ALE tests huge crane ahead of FPSO integration job

ALE Heavy Lift, a UK-based heavy-lift and transportation specialist, is testing what it says it the world’s largest capacity land-based crane, the AL.SK350, ahead of the real work on an FPSO integration.

The testing is being conducted in Brazil, where the crane has been rigged for the first time and successfully load tested.

The crane was load-tested in preparation of its first lifts on the P-74 FPSO (Floating Production, Storage, and Offloading) module integration project in Brazil.

ALE says its AL.SK350 crane has been rigged in its current biggest configuration, with 49m ballast radius and 4,000t ballast. The main boom is a 130m long A-frame design on a very stable 18m wide base.

The crane is equipped with a 4,000t main winch system and 600t auxiliary quick winch system. For loads up to 5000 tons, a strand jack lifting system can be installed.

ALE will use the AL.SK350 crane to lift and install approximately 40 modules onto the P-74 FPSO vessel in Brazil.

“With its 354,000tm load moment capacity, it is the largest capacity crane in the market by a significant margin and it’s huge lifting capabilities enables clients to construct equipment for lifting weighing heavier than ever before,” Ale said in a statement.

Once completed, the FPSO P-74 will be deployed at Petrobras’ Buzios field, around 200 kilometers off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, with water depths ranging from 1,600 to 2,100 m. Commerciality of the field was declared in December of 2013, and first oil started flowing in 2015, via Dynamic Producer FPSO, while awaiting the P-74 to come at location.