Liebherr Wants More Offshore Wind after Netting Orion Crane Order

Liebherr’s maritime manufacturing plant in Rostock, Germany, has been awarded a contract to supply a heavy-lift crane for the Orion, a new wind farm installation vessel ordered by DEME from COSCO (QiDong) Offshore in China.

The crane is rated at 3,000 tonnes at more than 50 metres, with a lifting height in excess of 170 meters and a designation of HLC (Heavy-Lift Crane) 295000. This is the biggest crane Liebherr has developed so far.

Apart from the main crane, the order also includes two of Liebherr’s RL-K 4200 knuckle boom cranes and an offshore crane simulator.

Delivery will be spring 2019, Liebherr said.

GeoSea, a subsidiary of DEME, will use the 216.5 metre Orion to handle the heaviest monopiles, jackets, wind turbine components and structures in a single shipment, and install the next generation of giant multi-megawatt wind turbines, according to DEME.

“It is a great honour to work with both DEME and COSCO on such a revolutionary project, and fits well in to our company strategy,” said Gordon Clark, Sales Director Liebherr Offshore Cranes.

“We see a promising future in the heavy-lift sector, with growth in both the green energy sector and also offshore decommissioning.”  

The Liebherr offshore crane division made a strategic decision in 2016 to extend its range of heavy lift cranes to better position the company in the expanding decommissioning and offshore wind markets.

Both of these are expected to produce high volumes of work in the offshore sector in the coming years, according to Liebherr.

“The extension to our heavy crane range allows us to compete in a sector with only a few players that have had little competition of late, and we look forward to winning some of that market share,” said Leopold Berthold, Managing Director Liebherr Maritime Cranes.

“The Liebherr Board and the Liebherr Family were supporting this development during last year, so winning this order is proof we are heading in the right direction. It will be another important string to further promote diversification and provide access to new growth potential.”

Liebherr describes its maritime hub in Rostock as ”perfectly suited for the manufacturing of such huge offshore machines.”

Steel construction, assembly, installation/loadout and testing will be fully processed in the company’s facility on the Baltic Sea.

“We have a long and successful relationship with Liebherr, and this new HLC crane is the best tool for our new development plans for heavy lift offshore applications such as installation of wind power generation plants. For this purpose cranes with very long outreaches, high lifting heights, and huge lifting capacities are needed,” a DEME spokesperson said.