ALE has announced the launch of the 10,000t (11,020 US tons) capacity SK10,000 crane at the Offshore Technology Conference in Texas, USA. The world’s largest capacity land-based crane, it will enable new levels of project efficiencies in schedule, safety and cost for the lifting of ultra-heavy modules – particularly in FPSO and FLNG construction.
Demand for the lifting of larger and heavier modules is growing, and ALE’s 5,000t capacity AL.SK350 has performed a number of world-record lifts in recent years. Now the SK10,000 will allow modules to be rotated, aligned and installed directly onto ships’ hulls, hugely advancing industry capabilities for both lift weights and impact on project efficiency.
The SK10,000 utilises the same design as the AL.SK350. This allows it to deliver unparalleled lifting power in a compact plot area without the need to install a full crane track, and to be fully rigged and operated off-plot to minimise site disruption. It offers an outreach of up to 200m (656ft) and ground bearing pressure below 25t/m2.
Ronald Hoefmans, ALE’s Group Technical Director, commented:
“Our innovations in lifting super-heavy modules for projects such as FPSO and FLNG construction offer important advantages in terms of managing safety and minimising project schedule and costs.
“We not only solve our clients’ existing challenges, but also look to the future in enabling them to achieve industry firsts that later become the industry standard. The introduction of the SK10,000 means that individual lifts of up to 10,000t (11,020 US tons) are now possible, allowing customers to build larger modules more efficiently in fabrication yards and access a highly mobile and flexible solution to lift them.”
