Liebherr extends its range of heavy lift offshore cranes

The CAL 64000 - 1500 Litronic® achieves a maximum lifting capacity of 1,500 tonnes at a maximum working radius of 31.5 m. The boom length of the crane currently on order is 105 m. The deadweight of the new large crane is 1,500 tonnes at a lifting height of over 120 m above deck.

The special feature of the heavy lift crane is its slewing ring with an outer diameter of 13 m. The slewing bearing alone weighs over 100 tonne. Moreover, the crane is designed as 'Crane Around the Leg', which means it is built around one of the vessel's four legs and becomes the first heavy lift offshore crane in the world to be built according to this design.

This specially developed crane type, which is able to rotate 360° around the vessel's leg, offers a relatively small obstruction area of 12 m, which - together with a slewing ring inner diameter of 11 m - allows for ideal positioning of the crane around the vessel's leg. Thanks to the special "Twin" boom design, the boom can even be lowered and parked over one of the vessel's front legs. This solution prevents the crane from obstructing free space on deck which can be used for loading the jack-up vessel.

Per annum the CAL 64000 - 1500 Litronic® will be able to install more than 80 wind turbines with heights of over 120 m down to a maximum water depth of 50 m for the joint venture of HOCHTIEF Construction and the project and heavy lift cargo shipping company BELUGA Shipping. The enormous lifting capacity of the heavy lift crane enables the installation of over 5 MW strong turbines and rotors as well as the loading and subsequent safe installation of the heaviest foundations. Apart from the installation of offshore wind power stations the crane is also suitable for the oil and gas market, such as the assembly and disassembly of platforms or other structures.

The size and weight of the individual components of the CAL 64000 - 1500 Litronic® partly required the adaptation of the company's own production facilities at Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH. Special machines for mechanical processing were necessary, as well as the enlargement of clearance heights and widths in the workshops and, to some extent, on internal site roads.

With a dead weight of 1,500 tonnes and a 105 m long boom the innovative heavy lift crane is too big to be transported to the Crist Shipyard in Gdynia/Poland in one piece. For this reason, the crane will be transported to Poland in several parts weighing up to 600 t and will be assembled on site - a heavy lift in its own right.

Heiko Obst, project manager of BELUGA HOCHTIEF Offshore says: "With the powerful crane and the innovative heavy lift jack-up vessel we will dispose of an extraordinarily high capacity in the segment of installations of offshore wind energy plants."

Rainer Twisterling, one of BELUGA HOCHTIEF Offshore's managing director's adds: BELUGA HOCHTIEF Offshore acts as a full-service-provider in the offshore wind energy segment and benefits from a unique selling proposition by its broad portfolio. The huge offshore wind energy projects initiated by both the British and the German governments and starting from 2012 point up the growing demand for powerful working equipment."