JUMBO KENITIC and FAIRMASTER - HEAVY LIFT VESSELS RECORD HOLDERS

Article from:

Christina Wagner

At this point I would like to introduce the world record holders in heavy lift vessels, the K3000 ships of the Dutch shipping company Jumbo. Jumbo was founded in 1968 and is a specialist in the sea transport of heavy cargo and offshore installations.

As I had the opportunity to photograph the FAIRMASTER on the Elbe on 20 April, I have added some interesting photos to the report.

After completing the series of four heavy lift vessels of the type J1800, (1800 stands for the coupled lifting capacity of the cranes) built between 2004 and 2009 at Damen Shipyard, Netherlands, it was decided in 2011 at the Dutch Jumbo Shipping B.V. to build another more powerful heavy lift vessel. The order went to the Croatian Brodosplit shipyard. The ship was originally to be equipped with two Huismann mast cranes with a lifting capacity of 1,300 t each. Together with the decision to build a sister ship in 2012, the lifting capacity of the ships' cranes was also increased to 1,500 t each. Coupled together, up to 3,000 t can be lifted. Thus the type K3000 was born. This surpasses the previous record of the SAL ships of type 183 by 1,000 t.

 The keel was laid on July 20, 2012 for the first ship with the construction number 473. In October 2013, the JUMBO KINETIC, still without mast cranes, was transferred from Croatia to Zhangzhou, China, for final outfitting. Here, the two mast cranes were to be installed by the Huismann subsidiary there.

The keel of the second ship, construction number 474, was laid at the Croatian shipyard on November 28, 2012. During the construction of the first ship, the JUMBO KINETIC, contractual disputes arose between the shipyard and the client. After the construction contract had been threatened with termination, an agreement was reached, but this delayed the completion of the JUMBO KINETIC.  The ship was finally handed over to Jumbo Shipping on 22 December 2014.  The FAIRMASTER followed on June 15, 2015.

A striking feature of the ships are the mast cranes. As with other ships of the shipping company, Jumbo again relied on the cranes of the Dutch company Huisman. A particular advantage over tower cranes, such as those used by SAL Heavy Lift, is their low centre of gravity. While the tower cranes have their winches in the crane superstructure above the slewing ring, the mast cranes have them below the cranes, deep in the hull. They also have advantages in terms of the load curve, i.e. higher loads with a greater reach. The disadvantage, however, is the greater height, as a result of which the ships reach a height of 51.55 m from keel to top of crane mast (without jib).

The cranes have the following lifting capacity:

1,500 t up to 20.00 m - coupled 3,000 t
1,300 t up to 22.50 m - coupled 2,600 t
1,100 t up to 26.50 m - coupled 2,200 t
900 t up to 31.50 m - coupled 1,800 t
600 t up to 36.60 m - coupled 1,200 t

&
37.5 t auxiliary hoist movable on the boom.

As with the J1800 class vessels, the exhaust system at the stern can be removed. This allows the vessels to take on board long cargoes that extend beyond the stern.

In 2020, the exhaust system of the FAIRMASTER was rebuilt at the Viktor Lenac Shipyard, Croatia. The ship was fitted with a fixed funnel system on the starboard side. In a somewhat unusual construction, the exhaust pipes were routed along the transom to the new funnel.

When taking on heavy loads, stability pontoons are used. As with the J1800 class, two smaller pontoons were chosen for the K3000 class ships instead of one large one. Jumbo has already decided against the use of the usually common outrigger on earlier ships. Therefore, the stability pontoons on the two K3000 ships are also connected with guide grooves integrated into the hull sides.

Since 15 April 2021, Jumbo Shipping and SAL Heavy Lift have been cooperating in the Jumbo-SAL Alliance. With 30 heavy lift vessels, the Alliance forms the largest fleet of 800 t to 3,000t vessels worldwide.