Engineering heavy lifting and transport specialist Mammoet launched the world’s largest land-based crane, the SK6000. The unit will play a key role in offshore wind where the components are continuously growing in size, leading to supply chain issues in recent years. 

With the capacity to lift 3000 tons to a height of 220 metres, the SK6000 ensures that wind farms in the planning phase today can be executed and delivered in the future. In the oil and gas sector, the SK6000 delivers reduced integration times to offshore floating projects, while onshore new build and expansion projects can be delivered with increased uptime.

Both scopes then benefit from modular construction techniques that allow critical path components to be simultaneously built offsite anywhere in the world, before transporting to site ahead of installation, Mammoet said.

As more new-build nuclear plants are greenlit, the SK6000 helps the sector to benefit from similar tried-and-tested construction methodologies – helping projects to reach completion sooner and deliver low carbon energy to communities.

The SK6000 has a maximum capacity of 6,000 tons, utilizing 4,200 tons of ballast to lift with a maximum ground-bearing pressure of 30t/m2. The crane design uses containerization techniques for ease of deployment and can be transported using shipping containers to any location worldwide.

It also offers full electric power capability from battery or supply from the grid, allowing customers to reduce the carbon impact of projects significantly.

“This crane is truly a world record feat of engineering, with a production schedule to match”, said Gavin Kerr, Director Global Services at Mammoet. “Hundreds of colleagues have been directly involved with its development across the business. There are very few companies on Earth – if any – that could have brought this crane into reality, and we are immensely proud to be able to do so”.

The SK6000 is currently undergoing testing at Mammoet’s Westdorpe facility in the Netherlands, ready for deployment to its first project later in the year.

Want to learn more about the equipment and technology that make mega projects across the globe possible consider joining the Project Cargo Summit on September 17-18 in Bilbao, Spain. There are only a few spaces left so hurry up and book yours here.