WATCH: Collapse of giant crane destined for work on Moray East offshore wind farm; vessel had been due to travel to Nigg in Ross-shire before accident
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A GIANT crane that was due to head to the 100-turbine Moray East offshore wind farm collapsed on Saturday when undergoing tests in Germany.
The accident was captured in a 23-second video uploaded to YouTube which shows the massive structure fall on to Deme Offshore’s flagship offshore installation vessel, Orion 1, while undergoing load-bearing tests.
The hull of Orion 1 was damaged and several minor injuries were reported.
It happened in the Liebherr yard at Rostock harbour.
The vessel was destined for Global Energy’s Nigg Energy Park in the Cromarty Firth in a few weeks to carry out work for Moray Offshore Windfarm East Ltd.
A spokesman for the Moray East development said: "Moray East has been made aware by Deme of an incident during crane testing in Germany concerning a vessel which was intended for use on the Moray East site later in the year.
"The investigations are ongoing and Moray East is looking into the potential impact, if any, this may have on project delivery."
He added that the two vessels currently working in the Moray Firth are unaffected by the accident.
A Deme spokesperson said on Saturday: "A serious accident has occurred today on board offshore installation vessel Orion 1 at the occasion of and during crane load tests. The vessel is under construction and owned by Cosco (Qidong) Offshore Co Ltd.
"The vessel is moored at the quayside at the Liebherr construction yard in Rostock, with the crane undergoing several load tests."
The crane has suffered significant damage, which – together with damage done to the vessel – will be investigated in the coming days and weeks.
The vessel was expected for delivery to Deme NV in the second half of May.
YouTube user Ollie Ross commenting on the video said: "The boom has flipped over backwards over the gantry. The load it was meant to lift is actually floating on a barge next to the vessel.
"You can see the pad eyes for connecting. It looks like the boom pendant has pulled the boom completely back and over."
