MES gets 1,000 tonne goliath

The installation of a goliath gantry crane with a lifting capacity of 1,000 tonnes was recently completed at the number 2 dock of Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding Co.’s Chiba Works. The crane is currently the largest of its type in Japan in terms of hoisting capacity and allows the works to construct newbuildings using larger blocks (the largest possible previously was 600 tons using 2 cranes). The crane was manufactured by MES’s steel construction and logistics headquarters.

MES states that the new crane will allow the average number of blocks used to be reduced by 20% which will reduce the docking period for newbuildings by an average of 20%. As an example, MES says that a VLCC can now be launched in 2.3 months compared to the 3 months previously required, and the number of hull blocks required is reduced from about 110-120 to 88. Furthermore, the company plans to fully utilize the new crane in the construction of LNG carriers to commence later this year. The crane will enable the installation of complete spherical tanks on the carriers rather than in 3 separate sections as was previously the case.