Page 56: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2013)

TECHNICALHEAVY LIFTING Nor Crane is not unlike a number of other Norwegian technology companies in that it has a history strongly rooted in the country?s offshore and Þ shing ß eets, espouses the mandate of quality over costs, and is truly global in its scope and reach.Nor Crane was established in 2004 by Finn M. Nilsen, Managing Director, as an engineering company from pulling and lifting technology for the marine and offshore support industry. While the com- pany history is short, the industry experi-ence is long, as the company was formed by experienced engineers with more than 30 years experience with the winch and crane industry and broad network of steel contracting.Maritime Reporter recently met with Nilsen at his new Dubai Maritime City location, which he moved to from Jaddaf in 2012, but just recently has received full amenities, such as power and water. At the time of the visit in early January 2013 Nilsen and company were putting the Þ nal touches on its portion of the con- tract whereby four China-built Platform Supply Vessels (PSV) were being con- verted to modern Diving Support Vessels (DSV) for Saudi Arabia-based Zamil Off- shore, vessels that will be on charter to Saudi Aramco.On the Þ rst vessel, Zamil 401, Nor Crane delivered only the cranes. On the ensuing three vessels, Zamil 402, 403 and 404, it supplied the cranes as well as a four-point mooring system. Grandwelds, the steel and aluminum shipbuilding company that also recently moved into its modern Dubai Maritime City location, conducted the installation of the deck ma-chinery. The cranes on all four vessels are exact-ly the same: three tons at 21 m and eight tons at 14 m, used for onboard lifting and for heavy lifting, such as support of the diving bell over the side of the vessel. ?When we got this job from Zamil Offshore, we were given six weeks to deliver,? Nilsen said. ?We managed to get winches back from other projects. These are relatively big for the size of the vessel, and they were electric so we converted them to hydraulic drive, which was done simply to accommodate the tight time frame. Normally you have six months delivery time on equipment such as this.? Nor Crane is an engineer- ing Þ rm, so it builds all of its winches in China, and the company offers a full line, including anchor-handling winches up to 300 tons pull.While the turnaround was short, Zamil Offshore holds a special place in the his- tory of Nor Crane, as not only was it the company?s Þ rst customers, it was a cus- tomer before Nilsen had a chance to in-corporate his company in 2004.?Zamil was my Þ rst customer in 2004, and we sold them three complete anchor handling sets; 150-ton anchor handling winches,? Nilsen said, ?which was more or less four months before I had a chance to register the company.? Zamil remains one of Nor Crane?s steadiest and best clients to this day. In Nor CranePowers AheadAt less than 10 years old, Nor Crane is a relatively new name in deck machinery. While short on years, it is long on experi-ence, with an impressive order book, too. By Greg Trauthwein 56 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? APRIL 2013 Finn M. Nilsen Managing Director, Nor Crane , said the com-pany will set up shop inside Zamil?s new shipyard in Saudi Arabia, which is scheduled to open for business this summer. (Photo: Greg Trauthwein) MR #4 (50-57).indd 56MR #4 (50-57).indd 564/4/2013 11:17:38 AM4/4/2013 11:17:38 AM