Gdansk Port Exploitation has acquired a new multi-purpose crane. The second of the three ordered Liebherr LHM 550 cranes arrived yesterday from the factory in Rostock and was unloaded from the ship onto the quay in Gdansk today.
Yesterday, June 13th, late in the evening, the 105-meter-long vessel Meri docked at the Dworzec Drzewny quay in the Port of Gdansk. The ship is designed for the transportation of heavy and oversized cargo. On board, there was a new acquisition of Gdansk Port Exploitation - a new Liebherr LHM 550 port crane.
This is already the second crane of this type in Gdansk Port Exploitation out of the three that will be operating on the quays in Gdansk. The first one was delivered to Gdansk in winter, and the third one is expected to arrive by the end of 2023. As emphasized by Artur Lass, the proxy at Gdansk Port Exploitation, the first Liebherr LHM 550 has been performing exceptionally well, which led to the decision to order additional cranes.
The first crane has been in operation for over 5,600 hours since its installation and has proven itself fully capable during this period of increased coal handling. We have decided to continue our partnership with Liebherr and order two additional cranes of the same type. This is part of our ongoing efforts to modernize our infrastructure. Our clients present us with ever-increasing challenges and demand faster cargo handling and shorter vessel stays in the port. We are addressing these needs accordingly," explains Lass.
Artur Lass emphasizes that the Liebherr LHM 550 is a versatile crane. With a wide range of available attachments, some of which arrived in Gdańsk together with the crane itself, it enables the handling of various types of cargo, including coal, grain, ores, scrap, and containerized goods of any size. Importantly, it is also a mobile machine. The new Liebherr crane was able to descend from the Meri ship on its own wheels.
The crane is mounted on a chassis consisting of 72 wheels. This allows for full mobility and practically 100% utilization of the quay, as described by Artur Lass. He adds that all three new cranes will be operating on the recently renovated Dworzec Drzewny quay by the Port of Gdańsk Authority. However, thanks to their mobility, they will also handle cargo operations in the vicinity, on the Rudowe Quay, and in the area of the Górniczy Basin.
The new Liebherr LHM 550 weighs over 400 tons. Its independent lifting capacity, depending on the outreach of the boom, reaches up to 100 tons. However, it differs slightly from the one already in operation at PG Eksploatacja. It can operate using a conventional diesel engine, but also an electric motor, allowing for the use of electricity from renewable sources and thereby reducing emissions generated during machine operation. But that's not all.
The grab of this new Liebherr can hold up to 28 tons of coal, while the grab of the old crane can handle about 8-9 tons. This allows us to reduce the number of movements the crane has to make and thus minimize the activities that cause dust emissions, which we are all currently dealing with - explains Artur Lass.
Interestingly, the new crane can work in tandem with its older counterpart. Both cranes can operate in a so-called parallel mode, allowing them to handle combined cargo transfers of up to 250 tons. As a result, PG Eksploatacja has expanded its portfolio of services with the addition of heavy-lift cargo handling, following the delivery of the new machine.
Both cranes in action at Port Gdańsk Eksploatacja will be visible soon.
"We already have experience in handling this type of cranes, and our team is about to finish their training, so the introduction of the second Liebherr into operational use will happen very soon," says Artur Lass, Proxy at Port Gdańsk Eksploatacja.
