Ship launch by Prangl

Austrian crane service provider Prangl used a Terex AC 500-2 all terrain crane to help launch a 71 tonne hull onto Lake Hallstatt, Austria.

The 27 metre hull was lifted onto a lowbed trailer at the Danube port in Ennsdorf and transported to the lake. Prangl used its Terex AC 500-2 all terrain crane to lift the hull into the lake. The lifts were carried out on behalf of the Lake Hallstatt shipping company.

Challenges on both sites included tight working conditions, weather and time. To carry out the lift at the port, the AC 500-2 was configured with long slinging gear, 37.9 m main boom and 140 tonnes of counterweight. Here the AC 500-2 worked in tandem with another crane. The 71 tonne ship was lifted at a working radius of 14 m, to a height of 3 m and then moved onto the waiting lowbed trailer.

Alexander Albert, Prangl project manager, said, “The Terex AC 500-2 was simply the perfect match for this job, as its lifting capacity was just right for the tonnage involved in the lift.”

Christian Wolkerstorfer, crane operator, said, “Ideally, you’d want to lift this kind of load using a tandem lift, as we did when loading the hull on the lowbed trailer. But that was out of the question when unloading it due to the lack of space. In other words, our AC 500-2 was on its own. However, the crane is powerful enough to handle this type of lift even without assistance.”

On arrival at the lake the AC 500-2 was configured with a 19.3 m boom, 30 m luffing fly jib and 180 tonnes of counterweight. The AC 500-2 lifted the vessel at a radius of 24 m to a height of 4 m and then swivelled 180 degrees to gently lower the hull onto the water. It took eight hours to set the crane up for the lift.

Preparations carried out prior to the lift included the temporary closure of the B 166 main road, which passed the lake, and also the surrounding parking lots for two days. In addition, the bank slope within the crane’s working radius had to be completely cleared, a spokesperson added.