Video: Crane Collapses During Testing on Offshore Construction Vessel

On Saturday, a heavy crane aboard the offshore installation vessel Orion 1 failed during crane load tests and collapsed onto the deck. Several people reportedly suffered injuries.

The vessel is currently under construction and owned by Cosco (Qidong) Offshore Co. and moored at the quayside at the Liebherr construction yard in Rostock, according to shipowner DEME NV. DEME was scheduled to take delivery of the ship within several weeks' time. 

Accoding to DEME, the crane has suffered significant damage. The impact on  the crane and the vessel will be investigated in the coming days and weeks, and a Liebherr spokesman told media that it was too early to determine the cause of failure. 

Independently, German media outlet VertiKal reports that the crane's hook block may have failed during the load test, and that the released tension caused the boom to catapult backwards over the top of the slewing unit. 

The damage will almost certainly affect the charter schedule for Orion 1, which was expected to install more than 100 wind turbine jackets for the new Moray East wind farm shortly after her delivery. 

The 145-meter boom crane had a capacity of 5,000 tonnes at a horizontal outreach of 35 meters, and its maximum lifting height was 175 meters above the vessel's deck. It was the first time Liebherr had manufactured and installed an offshore crane of this size, Liebherr Rostock managing director Leopold Berthold told media before the casualty. 

Installing the crane aboard Orion 1, April 2020 (Liebherr)