The Huisman Knuckle Boom Crane (KBC) design is suitable for various applications, including offshore construction work and subsea installation. It is designed to increase safety during deck handling, ship-to-ship transfer and subsea installation, using precise load control. The new, optimised series includes models starting from 85mt up to 350mt and cover both setups with a winch below deck as well as on the back of the crane. Water depths up to 3,000m are included as standard, while deeper water capabilities can be provided as an option.
The crane is equipped with a unique, in-house developed secondary controlled hydraulic drive system that works with a constant high pressure. This gives the system a much higher stiffness than conventional primary controlled systems. During hoist operations and heave compensation the response of the load is more accurate and much faster.
The system of the Huisman KBC operates with a constant power, keeping the speed of the hoist block constant over all layers of the winch. The torque and speed of the winch are controlled by adjusting the displacement of the hydraulic motors on the winch. Vessel motions for heave compensation are measured by motion reference units. This provides more accuracy than systems that use wave prediction. In addition, the crane can provide unrivaled hoisting speeds and thereby significantly reduce the time to lower loads to the seabed. The accurate and fast hoist system increases the operational weather window and maximises safety during operations.
