Konecranes to supply Korean shipyard

KCI Konecranes in Finland has received an order for a Goliath gantry crane from Korean shipbuilder Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME). The new 900-ton crane will be delivered to the DSME shipyard in Okpo in November 2006 and will further strengthen KCI Konecranes’ position on the fast-growing Korean shipbuilding market. The order has a value of approximately $17.7 million and part of the construction work will be undertaken by the shipyard itself.

Korean shipyards’ orderbooks are higher than ever before and shipbuilders are rushing to install new equipment. South Korea dominates the industry’s global market and has the world’s top three shipbuilders; Hyundai Heavy Industries, DSME and Samsung Heavy Industries.

The Daewoo shipyard in Okpo was the first Korean shipyard to buy a Konecranes goliath gantry crane back in 1984. Due to a buoyant order book and an aging crane fleet at the shipyard, DSME is investing in new equipment to increase productivity. World shipbuilding is set to continue and ship-owners are queuing to order ever more sophisticated ships, which is also setting higher demands on the shipbuilders’ production equipment.

The new Goliath crane will enable DSME to lift and turn ship blocks weighing up to 800 tonnes. The crane will be equipped with two 450-ton hooks and one 500-ton hook, it will stand about 100 m high, span over 148 m and employ 64 wheels to travel down a 500 m runway. This is already KCI Konecranes’ third order from a Korean shipyard during 2005. The company will also supply the design and component packages for two similar Goliath gantry cranes that will be delivered to the Daehan and Sundong shipyards in South Korea.