Sarens marks major decommissioning milestone

SARENS HAS lifted 1,850 tons in a single move at Wergeland base in Norway, marking one of the heaviest lifts ever performed by a crawler crane in Europe.

This decommissioning project, which  involved the lifting, transporting of four huge footings, demonstrated Sarens' engineering expertise and ability to lift in difficult conditions and was a milestone in the company's history, with the lifting of an 1850-ton load using an LR12500-1.0 crane.

The Wergeland base, located in Gulen, Norway, is a multifunctional port hub that serves as a critical logistics base for maritime operations, offshore assembly and renewable energy off the coast of Vestland. It has approximately 800,000 sqm of leveled platform area, a 1 km deepwater quay and a staff of more than 40 people.

Precision Lift in Challenging Maritime Conditions

In this project, Sarens was responsible for the heavy lifting of four 25-metre-long and 27-metre-wide footings, each weighing 1850 tons. Lifting them required deploying an LR12500-1.0 crawler crane. Although SGCs (Sarens Giant Cranes) are capable of lifting these weights with ease (up to 3.200 tons in the case of SGC-140 or even 5.000 tons with a SGC-250), the fact that a crawler crane supports this capacity demonstrates Sarens' ability to handle some of the heaviest loads in the world. Lifting that weight with a single crawler crane is an exceptionally rare feat in Europe and could be a record for lifting loads. 

The project, commissioned by Wergeland, involved removing the pads from the water and transporting them to a dock with self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs). Sarens was chosen by Wergeland company not only for its efficiency and expertise, but also for its cost efficiency, extending the LR12500-1.0 crane contract, already deployed at the site, therefore minimising the cost to the client.

Tight Timeline Met Despite Harsh Conditions

Although equipped with the right technical tools, Sarens faced numerous challenges: the footings, floating in the sea, had to be rigged amid record rainfall, which tested the team's determination. Despite these obstacles, the experienced Sarens team, led by project manager Willem Ditmer and project engineer Wim de Keersmaecker, completed the operation on time, on budget and in compliance with all safety requirements.

At the same time, the Wergeland base project highlights Sarens' commitment to sustainability as a decommissioning initiative. Following their removal, the footings were scrapped and subsequently recycled, supporting greener practices while contributing to the local economy.

With this project, Sarens consolidates its presence in Norway, a country where it has already participated in major projects in the energy sector. Among others, it collaborated with Allseas and Aker BP in the loading out process of a 5205-ton topside from this field at Aker Solutions' decommissioning yard in Stord. It also participated directly in the transport of decommissioned platform topsides from Valhall's Quarters Platform (QP) on behalf of Allseas, providing its barge Louis, capable of supporting topsides of more than 3,850 tons.

For more information:

www.sarens.com

Tel: +32 52 319 319