24.08.2007

Revolutionary gantry crane to lift 20,000 tonnes

The 'Tai Sun' gantry crane being built at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard in China claims to be worlds largest with a total lift capacity of 20,000 tonnes.

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The worlds largest crane?

Yantai Raffles Shipyard has announced that the construction of its revolutionary gantry crane, which will be used to build semi-submersible rigs and other huge offshore vessels, has just entered into its final phase and will see its full completion in October 2007.

Its second 4,800 tonne beam, has been hoisted to its final position at 118 metres above the dock floor, which is the start of a series of tests as required by the Chinese authorities.

The gantry crane’s two beams, designed to lift 10,000 tonnes each, will be tested to see if they will be able to lift 20 percent above its designed lifting capacity.

Brian Chang, chairman of Yantai Raffles Shipyard said: “With the world’s largest gantry crane, Yantai Raffles has made a significant breakthrough in the building of semi-submersible rigs. This revolutionary facility will save a significant number of man hours in the building of semi-submersibles and FPSOs and will completely change the way these huge offshore vessels are built."

"This new process will enable the group to take on bigger and far more complex projects, as it significantly reduces production time and safety issues whilst increasing quality standards.”

The company said that conventional methods of rig building, often rigged with complex integration issues and high costs, will soon be things of the past. .

“For the last seven years, several Chinese and foreign companies have been involved in the design, construction, supply, commission and testing of this gantry crane. We expect these tests to be completed by October 2007 and look forward to its full operation soon after,” said Chang.

130 metres long and 122 metres high, the gantry crane has already received strong interest from the group’s customers. Already, it is expected to lift 10 deck boxes for the construction of various offshore vessels.