Liebherr’s maritime lifting equipment manufacturing plant in Rostock has completed the latest stage in the construction of the largest crane the company has ever built.
The 145m-long boom of the heavy lift crane HLC 295000 was installed onboard the next-generation offshore installation vessel Orion, which is due to be deployed for the first time at the Moray East Offshore Wind Farm.
The installation of the boom to the crane’s slewing unit was completed by experts from both Liebherr and from DEME Group, the Belgium-based owners of the Orion, using the new Liebherr TCC 78000 portal crane at the port of Rostock.
“This is the first time Liebherr has manufactured and installed a crane of this size. We expected a lot of exciting challenges, which our specialists were eager to solve,” said Leopold Berthold, managing director of Liebherr Rostock. “The challenging installation processes went smooth due to the remarkable job done by the involved employees.”
One of the key tools in the various installation lifts has been the TCC 78000 portal crane, which was significantly involved in lifting the lower and upper part of the slewing unit, the A-frame, and the boom.
“The boom was the last large construction element of the HLC that had to be lifted on the Orion,” adds Robert Pitschmann, sales project manager of the HLC 295000. “There are still a few steps to finalize the construction of the crane. We are looking forward to see the HLC in action during its first operation at Moray East Windpark.”
The heavy lift crane has a lifting capacity of 5,000t, with an outreach of 35m and a maximum lifting height in excess of 175m above the deck of the Orion. The size of the crane is designed to allow it to work with increasingly-large offshore wind turbines, both in construction and decommissioning.
