The Taisun crane, named after a mountain in the province, is 122m (400ft) high and 130m (426ft) long and has two 4,800t deadweight lifting beams, each with a lifting capacity of 10,000t (22m lbs).

The Yantai Raffles gantry crane

The Yantai Raffles gantry crane

Dassault Systèmes, a provider of product lifecycle management (PLM) solutions, teamed up with YRS to bring the crane, which is currently undergoing stringent testing and commissioning before full deployment at the turn of the year, to life.

Taisun is earmarked for 10 lifts over the next 20 months. Each lift is estimated at 10,000-16,000t. The shipyard is expecting it to save over two million man hours for each semi-submersible.

Brian Chang, YRS chairman, said: “With Taisun, YRS believes it has revolutionised the way major offshore projects will be built in the future.”

Conventional methods of rig construction, often associated with complex integration issues and high cost, will be a thing of the past, YRS explained. With vessels becoming more technologically-advanced and sophisticated, it is mission-critical that companies are supported by a highly-skilled engineering force, cutting-edge facilities and superior technology, it added.

Denis Georgeon, general manager, PLM channel China & South Asia, Dassault Systèmes, said: “DS’s PLM solutions link the whole value chain (vendors, manufactures, operators, designers, testers) improving collaboration, reducing costs and increasing efficiencies.”

He added: “With full digital mock-ups and standardised data formats, Yantai Raffles can outsource work to the best partners and suppliers and ensure strict quality control, design precision and other mission-critical elements in the end-to-end process of planning, designing, building and project management for each of the semi-submersibles and offshore vessels it builds.”


The Yantai Raffles gantry crane The Yantai Raffles gantry crane