Marine & Pedestal Crane Inspection

Marine and offshore cranes work in the environment least forgiving of deferred maintenance: constant salt exposure, dynamic loading from vessel motion, and lifts made between two moving bodies. They also fail where inspection is hardest — inside the pedestal, at the slew bearing, and within wire rope cores that look sound from outside.

Equipment covered

• Offshore platform pedestal cranesFixed platform and jack-up cranes, including the pedestal and its connection to the structure, inspected to API 2C and the operator's requirements.
• Vessel and ship deck cranesDeck cranes, provision cranes and davits on supply vessels, barges and merchant ships, inspected to class society rules and flag state requirements.
• Port and quayside cranesShip-to-shore, mobile harbour and quayside cranes, including rail, travel and structural condition.
• Offshore containers and basketsCargo carrying units, baskets, skips and frames certified for offshore lifting, with padeyes, slings and primary structure examined.

What marine inspection adds

A pedestal crane is inspected as a land crane plus everything the marine environment introduces. The additions are where findings concentrate:

• Pedestal structure and its connection to the deck or platform, examined for cracking at the welded connection and corrosion inside the pedestal where inspection access is poor
• Slew bearing bolt torque and tilt or rock measurement, with attention to corrosion at the bearing interface
• Wire rope assessed against ISO 4309 with particular regard to internal corrosion, which in salt service progresses in the core while the outer wires still look serviceable
• Coating breakdown and corrosion mapping across the boom, structure and pedestal
• Boom rest, stowage and sea fastening arrangements
• Emergency and manual lowering under loss of power
• Dynamic and offlead or sidelead considerations where lifts are made to or from a moving vessel
• Personnel transfer arrangements where the crane is used for man riding, at the tighter criteria that applies

Standards and class rules

Inspection is carried out to the standard specified by your contract, the operator or the classification society. Those most commonly applied are API Specification 2C for offshore pedestal cranes and API RP 2D for operation and maintenance, together with the rules of the relevant class society — ABS, DNV, Lloyd's Register or Bureau Veritas — and ISO 4309 for wire rope discard criteria. Offshore containers are inspected to DNV 2.7-1 and EN 12079 where those govern. Manufacturer's inspection and maintenance requirements are applied alongside.

Load testing offshore

Proof load testing offshore is constrained by what can be lifted and where it can be placed. Water bag systems are used where fixed test weights cannot be brought to the location or safely handled, with load cell measurement recorded throughout. Testing covers the radii and configurations that matter for the crane's actual duty, with overload protection, brakes and emergency systems verified, and the structure examined afterwards.

Offshore containers and lifting sets

Cargo carrying units lifted to and from offshore installations are certified separately from the crane. Inspection covers primary structure and padeyes, sling sets and their certification, identification and plating, and the condition of the unit against the requirements of DNV 2.7-1. Units are colour-coded and registered, with re-examination at the interval the standard sets.

When inspection is required

• Periodic examination at the interval set by the class society, operator or governing authority
• Annual thorough examination and the more extensive periodic examination at longer intervals
• Before mobilisation of a vessel or unit to a new contract
• After structural or weld repair, or replacement of a load-bearing component
• After an overload, snatch load or incident
• Following a period of lay-up or extended inactivity
• Where the crane is to be used for personnel transfer

Accreditation and coverage

ITMAD is accredited to ISO/IEC 17020 as an inspection body, is an ADNOC approved inspection contractor, and is listed on the Abu Dhabi City Municipality register of Approved Third Party Inspection Bodies. Inspection is carried out at ports, yards, offshore installations and alongside, across Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah and the wider Gulf, with attendance scheduled around vessel movements and offshore rotations.

What you receive

• An inspection certificate in the format required by the class society, operator or authority
• A report identifying the crane or unit by serial number, capacity and location
• Findings recorded component by component with photographic evidence
• Defects classified by severity, separating what stops the equipment from what must be monitored
• Load test results with applied load, radius and post-test condition
• Wire rope condition assessment against ISO 4309 discard criteria
• Colour-coded tagging and register update for containers and lifting sets