Cooper Specialised Handling has confirmed the delivery of the giant Mantsinen rubber-tyred, hydraulic crane, developed specifically for port operations, to Belfast Harbour and that it has entered service
The machine was delivered fully-assembled from Finland. Although at the time of writing, the shipping method is not known to WorldCargo News, Mantsinen has made similar deliveries to customers in Belgium and elsewhere using Meri Shipping’s flat deck ro-ro ships, MERI and AURORA (also very popular with Liebherr for deliveries to the UK and other short sea destinations of mobile harbour cranes from Rostock).
The 300M is generally recognised as the world’s largest hydraulic crane, (although recently Sennebogen has claimed that its new 895 E launched at BAUMA this year is bigger).
The 300M can reach 460 tonnes in unladen weight, although the Belfast Harbour 300M weighs in at 370 tonnes without attachments. It has been specified to lift 30 tonne steel coils from the far side of vessels that visit the port, as well as handling bulk and breakbulk cargo in and out of vessels as large as 36,000dwt.
The undercarriage has six axles with a total of 24 rubber tyres. Weight distribution and stability in operating mode is assured by four double-pads, each measuring 14 m2. The 300M will join another rubber-tyred Mantsinen machine, a 160M, supplied through Cooper’s in 2016. This has become a popular crane because of its speed of operation, reach and capacity.
Speaking on behalf of Cooper SH, David Cooper Executive Director, stated: "The new 300M is much more than a single crane supply. Belfast Harbour, through their experience of the 160M, identified the speed and productivity advantages that these type of machines provide and now, with this super-capacity crane, the customer can enjoy the reach and capacity more commonly associated with mobile harbour cranes, but with the operational speed of a material handler.
“This enhanced productivity will reap dividends for Belfast Harbour and its customers and they should be congratulated for their vision and creativity in selecting this option.”
Michael Robinson, Port Director, Belfast Harbour, said: “The additional reach, productivity and general versatility of the Mantsinen 300 means it is a very welcome addition to our cargo-handling portfolio and will assist in our ambitions to provide our customers with highly efficient and flexible cargo handling solutions.
"It is an impressive machine and we are delighted to bring yet more modern, cutting edge equipment for our port customers having invested more than £20M in new cranes over the last 10 years.”
The crane was assembled in and shipped from in Mantsinen’s new facility in the Port of Rauma on Finland’s West coast. The sub-assemblies were manufactured in Mantsinen’s production facility in Liperi, Central-East Finland but final assembly and function testing was completed in Rauma this facilitating a direct port-to-port sailing which took six days. Actual transfer of the crane onto the quay in Belfast, using its own long-travel drive motors, took just 30 minutes.
David Cooper added “This represents the future of crane deliveries. Large cranes can take five days of building and expensive twin-lift mobile cranes to assist in the build function. This method eliminates the need of disassembly for shipping and re-assembly on arrival, which ties up quay areas as build areas for a long period of time. For our port customers, we can see all future deliveries, large and small, being completed this way.”
Source: WorldCargo News