Marine i-Shock/Motion Compensated Workboat Crane

KML received grant funding from the Marine Challenge Fund, part of the ERDFs European Structural & Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020, which partly funds our project to research, develop and test heave/motion compensation on a workboat knuckleboom crane, to allow the crane to operate in harsher sea conditions than a non-compensated crane.

The heave compensation will also act on the crane's winch to allow subsea and surface operations of the crane winch in the harsh sea states. Heave compensation reduces the hook and load motions of a marine vessel mounted crane by damping the motions, acting as a ‘shock absorber’. It is normally found only on very large and very expensive latest generation oilfield and windfarm service vessels.

It is not currently fitted to smaller (c.24m class) workboat cranes; nonetheless, such workboats are increasingly used in harsher conditions further offshore, including by KML. This is because the smaller vessels provide value for money and high performance-cost ratio vs the very large and costly oilfield competitors.

It is part of KML’s unique selling point to deliver ‘offshore’ quality, safety and scope services at ‘workboat’ prices, which is very attractive to many customers in a variety of sectors from renewables through nuclear to civil engineering.