Three of a kind: new SMST AHC knuckle boom crane for Bordelon Marine

With two cranes successfully in operation, Bordelon Marine LLC has awarded SMST with a contract for a third crane. The 60t knuckle boom crane (KBC-L), to be installed on the Jones Act-compliant Ultra-light Intervention Vessel, Lilly Bordelon, is identical to the previous delivered SMST cranes for the sister vessels: Brandon Bordelon and Connor Bordelon.

In order to meet and to set the latest standards, the design of the 60t offshore crane has been updated. “At SMST we are always upgrading our products”, said Jan Eelke van der Meulen, Sales Manager at SMST, “This third crane for Bordelon is equipped with the recently released 5^th generation AHC motor controller, which offers crane operators the most responsive and accurate system on the market.”

The installation of the subsea crane allows the former Platform Support Vessel (PSV) to carry out handling, lifting, and lowering of equipment under rough sea conditions in the U.S. “Our previous two SMST cranes function extremely well under a variety of challenging weather conditions and can safely and efficiently reach 3000 meters water depth, which is one of the reasons we returned to SMST,” said Wes Bordelon, CEO of Bordelon Marine LLC, “We have also been very pleased with the performance of these hydraulic electric cranes that consistently demonstrate high energy efficiency and sustainable energy consumption through the use of their wave energy systems.”

The provided 60t knuckle boom crane is part of a range of SMST offshore cranes for deck and offshore handling, varying in hoisting capacity (from 5 up to 150t) and winches (up to 3000m). The modular crane design is suitable for various boom configurations and enables exchange of knuckles for maximum operational flexibility. On top of that, the SMST offshore cranes can be outfitted with Active Heave Compensation, it can also be fitted with 3D Motion Compensation to provide maximum flexibility in operations.