- 7/4/2024
The largest cranes and lifting machines
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00:00Cranes offer the most efficient, quickest, and safest way to move heavy loads to wherever they're needed on a construction site.
00:08Since their invention, cranes have revolutionized the way we build things our society requires.
00:14But for super-sized building projects, super-sized machines are needed.
00:18So put on your hard hats, because it's time for the top 15 biggest cranes and lifting machines in the world.
00:25Number 15. Kokum's Tier of Malmo Crane.
00:29The Kokum's crane, which is also referred to as the Tier of Malmo,
00:33is a huge gantry crane that can be found at the Hyundai Heavy Industries shipyard in Ulsan in South Korea.
00:39It had originally, however, been built at the Kokum shipyard in Malmo, Sweden,
00:43and was controversially moved to South Korea in 2002.
00:47Designed to significantly increase the Malmo shipyard's construction capability,
00:51work began to build the crane in 1973, and it was completed in the following year.
00:56Measuring 453 feet tall, with a rail length of 2,329 feet,
01:01it's able to lift a maximum load of up to 1,600 tons.
01:05Gantry cranes like this are used to lift the large and bulky components into place on large ships,
01:10such as cruise liners and cargo vessels.
01:13During its time in Sweden, the crane was involved in the construction of around 75 of them.
01:17Its last use in Malmo was to lift in place the support pillars of the Oresund Bridge in 1997,
01:23but then it had been sold to a new operating company.
01:26Once a seemingly permanent fixture on the skyline of Malmo,
01:30the decision was made to dismantle it and reinstall it in South Korea,
01:34with the new owners paying just one dollar for it.
01:37In Korea, it's also known as the Tiers of Malmo,
01:40because residents of the Swedish town were apparently seen crying as it was taken away,
01:44because it was the end of an era for that shipyard.
01:53Normally we think of cranes as being land-based machines,
01:56but some of the biggest ones in the world are actually built floating on platforms
02:00to assist with large-scale building operations at sea.
02:03For a long time, the largest semi-submersible crane vessel in the world was the SSCV Tjalf,
02:08which first entered service in 1985.
02:11The hull of the vessel is made up of two separate pontoons,
02:14each of which has four columns that are secured to the seabed before any lifting can begin.
02:18The full structure is about 660 feet long and about 290 feet wide,
02:23and there's accommodation on board for up to 736 people
02:26to ensure there are enough crew members for virtually any constant operations.
02:30On the floating platform, there are two cranes,
02:33which, when their efforts are combined, can lift loads of up to 15,600 tons.
02:38With such maneuverability, its ability to access places other cranes can reach,
02:42and its impressive lifting power,
02:44the SSCV Tjalf has been involved in a number of large-scale construction projects,
02:48including the installation of countless oil platforms,
02:51placing the foundation pylons of several bridges,
02:54and in recent years, it's been focused on installing offshore wind farms.
02:59Number 13. Manitowoc MLC-650
03:03First introduced in 2014, the Manitowoc MLC-650
03:07is what's known as a lattice boom crawler crane.
03:10It can be configured in various ways,
03:12but the maximum height it can reach is 672 feet, or about 200 meters,
03:16which is just a little taller than the Trump Tower in New York.
03:19Its main boom is 341 feet long,
03:22and it's got an impressive maximum lifting weight of up to 600 tons,
03:25something that can be increased to 700 tons by using a VPC Max attachment.
03:30This crane has been designed with the latest technology,
03:33including variable position counterweight system
03:35that automatically moves the 400-ton counterweight to the most efficient position,
03:39which substantially increases the crane's performance and productivity.
03:43They've also been designed in a way that they can be set up much quicker
03:46than other cranes in the same class,
03:48with some estimates suggesting they're ready to go
03:50on half the time of the closest competitor.
03:52Because of their size, you'll never see an MLC-650 on a regular construction site,
03:57but since their introduction, they've been invaluable to a number of projects around the world,
04:01including the installation of wind turbines in South Korea,
04:04lifting tunnel boring machines into place in Australia,
04:07and even during the construction of the new Texas Rangers baseball stadium.
04:12Number 12. DMAG CC6800-1
04:17The incredible DMAG CC6800-1 is a lattice boom crawler crane
04:22that has surprising lift power for its size,
04:25which means that it's often the crane that's chosen for large-scale building projects,
04:28where there's not enough access to allow a bigger model to easily operate.
04:32Reaching a maximum height of 669 feet,
04:35which is more than twice the height of the Big Ben clock tower in London,
04:38the main boom can be extended to 492 feet,
04:41and it's able to lift a maximum weight of 1,375 tons,
04:45with a counterweight that's just 187 tons.
04:48Currently, there are several CC6800s in operation across the U.S.,
04:53where they're helping with the installation of wind turbines,
04:55but their incredible capacity means they've been involved
04:58in several large-scale construction projects elsewhere in the world,
05:01such as to help lift the steel framework into place for the new power plants in Turkey,
05:05and also to help install the foundation pillars
05:08of the huge Ferenc Puskas Sports Stadium in Budapest, Hungary.
05:13Number 11. Manitowoc 31,000
05:16When it was first revealed to the world,
05:18the Manitowoc 31,000 became the largest capacity lattice boom crawler crane
05:22to have ever been designed,
05:24and remains the biggest that the American manufacturer offers.
05:27It is an absolute monster of a machine,
05:30with the ability to lift loads of up to 2,300 tons.
