OM Heavy Lift Celebrates North Sea Facility
OM Heavy Lift, a wholly owned subsidiary of Oilfield Machinery (OilMac), has assembled its 1500t crane in the Port of Dundee. The Gottwald MK1500 is the largest permanent quayside crane in the UK. With a 58m boom it is capable of lifting 875t from the centre of a barge or vessel, bolstering OilMac’s decommissioning and offshore wind services.
In addition to the Gottwald MK1500, this includes its 150t NCK Olympus HC170 Crawler crane, 80t Grove RT990 Mobile crane and 400t American Skyhorse Crawler crane. Also OM Heavy Lift owns significant jacking, skating and torqueing equipment, as well as rigging and spreader beams and large ballast weights. Renowned for buying and selling redundant and surplus equipment to maximise value recovery and reuse, the company has celebrated a successful half year of trading thanks to operations utilising its crane fleet.
New business includes:
- Ongoing relationship with Augean North Sea Services, working to unload decommissioned offshore exhaust stacks, utilising OM Heavy Lift’s Gottwald MK1500 and Olympus cranes. Scope included transporting a wellhead protection frame from the vessel to Augean’s waste disposal yard.
- Support in the mobilisation of a floating wind turbine in Dundee Port. OM Heavy Lift cranes were employed to unload and load equipment from trucks and onto the floating wind unit. 300 tonnes of OM Heavy Lift weights were also hired to secure the mooring winches, with the company assisting with the transfer of personnel to the unit.
Alex Fyfe, Managing Director at OilMac, says, “We believe our recent success is down to the fact we remain an independent business with a team which always delivers, alongside a reputation for providing a cost-conscious service which is centred on quality. We are anticipating our heavy crane capability to be a significant attraction for offshore wind developments. The Gottwald MK1500 is a vital asset for future offshore wind and decommissioning projects in Dundee and will propel our business in the medium term, and beyond.”
David Webster, Port Manager at the Port of Dundee, comments, “A permanent crane removes mobilisation charges, which is important in a competitive market. We place significant emphasis upon the decommissioning and renewables construction capabilities of at the Port of Dundee, and it becomes ever more attractive in this field as OilMac’s Gottwald MK1500 and Olympus cranes mitigate those cranage costs.”