3,000 tonnes crawler crane LR 13000 in operation for the first time with PowerBoom

The most powerful conventional crawler crane, the Liebherr LR 13000 operated by Mammoet, has been in Bremerhaven in use. Mighty jack-up legs 87 metres in length, each weighing 940 tonnes, were installed in the "Aeolus" jack-up vessel. For this job the parallel boom of the LR 13000, referred to as "PowerBoom", was used for the first time.

The craning work on the jack-up vessel started with the most technically challenging lift. The first leg had to be installed through the structure of the heavy-load crane on the "Aeolus". Together with the impressive floating crane, "Matador 3", the LR 13000 lifted the enormous steel tube off its transport barge, aligned it vertically and transferred it all the way across. With its 65 tonne hook block and fastening equipment, the crawler crane was lifting a gross load of more than 1,000 tonnes here, with a reach of 23 metres.

Installation into the complex and extremely large hydraulic system of the jack-up vessel took about four hours. Using large pulley blocks, the pipe was turned into the correct position whilst being lowered. The lifting gear referred to by insiders as a jacking system will subsequently raise the "Aeolus" well above the waves even in water as deep as 45 metres. The gigantic jack-up platform will thus be able to operate irrespective of the sea state.

Remco Zandstra, Mammoet's project manager on site has words of praise for the crane used: "The LR 13000 is an excellent concept and design. Ease of installation and high safety standards show that Liebherr has put all its experience with crawler cranes into this machine."