Malaysia
Global heavy lift marine transport specialist Rickmers-Linie recently carried three 475t liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) storage tanks from Kuantan, Malaysia to Shuaiba, Kuwait.

The vessels were built by KNM Process System, for the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company’s LPG filling station at Umm Al-Aish. They were carried on the Baltic Winter ship. Getting the huge vessels on board required the ship’s two main NMF cranes to work in tandem.

Each tank measures 60.1m x 9m x 9.75m. The two 400t NMF cranes can work together to lift 800t. However, calculating a safe stability configuration was not easy. In normal circumstances this would not have been a big issue but the fact that no stability pontoon was available on this vessel added to the complexity.

Rickmers-Linie were, however, able to plan and perform the lift safely.

The planned 150,000 sq m plant will provide 15 million cylinders of gas every year. The overall transport project, which involves six tanks, is being handled by Malaysian heavylift transport specialists SGV Logistik and Aman Logistics. SGV Logistik awarded Rickmers-Linie the contract to transport the first three units to Kuwait.

Singapore
Two Liebherr 280 EC-B 12 Litronic Flat-Top cranes from HLM Rental are providing lifting duties for main contractor Sim Lian Construction for its Waterview Condominium development in Tampines Ave, Bedok.

A total of 696 condominium-style apartments are to be constructed in 12 15-storey towers as a mix of two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments and penthouses using pre-fabricated panels weighing up to 6.0t.

The cranes will reach a final hook height of 64.42m and 72.2m with jibs of 45m 40m jib to provide a maximum lift of 6.4t at 45 m and 7.6t at 40 m.

Philippines
Seven new Grove rough-terrain cranes from Manitowoc are at the heart of construction on one of the largest petrochemical plants in the Philippines, at Batanga, south of Manila. The cranes are working among a dense network of pipes and machinery to install chimneys and lift general construction materials at the $800m project, due for completion later in 2012.

Five of the cranes, four RT765E-2s and an RT890E, were bought specifically for the project by EEI, one of the largest construction companies in the Philippines. The cranes arrived in the country in February this year. The two other Grove machines, both RT760Es, were rented by EEI from Manitowoc subsidiary MCG to complement the purchased cranes.

Jorel Mateo, vice-president of logistics at EEI, says, "This is a very complicated and important project for the country where safety is paramount and completing on time is crucial. The Grove cranes are powerful units in compact packages. They adapt to different demands at the job site and are quick to set up on uneven ground. Their versatility ensures the project moves ahead on schedule."

The five new cranes were shipped to the Philippines from Manitowoc’s Shady Grove, factory in the USA. Once on site, they were immediately put to work. Their main responsibility is to erect chimneys but they are also assisting with general construction duties. Among the heaviest loads are large sections for the chimneys, which weigh up to 45t. More complicated lifts require the cranes to work in tandem.

Singapore
2015 will see the opening of the new National Art Gallery, Singapore, which will be the region’s biggest museum, at 60,000 sq m. Two adjacent buildings at Singapore’s Downtown Core, the City Hall and the former Supreme Court, will be transformed to host a large collection of Southeast Asian art.

Takenaka-Singapore Piling Joint Venture has been appointed as the main construction contractor for the works, with an estimated budget of SGD530m. These two historic buildings, both listed as national monuments, will undergo conservation and adaptive reuse to transform them into the new gallery.

The consortium is using three LCL 500 luffing-jib cranes from Linden Comansa, with a maximum load capacity of 24t and height under hook of 38.5m. The cranes are part of the rental fleet of Linden Comansa’s official dealer, Access Systems Technology. The cranes are working on the restoration of the City Hall, and their functions vary from loading and unloading materials, concrete casting and shifting of heavy materials and equipments within the site. Two of the cranes have been erected with jib length of 55m, which allows them to load up to 7,900kg at the jib end. The third has a jib length of 65m, the maximum of this model, and can load up to 4,700kg at the jib end.