Sectors
Lifting Equipment and Crane Services for the Marine and Offshore Sector
Corrosion-resistant cranes, winches and lifting gear built for salt air, vessel motion and hazardous areas — designed, installed and certified by our own engineers from 14 depots across the UK and Ireland.
Lifting and Inspection for Marine and Offshore Operations
From shipyards and dry docks to quaysides, workboats and offshore installations, marine lifting equipment works in an unusually aggressive environment: chloride-laden air, constant wash-down, wide temperature swings and, once on the water, a deck that never stops moving.
WH Scott has been engineering lifting equipment for those conditions since 1897. We design, fabricate, install, maintain and certify cranes, hoists, winches and lifting gear for port operators, shipbuilders and repairers, naval and defence facilities, offshore contractors and marine research organisations, from 14 depots across the UK and Ireland.
Recent marine and offshore work includes four double-girder gantry cranes across a 160 m runway at Bristol Port, non-nuclear crane maintenance at Devonport Royal Dockyard for Babcock International, and a bespoke scientific mooring winch for the polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough.
What Makes Marine and Offshore Lifting Different
Four factors drive almost every design and inspection decision in this sector:
- Corrosion. Salt attacks structures, ropes, chains and electrical enclosures far faster than inland. Specifications should name a coating system to ISO 12944 corrosivity category C5-M or CX, and enclosure ratings suited to wash-down.
- Dynamic loading. Roll, pitch and heave introduce dynamic and off-vertical loading that general-purpose overhead cranes are never designed for. Vessel- and platform-mounted cranes are designed to the EN 13852 series instead.
- Constrained geometry. Engine rooms, holds, quaysides and topside decks rarely suit a standard crane envelope, so span, headroom, wheel loads and access are usually bespoke.
- Hazardous areas. Bunkering points, tanker terminals, paint shops and process decks routinely fall into ATEX/DSEAR zones, requiring EX-rated hoists, motors, brakes and controls.
Together they shorten service life, which is why marine assets usually need a tighter inspection and maintenance regime than the statutory minimum.
How WH Scott Supports Marine and Offshore Operators
We work at both ends of the asset life. On the engineering side we design, fabricate and install overhead and gantry cranes, jib and process cranes, bespoke winches, lifting beams and frames, and EX-rated lifting equipment for zoned areas — stress-analysed in-house and CE or UKCA marked on completion.
On the compliance side, our engineers carry out thorough examination, load testing and planned preventative maintenance, with certification issued digitally through our online asset management portal so evidence is ready for audit, port state control or client assurance without chasing paperwork. Where a job needs more specialist depth, the wider group provides it: ReRopes for wire rope supply and replacement, and Metlab for INAB-accredited non-destructive and materials testing on welds and load-bearing components.
We are a LEEA member and certified to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001.
Get in Touch
Tell Us About Your Project
Whether you need a single piece of equipment or a fully engineered lifting system, our specialists can help. Tell us your load, environment and compliance requirements — we’ll do the rest.
Compliance: UK, Offshore and Ireland
Which regime applies depends on where the equipment sits, not only what it is. Shore-side equipment in Great Britain — yard and quayside cranes, workshop hoists, slings and shackles — falls under LOLER 1998 and PUWER 1998, with thorough examination every six months for accessories and anything lifting people, and every twelve months otherwise. Lifting equipment used for work on board ship is governed instead by the Merchant Shipping and Fishing Vessels (LOLER) Regulations 2006, enforced by the MCA and applying to UK-registered vessels and to other vessels in UK waters. Lifting on fixed offshore installations in UK waters stays within LOLER 1998 through the HSWA (Application outside Great Britain) Order 2013.
In the Republic of Ireland the framework is S.I. No. 299 of 2007, enforced by the Health and Safety Authority; examination periods are set out in Schedule 1 — six months for lifting accessories and equipment used to lift people, twelve months for cranes and similar machines — and Part 8 covers explosive atmospheres. Equipment for zoned areas needs ATEX marking under S.I. No. 230 of 2017 in Ireland and UKEX marking and DSEAR compliance in Great Britain. Product standards commonly specified here include the EN 13852 series for offshore cranes, EN 13155 for non-fixed load lifting attachments and EN 12079 / DNV 2.7-1 for offshore containers and lifting sets — adopted in Ireland as I.S. EN equivalents. Our Irish inspection team works to S.I. 299 from six depots on the island of Ireland.
What We Deliver in Marine & Offshore Lifting Solutions
![[Describe the photo you choose — for SEO]](https://whscottlifting.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WHS-Gantry-Crane_V3.png)
Overhead Gantry Cranes
Custom overhead gantry crane solutions for safe, efficient lifting across industrial and commercial environments.
Process Cranes
Custom process crane systems for specialised lifting, automation, and heavy-duty material handling applications.
Explosion Proof (EX) Lifting Equipment
ATEX-compliant lifting equipment for safe load handling in gas and dust hazardous areas.
Get in Touch
Tell Us About Your Project
Whether you need a single piece of equipment or a fully engineered lifting system, our specialists can help. Tell us your load, environment and compliance requirements — we’ll do the rest.