Offshore platforms often need to install new equipment, perform maintenance, support well intervention activities or transfer heavy equipment from supply vessels. But not every offshore platform has a permanent crane, and some platforms have cranes that are too small for the lifting requirements of a particular project.

Projects on Craneless Platforms provide a practical alternative through portable modular lifting solutions.

A craneless platform does not necessarily mean that heavy lifting is impossible. Instead of installing a permanent crane or mobilising a large heavy-lift vessel, a suitably sized modular crane can be transported to the platform, assembled on deck and engineered specifically for the required lifting operation.

In simple terms:

No suitable crane? Bring the right lifting system to the project.

Every project starts by understanding the platform and the load that needs to be moved.

The lifting team assesses the available deck space, structural beams, load paths, access, lifting radius, equipment weight and possible crane installation locations. This information is then used to develop an engineered lifting solution.

Once the appropriate crane configuration has been selected, the modular crane can be transported offshore in manageable components. The equipment is assembled on the platform, secured to suitable structural members and load tested before the main lifting operation begins.

The crane can then transfer equipment from a supply vessel onto the platform or move equipment between designated locations on the facility.

After the lifting work is complete, the crane can be dismantled and demobilised.

Thunder Cranes provides portable modular crane rental, crane operators, engineering preparation and detailed lift planning for offshore lifting requirements.

The company’s modular approach is particularly useful where platform space is restricted or where an existing crane does not have sufficient lifting capacity or reach.

A documented KOP installation project demonstrates the concept. The offshore platform’s existing jib crane had a 2 MT safe working load, while the Knock-Out-Pot and support structure weighed approximately 8.4 MT. Thunder Cranes selected a TC15 Stiff Leg portable-modular crane to provide the required lifting capability. The crane was transported to the platform in components, assembled on deck, secured to the platform structure and load tested before lifting the KOP from the supply vessel onto the platform.

The process can be summarised as:

Survey → Engineer → Mobilise → Assemble → Load Test → Lift → Demobilise

The advantage of a modular crane is flexibility.

Rather than designing an entire project around a large permanent crane or heavy-lift vessel, the lifting equipment can be selected according to the actual requirement.

This can be particularly valuable for offshore platforms with limited deck space, restricted access, temporary lifting requirements or insufficient existing crane capacity.

The objective is not simply to use the biggest crane available. It is to find the right-sized lifting solution for the platform, load and lifting radius.

From Supply Vessel to Platform

Many offshore lifting operations involve moving equipment from a supply vessel onto a platform. The basic process is easy to understand:

Supply Vessel → Portable Modular Crane → Lift Across Platform Edge → Position Equipment → Installation

Behind this simple movement is detailed engineering, lift planning, rigging, crane setup and structural assessment.

Thunder Cranes combines modular crane technology with experienced operators and project preparation to help clients execute lifting operations where conventional crane access or capacity is limited.

When an offshore platform does not have a suitable crane, the answer is not always a larger vessel or a permanent installation. Sometimes the most effective solution is a compact, temporary crane designed around the project.

Thunder Cranes helps bring lifting capability to where it is needed — even when the platform itself does not have the crane required for the job.