Design
The hull consisted of two floaters with three columns each. The transit draught of 12 meters was normally ballasted down to 25 meters for lifting operations; at that load, the floaters (with a draught of 12 meters) were well-submerged, reducing the effect of waves and swell.
Propulsion was by two controllable pitch propellers and two forward, retractable, controllable pitch thrusters. The helicopter deck was capable of sustaining a Sikorsky 61-N. Up to 336 people could be supported in the air conditioned living quarters.
Cranes
The Hermod had two cranes at the stern. Originally the starboard-side crane was rated at 3,000 short tons (2,700 t) and the port-side at 2,000 short tons (1,800 t). [4] In 1984, the lifting capacities were upgraded to 5,000 and 4,000 short tons (4,500 and 3,600 t) respectively. [1] The main hoist could lift 92 m (302 ft) above the work deck. The auxiliary hoists could lower to a depth of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft) below the work deck. A tandem lift using the main hoists could lift 9,000 short tons (8,200 t) at a 39 m (128 ft) radius.
Blue Marlin and her sister ship MV Black Marlin comprise the Marlin class of semisubmersible heavy-lift ships operated by Dockwise Shipping of the Netherlands. Designed to transport very large, semisubmersible drilling rigs above the transport ship's deck, it is equipped with 38 cabins to accommodate 60 people, a workout room, sauna and swimming facilities, and a secure citadel for protection against pirate attacks.
A crane is a type of machine, generally equipped with a hoist rope, wire ropes or chains, and sheaves, that can be used both to lift and lower materials and to move them horizontally. It is mainly used for lifting heavy things and transporting them to other places. The device uses one or more simple machines to create mechanical advantage and thus move loads beyond the normal capability of a human. Cranes are commonly employed in transportation for the loading and unloading of freight, in construction for the movement of materials, and in manufacturing for the assembling of heavy equipment.
A semi-submersible platform is a specialised marine vessel used in offshore roles including as offshore drilling rigs, safety vessels, oil production platforms, and heavy lift cranes. They have good ship stability and seakeeping, better than drillships.
Mighty Servant 2 was a 29,000-ton semi-submersible, heavy-lift ship operated by Dockwise. The ship drew worldwide attention in 1988 for transporting the mine-damaged USS Samuel B. Roberts from Dubai to Newport, Rhode Island.
The Saipem 7000 is the world's third largest semi-submersible crane vessel, after the SSCV Sleipnir and the SSCV Thialf. It is owned by the oil and gas industry contractor Saipem S.p.A.
The lighter aboard ship (LASH) system refers to the practice of loading barges (lighters) aboard a bigger vessel for transport. It was developed in response to a need to transport lighters, a type of unpowered barge, between inland waterways separated by open seas. Lighters are typically towed or pushed around harbors, canals or rivers and cannot be relocated under their own power. The carrier ships are known variously as LASH carriers, barge carriers, kangaroo ships or lighter transport ships.
The SSCV Thialf is a semi-submersible crane vessel operated by Heerema Marine Contractors, and it was the largest crane vessel in the world until the SSCV Sleipnir became the largest in 2019.
DCV Balder is a deepwater construction vessel (DCV) operated by Heerema Marine Contractors.
A crane vessel, crane ship or floating crane is a ship with a crane specialized in lifting heavy loads. The largest crane vessels are used for offshore construction. Conventional monohulls are used, but the largest crane vessels are often catamaran or semi-submersible types as they have increased stability. On a sheerleg crane, the crane is fixed and cannot rotate, and the vessel therefore is manoeuvered to place loads.
Mighty Servant 3 is a 27,000-ton semi-submersible heavy lift ship. Its deck is 40 by 140 m. The vessel was built in 1984 by Oshima Shipbuilding Co. Ltd. in Ōshima, Japan, for Dutch shipping firm Wijsmuller Transport, which merged in 1993 with Dock Express Shipping to become Breda-based offshore heavy lifting group Dockwise Shipping B.V.
Pioneering Spirit is a catamaran crane vessel owned by the Switzerland-based Allseas Group designed for the single-lift installation and removal of large oil and gas platforms and the installation of record-weight pipelines. The 382-metre-long (1,253 ft), 124-metre-wide (407 ft) vessel is the world's largest vessel by gross tonnage and was built in South Korea by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering at a cost of €2.6 billion. It commenced offshore operations in August 2016.
A heavy-lift ship is a vessel designed to move very large loads that cannot be handled by normal ships. They are of two types:
Taisun is the name of the world's strongest crane which has a safe working load of 20,000 metric tons. Taisun is designed by DHHI and built for the installation of very large modules in semi submersibles and FPSO projects. It is located at Yantai Raffles Shipyard in Yantai, Shandong Province, China. The crane holds the three heaviest lifts of all time: 20,133 metric tons, 17,100 tons and 14,000 tons.
Heerema Marine Contractors (HMC) is a contractor headquartered in the Netherlands most notable for operation of three of the largest crane vessels in the offshore industry.
MV Target is a semi-submersible heavy transport ship, built by Brodosplit in Yugoslavia.
Dockwise was a Netherlands-based holding company in the marine transport industry. It was acquired by Boskalis in 2013 and was merged into the Boskalis brand name in 2018.
DCV Aegir is a Deep Water Construction Vessel owned by Heerema Marine Contractors and was christened during a festive ceremony in September 2013.
BOKA Vanguard is a semisubmersible heavy-lift ship owned and operated by Dockwise B.V. Dockwise Vanguard is the largest vessel of her type ever built, and is able to carry cargoes up to 110,000 tonnes. Dockwise Vanguard was designed to move offshore oil and gas facilities, but can also carry other ships and act as an offshore dry-dock facility.
MS Combi Dock III is a semi-submersible heavy-lift ship, a specialized cargo vessel of Harren & Partner, Bremen. The vessel belongs to the Combi Dock Type and has a sister ship Combi Dock I, both vessels were built by Lloyd Werft Bremerhaven, Germany in 2008-2009 after the hulls had been completed by Christ S.A., Gdansk.
SSCV Sleipnir is a semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) owned and operated by Heerema Marine Contractors. It is named for Sleipnir, the eight-legged horse ridden by Odin in Norse mythology. The vessel is equipped with two revolving cranes built by Huisman Equipment B.V., each with a capacity of 10,000 t ; the main cranes can be operated in tandem to jointly lift 20,000 t. It was ordered in 2015 and built in Singapore by Sembcorp Marine. After its completion in 2019, SSCV Sleipnir succeeded Heerema's earlier SSCV Thialf as the largest crane vessel in the world.
