On the morning of December 2nd a pontoon transporting a particularly heavy load moored at the quay wall of Wallmann & Co.’s Multi-Purpose Terminal on Reiherstieg in the Port of Hamburg. On board was a new LHM 600 Litronic port crane for handling heavy and project cargoes aimed at immediately boosting the terminal operator’s cargo handling performance.

With a maximum load of up to 208 tons, the LMH 600 is the strongest quay crane in service in the Port of Hamburg. The key feature is that Liebherr’s Synchronizing Crane Control System permits synchronized operation of two Liebherr port mobile cranes in tandem, using only one crane driver, hence increasing the ultimate load of the cranes. Its 140-ton cranes, already capable of operation in tandem, plus the new 208-ton crane, will equip Wallmann & Co. to handle general cargo loads weighing up 320 tons. That corresponds to the weight of 300 VW Golfs that could be loaded at one heave. Thanks to the Vertical Line Finder equipped with a diagonal-pull display, the heavy load can be raised free of vibration and more rapidly positioned at its stowage position. “With the new crane we shall be superbly equipped to cater for increased customer requirements,” says Hans-Dieter Wilde, Managing Director of Wallmann & Co.

The crane was built in Rostock by Liebherr and brought to Hamburg on a pontoon by barge train through the Kiel Canal via Kiel and Brunsbüttel. To position the heavy-duty crane at Wallmann & Co.’s terminal, the pontoon was initially secured at right angles to the edge of the quay by steel hawsers. When high water came, producing the corresponding water level for the pontoon, the crane on its undercarriage with a length of over 26 metres rolled from the floating bridge on to the facility. During discharge, the stability of the pontoon needed continuous adjustment involving ballast water. 
 
The crane itself weighs a total of 576 tons, has a height of 38.4 metres to the towerhead and standard support base dimensions of 14 x 14 metres. The swing gear of the port mobile crane can be extended to a radius of 12 up to 58 metres. At minimum radius, the maximum lifting height across the quay is 45 metres. The LHM 600 Litronic is powered by a 12-cylinder MAN type D2842 LE diesel. “After acceptance testing and briefing for the crane drivers, our new mobile crane is to be taken into service immediately. In December alone, we are anticipating five consignments that will require tandem handling of the full load,” says Hans-Dieter Wilde.

Conventional general cargo throughput in the Port of Hamburg in 2010 reached 2.6 million tons. Exports of project cargo and vehicles at 1.1 million tons accounted for a large share of the total.