RINA Launches Open-sea Crane Standards

RINA has launched new standards for cranes which will be used for transhipment of bulk cargoes at sea and has completely revised and rebased its rules for offshore cranes used in offshore construction, service and demolition.

Under the new rules for lifting appliances, RINA has split the requirements for specific crane types (ship, offshore and transhipping) into free-standing sections to make the rules more user-friendly.

The new RINA rules for transhipment cranes provide for a specific notation, CARGO HANDLING, which takes into account both static and dynamic loads on transhipment cranes used on vessels transhipping bulk cargoes in open waters, and also details how these are related to structural requirements for the vessel and crane and to the operating envelope.

RINA’s revised rules for offshore cranes have been based on European Standard EN 13852, which takes a different and more modern approach to commonly used offshore crane standards. This allows for a more structured approach to offshore crane certification.

Dino Cervetto, Director of Technical Services, RINA Services, says, “There is a gap in the market for standards for transhipment cranes. RINA’s new rules contain an operational chart which will allow operators of floating transhipment terminals to widen the weather window in which they can work. It also takes into account the specific wave height and orientation of the terminal. Cranes certified under this new notation will be able to operate safely for longer and give more operational time to terminal operators without fear of breakdowns or overload conditions.

“RINA believes that there is a need in the offshore industry for a clear standard for floating cranes and cranes built onto OSVs which is based on European requirements.”

The first CARGO HANDLING notation has been assigned to the floating crane transhipment unit FC ASIA BELLA, built by China’s Chengxi Shipyard for the Indonesian owner Pt. Pelayaran Mitra Kaltim Samudera.