Page 85: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (April 2015)

Samson’s AmSteel-Blue: 140 Lifts in Rough Seas

Seaway Heavy Lifting (SHL) used large- spection, they showed no signs of wear. recerti? ed them for continued use. It slings and grommets can be used again; diameter synthetic rope slings fabricated Lloyd’s also proof-loaded the slings and was determined that he original set of the second set remains in storage.

from Samson’s AmSteel-Blue for the installation of 140 turbine foundation monopiles on the Greater Gabbard proj- ect in the North Sea. Rough seas were anticipated, so SHL speci? ed woven, round-sling systems for the job because of their light weight and easy handling.

Synthetic slings also mitigate potential damage to the monopiles during transfer from the supply barge to the deck of the installation vessel.

After detailed project discussions,

SHL, Samson’s technical sales team, and the fabricating distributor determined that slings made of high performance synthetic ropes were better for the job versus round slings. The con? guration allowed for strengths up to 4,457mt, it allowed for simple inspection and repair in the ? eld, as well as longer lengths and the use of removable jackets to protect from abrasion.

For the Greater Gabbard project, each monopile weighed between 519 and 676 metric tons. SHL ordered two lifting systems, each including two slings and a grommet, fabricated from Samson’s 152 mm diameter AmSteel-Blue.

Upon delivery, these became the ? rst large diameter synthetic heavy lift slings certi? ed by Lloyd’s for multiple uses in offshore installations.

All 140 monopiles were installed us- ing the ? rst set of lifting slings. Upon in- www.marinelink.com 85

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