Gulf Construction Online - Demag proves power on Sharjah job

Cranes & Hoists

The CC 3800-1 lattice boom crawler crane ... lifting a 130-tonne spud leg.

Demag proves power on Sharjah job

A Demag CC 3800-1 was selected as the best possible fit for the job of lifting three mega spud legs from a barge in a Sharjah shipyard.

01 October 2018

A Demag CC 3800-1 lattice boom crawler crane proved to be the perfect machine to lift three 72-m-long, 130-tonne spud legs from a barge – a job that not only required a powerful crane, but also the right touch.

UAE-based crane service provider Al Faris was tasked with the mission at Hamriyah in Sharjah, at one of the biggest shipyards in the region.

“Once we determined all the required parameters for the three lifts, we decided that our CC 3800-1 was the best possible fit for the job,” says Hillary Pinto, founder and managing director of the Dubai-based Al Faris Group, when explaining why the company decided on this crane.

However, the unit had to be first transported to the work site. The company’s own lowbed trailers took a good 10 hours to complete the 82-km journey from Al Faris’ location in Dubai Industrial City to the work site. Al Faris’ own all-terrain cranes were used in order to set up the CC 3800-1.

At the work site, a 10-member specialised team from Al Faris got the crane ready to operate.

The team decided on a configuration with a 108-m-long main boom and a Superlift mast with a length of 36 m. The central ballast totalled 50 tonnes, the Superlift counterweight weighed 325 tonnes, and the counterweight on the superstructure 165 tonnes.

Once set up this way, the CC 3800-1 was ready to lift the three spud legs (having a gross weight of 130 tonnes each), at a maximum radius of 50 m, swing them to the side, and then set them in place with the help of a 150-tonne crawler crane.

The CC 3800-1 only used 68 per cent of its available rated capacity for the lifts, says a spokesman for Terex Cranes, which owns the Demag brand. The Superlift Split Tray proved to be especially useful for the project. This tray makes it possible to easily uncouple the counterweight when it is no longer required for the ongoing job, so that the crane can then move only with the Superlift counterweight that is still needed, he adds.

“This clever quick coupling technology helped us save a lot of time at the shipyard,” says Pinto.

Pinto has all praise for his team as well. “Setting up the slinging gear at a height of around 80 m is an enormous challenge that required a lot of skill. Both lifting and setting the unwieldy steel structures was quite an impressive feat,” he remarks.

Fortunately, the weather played nice at all times and there were no space issues at the large shipyard facilities.

The Al Faris team was also thankful for the support provided in person by a Terex Cranes engineer – as well as for the manufacturer’s assistance before planning started.

“These services are something we really value when it comes to the after-sales support provided by Terex Cranes. Especially because the communication channels are very direct,” Pinto points out. He considers this to be another important reason why he relies on Terex’s products and service.

Founded in 1992, Al Faris Group is a family-owned business with over 26 years of experience in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. The company, a specialist in heavy lifting, heavy transport and energy solutions, has the largest fleet of cranes and heavy equipment in the Middle East.

With a workforce of more than 3,000 dedicated employees, Al Faris currently operates across the Mena region with its head office in Dubai and other corporate offices in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Terex Corporation is a global manufacturer of lifting and material processing products and services delivering lifecycle solutions that maximise customer return on investment. Major Terex brands – Terex, Genie, Powerscreen and Demag – serve a broad range of industries, including construction, infrastructure, manufacturing, shipping, transportation, refining, energy, utilities, quarrying and mining. Terex also offers financial products and services to assist in the acquisition of Terex equipment through Terex Financial Services.