In June, components weighing up to 420 tonnes each for Liebherr’s new heavy lift offshore crane CAL 45000-1200 Litronic® were loaded from Liebherr MCCtec Rostock GmbH onto two ships in the port of Rostock.
These components were subsequently transported to the Crist shipyard in the Polish town of Gdynia. There, the crane is currently being assembled on the “Vidar”, an installation vessel belonging to Hochtief Solutions. After completion of assembly works later this year the crane will be used for the installation of offshore wind power stations.
The CAL 45000-1200 Litronic® achieves a maximum lifting capacity of 1,200 t at a maximum working radius of 27.5 m. The boom length is 108 m and the dead weight of the crane is 1,500 t. Another fascinating feature is the lifting height of over 120 m above deck. The slewing ring of the heavy lift crane has an outer diameter of 13 m.
Designed as “crane around the leg”
A specification of the CAL 45000-1200 Litronic® is its design as “crane around the leg” (CAL). It is able to rotate 360° around one of the four jack-up legs of the vessel. The new crane is Liebherr’s second heavy lift offshore crane that has been built according to this design after last year’s delivery of a CAL 64000-1500 Litronic® to the vessel “Innovation”, belonging to HGO.
The assembly of the crane is closely coordinated with the completion of the jack-up vessel as the crane must be positioned before the vessel leg. Thanks to its special design it can be positioned in a space saving way, despite its enormous size. It thus requires a relatively small obstruction area of only 12 m.
The special twin-boom design means that two booms run parallel to each other at a distance of 14 m, thus allowing the boom to be parked over one of the vessel’s front legs. This solution prevents the crane from obstructing free space on deck which can then be used for loading the vessel.
Ease of operation
The combination of slewing bearing, slewing gear, winches and the Litronic® control system, all manufactured by Liebherr, enables exact positioning and safe moving of the loads while reducing fuel consumption. Together with the powerful 4,000 kW electro-hydraulic drive this provides optimum control in all operating conditions. Moreover, in the crane’s development stage special attention was paid to ease of maintenance.
Thanks to the CAL 45000-1200 Litronic®, Hochtief Solutions expects to reduce set-up and maintenance times for offshore wind power stations of the newest generation. It will thus contribute to increased productivity.
Range of maritime offshore cranes
With the CAL 45000-1200 Litronic® crane, Liebherr once again meets the increasing demand for high performing heavy lift offshore cranes and underpins its position as world market leader in this segment. Liebherr’s current heavy lift offshore crane series consists of machine types with lifting capacities from 300 t to 3,000 t.
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Press release, June 19, 2013; Image: Liebherr