Rolls-Royce to fit first hybrid subsea crane on CBO vessel

Rolls-Royce has been chosen by Brazilian ship owning company CBO to equip an existing offshore platform supply vessel (PSV) with a new patented dual draglink (DDC) subsea crane.

Namely, this will be the first installation of a subsea crane designed to be able to use either fiber or steel wire rope.

Rolls-Royce said that the hybrid crane would be installed on the CBO Manoella, currently being retrofitted from PSV into an ROV support vessel.

The active heave compensated crane is designed for continuous operation in a tough and corrosive offshore environment with a focus on efficient and safe load handling, the company added.

Marcelo Martins, CBO’s technical director, said: “This is one of two vessels CBO is now retrofitting from PSVs to RSVs, and we are very satisfied with the flexibility of the crane from Rolls-Royce. A hybrid solution, with the use of either fiber or wire, makes the vessel better prepared to take on a larger variety of future subsea tasks.”

The crane to be installed on CBO Manoella is a dual draglink crane with a lifting capacity of up to 50 tonnes and an operating depth of up to 3,000 meters. It will be equipped with wire rope when it embarks on its first subsea assignment off the coast of Brazil.

According to Rolls-Royce, the possibility of changing to fiber rope provides flexibility due to the low weight of the fiber rope. As a consequence, the vessel’s deck load capacity can be increased by approximately 100 tonnes. Another benefit of using a low weight fiber rope instead of steel wire is increased lifting capacity at large depths, the company further stated.

The cable tractions control unit (CTCU) forms the crane winch and is located at the crane’s main boom. This solution saves space compared to a solution where the CTCU unit is mounted below deck.

CBO Manoella is 76.7 meters long, 17 meters wide, and has a gross tonnage of 2,668 tonnes. It is of Rolls-Royce UT 715 L design and first went into service in 2009. The vessel is part of CBO’s current fleet of total 27 offshore vessels, 14 of which are UT-designs from Rolls-Royce.

Gary Nutter, Rolls-Royce director of marine products, said: “We are very happy to be able to continue our close cooperation with CBO by retrofitting one of our previous designs. This project is a great example of how offshore ship owners are adapting to a new reality with the use of new technology.”

The delivery from Rolls-Royce will take place in the third quarter of 2017. It comprises a complete DDC crane system including the CTCU, cabin, and control system.