Baldwins Crane Hire has utilised its Liebherr LTM 1800(D) mobile crane to discharge transformers at the port of Tilbury, UK.
On behalf of its client deugro, Baldwins Crane Hire handled ‘super grid’ transformers, destined for National Grid substations, weighing 200 tonnes and 120 tonnes. The units were manufactured in South Korea by Hyosung Heavy Industries and arrived at the port of Tilbury via Rotterdam.
For the discharge operations, the Liebherr crane was fitted with a derrick backmast and superlift tray.
Night-shift teams from Baldwins Crane Hire and Baldwins Support Services arrived at the port’s Berth 45 at 22:00. By 6:30 the next morning, the Liebherr LTM 1800(D) had been fully rigged and tested. The day-shift team took over for the discharge operations, with the crane demobilised and the berth vacated later that evening.
“The port of Tilbury is a very well subscribed port. Its location and infrastructure mean that it is suitable for heavy lift project cargoes such as these Hyosung transformers. As a result, it is often the case that the berths are at capacity seven days per week. It is commonly understood that the main challenge is rigging, discharging and de-rigging in the time permitted on the allocated berth,” project director Liam McLoughlin explained.
