March 25 - Belgian crane services provider Sarens has used a Terex CC 9800 crawler crane at Rostock port to load support columns for offshore wind farm foundations in the Baltic Sea.
"Our task was to load a number of the steel support piles required for this structure from lowbed trailers onto a transport ship that would take the components to the wind farm's location," commented Sarens project manager Henrdrik Sanders.
"The biggest problem was the ground, which would not be able to support the weight of the Terex crane without support - especially since we had to equip the CC 9800 with a self-propelled counterweight carrier for this project," added crane operator Peter Derniest.
To stabilise the work area for the crane, the Sarens team built a reinforced platform made of concrete plates, steel plates and wooden planks on the wharf. A path for the counterweight carrier, which was loaded with 640 tonnes, was set up in a semi-circle around the platform. The Terex crane was set up with an SSL configuration with a 66 m main boom. The counterweight on the superstructure weighed 235 tonnes.
The crane operators were able to perform the heavy lifts with no delay. To balance the weight a spreader was mounted on the Terex CC 9800's hook block, enabling the crane to pick up the columns in a stable horizontal position, swing them within a 90-degree radius, and place then safely on the transport vessel.
The Terex CC 9800 will be performing these lifts until the wind farm is completed, which is anticipated during 2013.
.JPG)
