GE’s Electric Technology Powers The World’s Largest Crane Vessel ‘Sleipnir’
The installation of the Leviathan development in the Mediterranean has been completed by the semi-submersible crane vessel (SSCV) Sleipnir of Heerema Marine Contractor. This was world record lift made by the power of GE and the electric propulsion system onboard.
Sleipnir is the largest crane vessel of the world. It is 220 meters long, 102 meters wide and has two revolving cranes of 10,000 tonne each.
GE was selected to give the electrical power and propulsion system comprising 12 sets of 8-megawatt (MW) generators, eight units of 5.5MW propulsion motors, medium-voltage switchboards, transformers, MV7000 drives and the Visor remote monitoring and diagnostics system to help in the smooth operations of the ‘sea gaint’.
Sleipnir is the first crane vessel in the world that has dual-fuel engines that runs on either marine gas oil (MGO) or liquefied natural gas (LNG). Combining with the propulsion system of GE, the ship will result in lower emissions during operations. The entire onboard system of the vessel will be powered by the electricity that is generated and distributed by the power package of GE.
The GE’s solution has been conceived from the ground up to meet the requirements specific to this project. In accordance with the Lloyd’s Register’s Rules and Regulations (DP AAA), the power system is developed for fault tolerance. The solutions of GE are more compact. The solutions include advanced sensors that are built to help the operators in monitoring the working of every piece of the equipments in real time and signal possible malfunctions. All of these make the solutions compact and thereby, helps to minimize the downtime and increase the availability.
“In addition to the long-term electrical expertise we have in the offshore industry, one of our key strengths lies in our capability of system integration which allows us to create more efficient systems, deliver additional value to our customers and help them maintain fleets with long-term technological advantage and competitiveness in the industry,” said Andy Cooper, Managing Director, GE’s Power Conversion business UK.
Reference: GE
