moreira.

The next steps of the development journey

PALFINGER MARINE may be nearing the end of its fully electric jib crane development journey, but we are fully aware that the final steps are crucial for delivering the product and service excellence our customers demand. While we have successfully advanced technology readiness for the single-winch jib crane to level four – meaning it has undergone scale tests – the next step is to finalize the technology qualification plan (TQP) for the dual-winch equivalent in high-risk operation. This is an ongoing process expected to be completed in August 2023. The final step will involve factory acceptance tests (FATs) for all crane versions, as well as the continuation of TQPs for remotely operated cranes.

PALFINGER MARINE is nearing the end of its fully electric jib crane development journey. It is specially designed to reduce risks during offshore lifting operations.

PALFINGER MARINE has always been committed to safety and sustainability. Our fully electric jib crane will not only ensure zero accidents, but also zero energy waste. Yet another project that proves that we can #reachanything together.

We are proud to have been given the opportunity to present this exciting offshore lifting technology to an illustrious and highly interested audience at the International Offshore Crane and Lifting Conference 2023. For further background information about some milestones in the development process of our jib crane, check out the blog post about our attendance at the Field of the Future DemoDay 2019.