The Liebherr heavy lift offshore crane series consists of machine types with lifting capacities from 300t to 3,000t. The machine types are BOS 7500, BOS 14000, BOS 35000, BOS 45000, MTC 78000, CAL 45000 and CAL 64000.
Because of the increasing importance of heavy lift offshore cranes Liebherr developed the heavy lift offshore crane type CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic® which is used for the installation of offshore wind turbine generators. The first crane will be delivered for the jack-up vessel "Innovation", owned by HGO InfraSea Solutions.
In addition two further heavy lift units type BOS 35000 were delivered to the company DSME in Korea (for RWE Innogy, offshore installation ship "Victoria Mathias" and "Friedrich Ernestine") as well as one unit BOS 45000 to the company Keppel Fels in Singapore (Workfox "Seafox").
Maximum lifting capacities up to 1,500t at a maximum radius of 31.5m
The CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic® achieves a maximum lifting capacity of 1,500t at a maximum working radius of 31.5m. The boom length of the crane currently on order is 105m. The dead weight of the new large size crane is 1,500t at a lifting height of over 120m above deck. The special feature of the heavy lift crane is its slewing ring with an outer diameter of 13m.
The slewing bearing alone weighs over 100 t. Moreover, the crane is designed as ‘Crane Around the Leg’, i.e. it is built around one of the vessel’s four legs. Up to now the CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic® is the first heavy lift offshore crane in the world to be built according to this design.
Advantages and performance characteristics
This specially developed crane type, which is able to rotate 360° around the vessel’s leg, offers a relatively small obstruction area of 12m, which – together with a slewing ring inner diameter of 11m – allows for ideal positioning of the crane around the vessel’s leg. Thanks to the special twin boom design, the boom can even be lowered and parked over one of the vessel’s front legs. This solution prevents the crane from obstructing free space on deck which can be used for loading the jack-up vessel.
Besides the powerful electro-hydraulic drive with 4,000kW, the Litronic® control system developed by Liebherr as well as the integrated power management provide optimum performance in all operating conditions. As an option a slewing unit (rotator) for loads of up to 600t is available for the CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic®.
Flexible application
Per annum the CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic® will install more than 80 wind turbines with heights of over 120m down to a maximum water depth of 50m for the joint venture of Hochtief Construction and the project and heavy lift cargo shipping company HGO InfraSea Solutions. The enormous lifting capacity of the heavy lift crane enables the installation of over 5MW strong turbines and rotors as well as the loading and subsequent safe installation of the heaviest foundations.
Apart from the installation of offshore wind power stations the crane is also suitable for the oil and gas market, e.g. for assembly and disassembly of platforms or other structures.
Production, transportation and set-up
The size and weight of the individual components of the CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic® partly required the adaptation of the company’s own production facilities at Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock. Not only special machines for mechanical processing were necessary but also the enlargement of clearance heights and widths in the workshops and, to some extent, on internal site roads. With a dead weight of 1,500t and a 105m long boom the innovative heavy lift crane is too big to be transported to the Crist shipyard in Gdynia, Poland, in one piece. For this reason, the crane will be transported to Poland in several parts weighing up to 600t and will be assembled on site.
Due to the design of the CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic® around the rear vessel leg of the "Innovation" the assembly of the crane is closely coordinated with the completion of the jack-up vessel as the crane around the leg must be positioned before the vessel leg.
With the CAL 64000 – 1500 Litronic® Liebherr offers a further representative of its extensive range of offshore heavy lift cranes featuring maximum lifting capacities of up to 3,000t.