MSC breaks its record for heavy cargo with a 390-ton hydraulic hammer
Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) has recently moved the needle again when it comes to the size and weight of the cargo it is moving on its container vessels. The latest milestone was completed when it moved a 390-tonne hydraulic hammer from Rotterdam to Singapore onboard MSC London.
“Measuring 25.7m long (4.55m wide and 4.82m high), this is the heaviest piece of cargo MSC has ever transported,” the company said.
The giant hammer arrived in Singapore at the beginning of August. It will be used to drill foundation poles into the seabed for an offshore wind farm project, contributing to the energy transition in South Asia.
MSC’s internal team managed all aspects of the process, starting with conducting an on-site pre-inspection and developing a comprehensive lifting and lashing plan, considering vessel stability and onboard positioning. Because of the tremendous weight of the hammer, it needed to be transported to Rotterdam by barge and unloaded using some of the most powerful floating cranes, such as the 125-meter tall Asian Hercules II.
The milestone continues a series of records MSC has broken. Earlier this year, MSC’s Vietnamese unit shattered its own record for the longest single piece of oversized cargo ever loaded in the country. A disassembled lifting frame, measuring 31 meters in length when broken down, marks a significant feat in handling oversized and complex cargo on a containership.
