Big Month for Heavy Lift and Container Freight Maritime Crane Deliveries

UK – CHINA – GERMANY – AUSTRIA – RUSSIA – URUGUAY – September proved a month for big maritime related crane deliveries with three giant ship-to-shore gantry cranes delivered to the Port of Felixstowe, whilst the world’s strongest mobile harbour crane took up station in Russia. The UK commissioned cranes, built by ZPMC in Shanghai will handle containerised freight while the German built Russian unit is designed for handling of oversized and heavy lift cargo.

Felixstowe will utilise its latest acquisitions on the port’s Berth 8 and 9 which are currently being extended to increase the port’s ability to handle the latest ultra-large container ships. The new cranes are equipped with driver aids and are designed to work with tandem-lift spreaders allowing two 40’ containers to be handled at the same time. The driver aids include partial automation of the loading cycle to reduce strain on the drivers and to increase productivity. Clemence Cheng, Chief Executive Officer of the Port of Felixstowe and Managing Director of HPH Europe division, observed:

“The project to extend Berths 8 and 9 at the port, on which these cranes will operate, will allow us to work more mega-vessels simultaneously. We will commission these cranes over the next few weeks and the extended terminal will be operational during the fourth quarter this year.”

Meanwhile it was Austrian headquartered Liebherr which provided the multimodal Port of Bronka, the deep water port of St. Petersburg, with one of its flagship mobile harbour cranes, an LHM 800 model in heavy lift configuration. Designed for handling of oversized cargo, the LHM 800 is equipped with a special reinforced 64 metre boom with a total weight of 63 tonnes. Two winches and a four-rope configuration provide a maximum lifting capacity of 308 tonnes. This exceeds the maximum capacity of the so far strongest mobile harbour crane, type LHM 600, by 100 tonnes.

After eight months of production, the LHM 800 was shipped fully assembled by the open deck vessel MV Papenburg. To ensure roll-on roll-off capability, the specialised vessel needed to get an elaborate steel and wood deck enlargement by three metres to a total width of 18 metres. With the help of a specifically designed ramp, it took the giant crane only one hour to drive onto the open-deck vessel. After one and a half days of on-board stowage, the Papenburg started its three-day-long journey to the 1,300 kilometres distant Port Bronka.

Liebherr is already constructing the next of the giant cranes with the Rostock plant preparing the first LHM 800 in container handling configuration for Montecon S.A., the container terminal operator based in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thanks to its enormous outreach of 64 metres, the LHM 800 is able to efficiently service container vessels which are as wide as 22 container rows.

Photo: The new Felixstowe cranes in situ.