09.07.2012

ALE to build 5,000 tonner

Global heavylift and transport company ALE is to develop a 5,000 tonne capacity AL.SK crane.

Claimed to be the world’s largest capacity land-based crane, the AL.SK350 will essentially be an upgraded version of the AL.SK190 which is currently completing projects in the Middle East.
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ALE is to develop a 5,000 tonne capacity AL.SK350 crane

The AL.SK350 is being built for a long term project recently awarded to ALE in Brazil. The crane will have a maximum lifting capacity of 5,000 tonnes using a strand jack system and is also fitted with a 2,000 tonne winch system. It has a load moment of 354,000 tonne/metres (claimed to be around 77 percent higher than its nearest rival) and a 141.2 metre main boom. It can also be fitted with a fixed 120 metre jib.

The project which begins in mid 2013 will see ALE’s latest crane working at the OSX Shipbuilding Unit, which will be the largest shipyard in the Americas located in Açu, near the oil-rich Campos Basin, Brazil.

The AL.SK350 will be used for heavy lifting in the shipyard including the installation of modules onto the Hulls of Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) vessels. During its technical evaluation, OSX said that the AL.SK350 was the only crane capable of installing fully assembled modules from one lifting location, without the requirement to rotate the hull. The savings in downtime and schedule this offered, as well as being able to install fully assembled modules, was influential in its selection decision.

Ronald Hoefmans, group technical director at ALE said: “We can confirm that we are currently in the fabrication stages of building the AL.SK350. We are always striving to keep innovation at the forefront of what we do, and continually creating new concepts to push the boundaries in the heavylift market. Innovation is one of the company’s core values, and we are pleased to see yet another concept from the drawing boards of our R&D facility, being built to offer solutions in the industry.”
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The AL.SK350 is said to have a load moment of 354,000 tonne metres and a 141.2 metre main boom

Michael Birch regional director at ALE added: “We are very pleased to be able to support OSX wiht its new shipyard facility. We understand that OSX undertook a detailed technical evaluation of lifting options, not only floating cranes but also heavylift cranes, from mainstream manufacturers and other heavy lift companies. We are proud that after such a process it selected ALE and identified the SK350 as the best technical solution for its heavy lifting requirements in what is planned to be the largest and most technically advanced shipyard in South America.”