Liebherr crawler loads oil platforms

Mexican crane and heavy haulage contractor Eseasa used its Liebherr 3,000 tonne capacity LR 13000 crawler crane to load seven oil platforms onto barges at the port city of Tampico, Mexico, on the Gulf of Mexico for Mexican oil group Pemex.

The platforms weighed up to 1,200 tonnes and were positioned on the barges using a crane radius up to 38 metres. Eseasa saved time using the large crawler compared to an alternative method previously employed which utilised SPMT and jack-up systems. With SPMT and jack-up systems the load-in took around 18 hours whereas with the LR 13000 the load-in took three hours.

The use of SPMT and jack-up systems took longer because they required the barge to be positioned at a 90 degree angle to the quay and held in place by several tugs. This also meant that the waterway needed to be closed, adding to the costs incurred by Eseasa.

Using the crawler crane meant that tugs were required for a shorter time than with the alternative technique and smaller barges could be used, too, since they did not have to accommodate the heavy SPMT, further reducing costs.

Aldo Santos, who owns Eseasa along with his four brothers, commented, “Loading the massive components using the Liebherr LR 13000 worked perfectly and is significantly more economical than our previous procedure. The extremely short time required is extraordinary.”