First CAL 64000-1500 Heavy Lift Offshore Crane
The first CAL 64000-1500 Litronic®, a heavy lift offshore crane developed by Liebherr-Werk Nenzing GmbH, is now ready for operation. The crane is installed on the “Innovation”, a vessel belonging to HGO InfraSea Solutions, which was christened in Bremerhaven on 3rd September.
With this new product Liebherr meets the increasing demand for high performing heavy lift cranes and strengthens its position as world market leader for cranes in the offshore industry. Within the last two years eight heavy lift cranes were delivered for the heavy lift jack-up vessel market throughout the world – no less than five of them are Liebherr products.
Impressive technical data
The CAL 64000-1500 Litronic® achieves a maximum lifting capacity of 1,500 t at a maximum working radius of 31.5 m. Even at a working radius of almost 46 m the crane is still capable of lifting 1,000 t. The boom length is 105 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. A special component of the heavy lift crane is its slewing ring with an outer diameter of 13 m and an inner diameter of 11 m.
Challenging transport and installation
The enormous size and weight of the heavy lift crane required special planning for production, transport and installation. First, the company’s own production facilities at Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH had to be adapted, i.e. the clearance heights and widths in the workshops and on internal site roads had to be enlarged. Then the crane was transported to Poland in several parts weighing up to 600 t each. Final assembly took place at the Crist Shipyard in Gdynia.
Ideal positioning through special design
The crane is designed as “Crane Around the Leg”, a design demanding special installation planning. The heavy lift crane is able to rotate 360° around one of the four jack-up legs of the vessel. The assembly of the crane is thus closely co-ordinated with the completion of the jack-up vessel as the crane must be positioned before the vessel leg. The CAL 64000-1500 Litronic® is the first heavy lift offshore crane in the world to date to be built according to this design.
The main advantage of the “Crane Around the Leg” design is that despite the crane’s enormous size it can be positioned in a space-saving way and thus requires a relatively small obstruction area of only 12 m.
More space due to parallel booms
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 be otherwise used for loading the jack-up vessel.
Safe moving of the loads
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 design stage special attention was paid to ease of maintenance.
Numerous fields of application
The CAL 64000-1500 Litronic® will first be used for the installation of offshore wind power stations in the North Sea wind park Global Tech I. The crane’s enormous lifting capacity of up to 1,500 t enables the installation of over 5 megawatt strong turbines and rotors as well as the loading and subsequent safe installation of the heaviest foundations down to a maximum water depth of 50 m. This reduces set-up times and so contributes to increased productivity.
Another possible application is in oil and gas production. There the crane can be used for assembly and disassembly of platforms and other structures.
Advancement through innovation
With the CAL 64000-1500 Litronic® Liebherr once again demonstrates its innovative strength. Thanks to professional project management the new product was delivered to the customer – punctually and within budget.