MacGREGOR?s offshore deliveries aided by floating test bed

A purpose-built barge being commissioned by the end of February at MacGREGOR?s offshore equipment manufacturing site in Kristiansand, Norway will enhance the Offshore division?s production and testing capacity

MacGREGOR?s Offshore division is expanding its equipment testing capabilities in Kristiansand, Norway, to handle business growth and a large number of active heave-compensated (AHC) offshore cranes and other subsea load-handling equipment. The site?s need for increased testing capabilities will be met by a multi-test bed barge called ‘MacBarge’, which was ordered in the summer of 2008 and scheduled to arrive and be fully-operational by the end of February. The 76m x 23m MacBarge is designed to test two large AHC offshore cranes simultaneously, as well as winches, ROV systems and other subsea load-handling technology. It carries its own 2,000kVA power unit.

MacBarge will enable full scale testing of various MacGREGOR products to be conducted prior to installation on board vessels, improving the total efficiency of the test process. ?ystein Bondevik, sales director, MacGREGOR Offshore says: “Being mobile, MacBarge will enable us to deliver fully-assembled equipment directly to our customers. This will in turn allow MacGREGOR to offer even better service and shorter delivery times, as well as lower overall costs, to its customers.”

The Kristiansand plant is the manufacturing and testing hub for MacGREGOR?s offshore load-handling equipment, and alongside AHC offshore and deck cranes, it also produces winches, A-frames, module-handling systems, launch-and-rescue systems (LARS) and rescue davits. The site covers an area of 130,000m2, including 26,000m2 of indoor workshops, a deepwater quay and a 185m x 35m drydock. The outdoor trial area currently facilitates the simultaneous testing of four AHC offshore cranes of up to 9,000 tonne metres ™, while smaller equipment is tested inside the plant.