Liebherr mount crane on wind farm barge
10 November 2010Liebherr has fitted one of its LTR 11200 telescopic crawler cranes to the deck of a self-propelled jack-up barge for a Danish offshore service provider at Orskov shipyard in Frederikshavn.
Capable of lifting 1200t at 2.5m, the newly fitted crane barge has been working just off the Dutch North Sea coast at the OWEZ offshore wind farm.
A strong but stable tube element has been used to secure the slewing ring of the crane’s superstructure to the barge.
The barge’s owners DBB Jack-up Services made the special arrangement with Liebherr to maximise the benefit of the crane’s significant under-hook height (which can be as much as 190m using Liebherr’s T3 adaptor) by using a lower centre of gravity, as well as significantly reducing the space required to operate the crane.
To take advantage of the barge’s high-performance power plant an electric motor will power the crane, replacing the standard diesel engine.
Biohydraulic oil has also been used for environmental reasons.
Liebherr claim that DBB Jack-up Services, a subsidiary of DBB – Salvage and Towing Company, now have the first barge in the world with a telescopic crane permanently mounted on the ship’s deck.
The firm’s experience of using Liebherr crawler cranes led DBB to decide that the existing partnership between the two companies would ensure the best availability of parts and service assistance.
