The CAL heavy lift crane design is a relatively new crane in offshore construction; it revolves 360° around one of the four jack-up legs of a vessel.

The firm’s new CAL 64000-1500 Litronic will be used for the installation of offshore wind power stations at Global Tech I wind park in the North Sea.

There, it will be used to install 5mW turbines and rotors.

Additional applications for the new crane include oil and gas assembly work as it can used for assembly and disassembly of platforms and other structures, as it can load and install foundations at a maximum water depth of 50m, reducing setup times.

Liebherr adapted its Rostock, Germany production facility workshops to accommodate clearance heights.

Internal site roads also had to be enlarged.

After production, Liebherr transported the crane’s 600t parts to Crist Shipyard in Gdynia Poland, where it was assembled.

The CAL assembly demanded special installation planning. Leibherr co-ordinated assembly of the crane with the completion of the jack-up vessel as the crane had to be put in place before the vessel leg.

HGO InfraSea Solution christened the ‘Innonvation’ in early September.

Liebherr said it is strengthening its position as world market leader for heavy lift and offshore cranes.

The CAL 64000-1500 Litronic has a maximum lifting capacity of 1,500t at a maximum working radius of 31.5m.

It is capable of lifting 1,000t at a working radius of about 46m.

The boom length is 105m and the dead weight of the crane is 1,500t.

The offshore crane’s lifting height reaches120m above deck.

The slewing ring has an outer diameter of 13m and an inner diameter of 11m.

Liebherr said the main advantage of the "Crane Around the Leg" is that it saves space, allowing an obstruction area of only 12m.

Space saving is increased by the crane’s twin-boom design that allows operators to park it on top of an adjacent vessel leg.

Also enhancing ease of parking, control systems are geared for precision.

Liebherr commented on the control systems: "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."