Customer story
TransOcean - Konecranes saves ship
Transocean, the world’s largest offshore drilling contractor, provides the most versatile fleet of mobile offshore drilling units to help customers find and develop oil and natural gas reserves.
Sending out an S.O.S.
One of our rigs, the Henry Goodrich, is an Arcticclass drilling rig capable of drilling in 5,000 feet of water in the most inhospitable conditions imaginable. Because we rely on the hydraulic cranes aboard to move the pipe and materials needed for a critical part of the drilling process, they must be kept in top condition at all times. So, you can imagine our distress when we discovered cracks in the hoist gear cases at some of the gear hubs. Though we use our cranes only once a month, it is essential they are well maintained — we don’t want to be stuck in the middle of the ocean with a broken down crane!
Konecranes comes to the rescue
Konecranes came through in a pinch. We removed the drums and 12-foot gear cases and shipped them to Konecranes in Watertown, Wis. The Konecranes reverse engineering group performed a complete inspection—including non-destructive testing of all critical components.
Working closely with safety regulatory industry, Det Norske Veritas (DNV) throughout the entire process, Konecranes redesigned the gears into a single forging device known as an integrated pinion and shaft. Unlike our original gears, the single piece was much sturdier and built to withstand the constant motion of the sea.
After making the modifications, Konecranes successfully performed a load test at 100% capacity. Since the gear replacement, we feel confident the cranes on the Henry Goodrich will continue to run in top condition.
