40m vertical travel on rough seas

Profile

• What was needed: Plastic E4.1 series energy chains
• Requirements: Robust cable guidance at sea with heavy wind loads and 40 metres of vertical travel
• Industry: Offshore
• Success for the customer: The comparative lightness of the plastic chain contributes to the system's low overall weight. At the same time, the energy chain, which is safely guided in a trough system, reliably guides all cables and hoses for the multi-purpose tower, even under high wind loads.

Problem

Huisman, a company based in the Netherlands, is dedicated worldwide to the design and maintenance of heavy construction machinery for such sectors as renewable energy and oil production.
One such machine from Huisman, the multi-purpose tower, is used on drilling vessels to perform the same functions as a conventional drilling rig. The huge structure, which serves to guide the drill pipe and to house other machinery, stands out from the ship due to its height. Its exposed location involved several challenges for the cables delivering energy supply, of instance, and for cable guidance. For instance, there is an enormous travel length in conjunction with high cable weight. And use at sea in harsh winds also means that all cables must be guided safely and protected well.

Solution

To safely guide the various cables and hoses for supplying the multi-purpose tower, the manufacturer uses a particularly robust E4.1 series plastic energy chain. The E4.1 is very robust despite its small dimensions – although the dimensions of the application itself were not small at all. The drilling rig's travel is a whopping 40 metres. The comparative lightness of the plastic chain contributes to a low overall system weight, but involved no compromises in terms of cable guidance safety. The energy chain, which is safely guided in a trough system, reliably and flawlessly guides all cables and hoses for the multi-purpose tower, even under high wind loads.