The world’s largest hydraulic crane is heading to Immingham as Associated British Ports invests £3 million to make quayside operations more efficient.
The Mantsinen 300M Hybrilift is currently being built in Finland, and will be the first to operate in England, following a delivery to Belfast in 2019.
Supplied by Cooper Specialised Handling Ltd, the UK’s leading independent port equipment supplier, the super-sized machine has the reach and capacity to serve panamax size vessels and can handle as much as 1,500 tonnes of bulks per hour – far greater than the rope crane equivalents.
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Simon Bird, Humber regional director for ABP, said: “Our investment in buying the world’s largest hydraulic crane shows our commitment to ensuring we have the best plant and equipment on the ports to service our customers' needs. We’re also thrilled to be the first company in Great Britain to have this giant on our port.”
The machine weighs in at 365 tonnes without attachment, and is powered by a Volvo 16-litre EU5 diesel engine.
ABP has opted for an 18.5m curved boom and 14m stick, and the machine has a 24-wheeled six-axle undercarriage.
It complements smaller models at work across the 21 ports.
David Cooper, executive director of Cooper Specialised Handling, said: “ABP has enjoyed high uptime and operational performance with the Mantsinen fleet since 2016, and we are thrilled that ABP has opted for the biggest of them all.
“It seems quite appropriate that the UK’s largest port by tonnage should invest in a machine that can handle the most tonnage per hour.”
The new machine is anticipated to arrive as a complete unit by vessel to Immingham next month.
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