28.09.2015

More Sennebogens for Antartica

The British Antarctic Survey has ordered two 40 tonne Sennebogen 643 telescopic crawler cranes from UK based distributor AGD Equipment.

The cranes will be supplied with a deep cold weather package for work at the British Antarctic Surveys’ Halley VI Research Station, located in one of the most hostile environments on earth with average winter temperatures of below -20°C with extreme lows of around -56°C. Wind speeds regularly exceed 100mph.

The cranes will be shipped in October aboard the RRS Ernest Shackleton, and are due to arrive in the Antarctic in December. Sennebogen have supplied the cranes with quick release hydraulic connections to assist with the removal and re-attachment of the boom for transport. Both cranes are being shipped at their lowest possible weight configuration whilst remaining mobile under their own power, this is due the thickness of the sea ice the cranes will be unloaded onto. Once on site the booms will be re-attached along with the counterweights etc...
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The Sennebogen 643 at the Neumayer Station with a supply sled

AGD has also arranged the delivery of essential spare parts and necessary items to complete a full service for both cranes.

Sennebogen has a history of supplying cranes to Antarctica, having supplied a modified 643 to the German Neumayer Station III, while two 125 tonne lattice boomed 3300’s – supplied through Sarens - helped build it.

Ben Norrish, vehicles and plant manager for the British Antarctic Survey, said: “winter darkness and frozen sea makes access to the station possible only during the Antarctic summer months. During this short season (4-5 months) the station is re-supplied once, and sometimes twice, by ship with all essential items such as fuel and food, etc… The sea-ice is assessed for thickness and stability before offloading, and then all cargo is transported by sled, pulled by tracked vehicles onto the thicker, more stable shelf-ice. Sea-ice can severely restrict cargoes. A maximum of six tonnes is a general rule of thumb for any sledge load being towed across the sea-ice and only one tonne in poor conditions. The optimum re-supply distance with current modes of transport is approximately 20 to 50km between the ship and the station, however, several kilometres of this can be on unstable sea-ice!”

“The two cranes are required for a project to perform specific tasks not already covered by our existing fleet. Sennebogen was selected due to its high factory specification and proven performance working in Antarctica. Having already been selected to build the Neumayer station. This manufacturer has detailed knowledge of specialised build modification drawings needed for short lead-times on this project”.
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Two 125 tonne Sennebogen 3300 crawlers help build the German Neumayer Station III in Antartica