ALE has launched its 10,000-tonne capacity SK10,000 ring crane at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Texas, USA.

ALE claims that the unit will be the world’s largest capacity land-based crane. It will provide a cost-effective solution for the lifting of ultra-heavy modules, particularly in the construction of floating, production, storage and offloading (FPSO) as well as floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) platforms.

The SK10,000 is the successor of ALE’s 5,000-tonne capacity AL.SK350. The crane has been developed in response to an increasing demand from customers to lift larger and heavier modules; it will be able to install modules directly onto ship’s hulls, said ALE.

It features the same basic design as the AL.SK350, an outreach of up to 200 m, and ground bearing pressure below 25 tonnes per sq m.

Ronald Hoefmans, ALE’s group technical director, explained: “Our innovations in lifting super-heavy modules for projects such as FPSO and FLNG construction offer important advantages in terms of managing safety and minimising project schedule and costs.

“We not only solve our clients’ existing challenges, but also look to the future in enabling them to achieve industry firsts that later become the industry standard. The introduction of the SK10,000 means that individual lifts of up to 10,000 tonnes are now possible, allowing customers to build larger modules more efficiently in fabrication yards and access a highly mobile and flexible solution to lift them,” he added.

www.ale-heavylift.com

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