US 12,313,035 B2
Offshore vessel, preferably an offshore wind turbine installation vessel, a crane for providing such a vessel, and a method for using such a crane, preferably for upending a monopile
Joop Roodenburg, Schiedam (NL); and Terence Willem August Vehmeijer, Schiedam (NL)
Assigned to ITREC B.V., Schiedam (NL)
Filed by ITREC B.V., Schiedam (NL)
Filed on Dec. 8, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/533,275.
Application 18/533,275 is a division of application No. 17/059,828, granted, now 11,885,298, previously published as PCT/NL2019/050319, filed on May 31, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 2021043 (NL), filed on Jun. 1, 2018; and application No. PCT/NL2018/050778 (WO), filed on Nov. 26, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2024/0125302 A1, Apr. 18, 2024
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. F03D 13/25 (2016.01); B66C 23/52 (2006.01); E02B 17/02 (2006.01); E02B 17/00 (2006.01)
CPC F03D 13/25 (2016.05) [B66C 23/52 (2013.01); E02B 17/021 (2013.01); E02B 2017/0039 (2013.01); E02B 2017/0065 (2013.01); E02B 2017/0091 (2013.01); F05B 2240/95 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An offshore wind turbine installation vessel, comprising:
a hull having a storage deck; and
a crane comprising:
a crane base secured to the hull;
a slewable superstructure mounted on the crane base and slewable about a vertical slew axis relative to the crane base;
a slew drive configured to cause slew motion of the superstructure about the slew axis;
a boom structure comprising a boom that is pivotally connected to the superstructure about an inner pivot axis;
a luffing mechanism comprising a luffing drive and configured to cause luffing motion of the boom structure;
a hoisting assembly comprising a hoisting winch and a hoisting winch driven cable;
a load connector, wherein the winch driven cable extends between a sheave on the boom structure and a sheave on the load connector;
a computerized crane control system linked to the slew drive, the luffing drive, and the hoisting winch; and
a pile gripper that is configured to maintain a wind turbine foundation pile in a vertical orientation during a pile driving operation wherein the foundation pile is driven into the seabed,
wherein the computerised crane control system is configured to track the position of the pile gripper.