The main components of the Liebherr Heavy Lift Crane (HLC) 150000 have left the port of Rostock in Germany. The parts are destined for China Merchants Heavy Industry’s (CMHI) shipyard in Jiangsu, China, where they will be installed on the newbuild vessel Alfa Lift.
Earlier this month, OHT’s Alfa Lift was floated out from its dry dock at the CMHI shipyard, as HLPFI reported here.
Gregor Levold, sales director of ship and offshore cranes at Liebherr Rostock, said: “The crane can only be assembled and installed once the vessel has reached a specific phase in its construction. Therefore, the manufacturing timelines are finely balanced between Liebherr, OHT, and CHMI.”
A Liebherr LR 11350 crawler crane and the TCC 78000 gantry crane lifted the slewing platform and A-frame in tandem onto the deck vessel BigLift Barentsz.
Upon their arrival in China, Liebherr will oversee the installation of the components. When the installation is finalised, the boom will be delivered just-in-time to complete the HLC 150000.
The crane boasts a maximum lifting capacity of 3,000 tonnes at an outreach of 30 m, and 1,000 tonnes at 76 m. Liebherr said that the slew bearing diameter of the crane of 14 m means it requires little space on deck and offers more storage space.
Levold added that crane’s foldable A-frame reduces its height: “Unlike many other crane vessels of this size, the Alfa Lift will be able to navigate waters crossed by bridges.
“This feature reduces transit time, for instance when the vessel enters the Baltic Sea crossing in the Storebaltsbroen in Denmark. The foldable A-frame provides more flexibility, which in turn leads to both operational and cost-efficiency, increasing the number of charter days and vessel availability,” he said.
Liebherr added that its heavy lift crane series not only serves the growing offshore wind installation market, but also the decommissioning of oil and gas installations.
In 2022, Alfa Lift, fitted with the HLC 150000, will begin operating in the North Sea, with its first project scheduled to be the construction of the Dogger Bank A wind farm.