05:33It has a maximum height of 686 feet,
05:36and its main boom can extend to a length of 361 feet.
05:39When designing the 31,000, the developers wanted to ensure
05:43that clients could quickly install it where it was needed,
05:45but also have the ability to get it to the next site with very little downtime,
05:49and the result was an extremely powerful lifter
05:51that can be disassembled and set up somewhere else in as little as four weeks.
05:55Fitted with a variable-position counterweight system,
05:58the 31,000 is remarkably quick with its lifts, too,
06:01and it's one of the most efficient heavy-lift cranes in the world.
06:04It's because of this that, after the first one was built and sent to South Korea in 2012
06:08to perform a series of record-breaking lifts,
06:11all subsequent ones have ended up working on nuclear power plants in sports stadia,
06:15where they have proven invaluable to lifting the awkward-shaped heavy pieces into place.
06:22Number 10. The ALE-ALSK350
06:26The UK-based company ALE has been developing cranes with different design principles
06:31than other manufacturers for a number of years,
06:33and this has resulted in the creation of a series of land-based heavy lifters
06:37that regularly break the world records for their type.
06:40The SK350, which was released in 2013, went straight into operation on oil and gas sites
06:46and began setting new records almost immediately.
06:49With a maximum height of 722 feet, a crane's boom can be extended up to 410 feet,
06:55and it can lift a maximum weight of 5,500 tons.
06:59While these numbers are impressive, the SK350 also has a heavy-duty jib,
07:04and this means the crane has a much further reach than you'd normally expect,
07:07so it's able to reach out a lot wider and, as a result,
07:10has a greater scope of lifts it can perform on-site from its fixed position.
07:14Amazingly, despite its sheer size, the SK350 can be installed on-site by a team of specialists in just four weeks.
07:22But because of its sheer size, the main places you'll see one of these are on sites across Canada, Texas, and Brazil,
07:27where they're used to install oil and gas apparatus.
07:35The Liebherr LR 11000 has been purposefully built by the company to be as versatile as possible,
07:40and at the same time offering extreme power in its liftability.
07:44While it may not be able to carry as much weight as some of the other biggest cranes,
07:48it's the perfect model for construction projects in remote places
07:51that involve bulky objects that need to be lifted relatively high up.
07:55Launched in 2014 with the intent that it would be used at ports,
07:58and specifically for the installation of wind turbines,
08:01the LR 11000 can reach a maximum height of 728 feet,
08:05and its boom can extend just over 550 feet.
08:09It's fitted with an 870-ton counterweight,
08:11and this gives the crane a top-lifting capacity of little more than 1,100 tons.
08:16What's interesting about this crane is that it's been designed with a V-frame,
08:20and this gives it the ability to move the derrick ballast into the position required when needed.
08:24It's a testament to the design's versatility that's been used for so many different projects,
08:29with the LR 11000 being involved in ship construction in Switzerland,
08:33the installation of wind turbines in Hawaii, and for bridge building in Germany.
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08:508. D-MAG CC 8800-1
08:54Introduced by the German-based D-MAG in 2002,
08:57the CC 8800 became by far the company's largest model,
09:02and in recent years, instead of designing brand-new versions,
09:05they've instead made a number of upgrades to the 8800 to improve its size and its lifting weight,
09:10so it's now called the 8800-1.
09:12Available in two main configurations, one that's shorter, but a twin crane with twice the capacity,
09:18or a single version that's taller,
09:20and it's one of the most powerful and adaptable cranes available that makes short work of virtually any job.
09:25The base version of an 8800-1 has a maximum height of about 787 feet,
09:31and a boom that can extend up to 512 feet.
09:34It's able to lift a weight of up to 1,760 tons,
09:37but if this isn't enough, there are a few options to consider.
09:41By adding the twin kit, a two-boom system is mounted onto the carrier to double its lifting ability,
09:46with just a small sacrifice to the overall height.
09:49But even if you need to retain the height, you can instead add a boom bolster kit,
09:53which itself increases the overall capacity by 90%.
09:57Because of the options available and the crane's overall reliability,
10:00it's one of the most common giant cranes you'll see around the world.
10:03It's often used on a range of different types of construction sites.
10:08Number 7. Liebherr LTM 11200 9.1
10:13Most heavy lifting cranes have to be installed on-site and are fixed in place while they're being used,
10:18but the Liebherr LTM 11200 9.1 is different, because it's a mobile crane.
10:25Usually for their portability, these types of cranes sacrifice a lot on power and their lift strength,
10:31but this one can stand up with the best of them and is the most powerful mobile crane available.
10:36The 9-axle machine can lift loads of up to 1,200 tons to a height of 616 feet
10:42and has a telescopic boom that can reach out up to 328 feet.
10:46This means the span of the boom is the equivalent to the wingspan of 50 basketball players end-to-end
10:52and offers huge versatility on construction sites.
10:55The main benefit of a mobile crane like this is that they can be operated with small crews
11:00and are ready to use within a number of days, rather than the weeks it takes to prepare a fixed-position crane.
11:05For those projects that require heavy lifting in various positions across a site,
11:10the LTM 11200 9.1 is undoubtedly the best option,
11:14and it's for this reason that it's proved instrumental in helping with the construction of gantry cranes at industrial ports
11:20and even for lifting parts in place to install fixed-position cranes.
11:29Towers and skyscrapers are some of the most difficult structures to build,
11:33not just because of the huge engineering challenges that they pose,
11:36but also because they reach huge altitudes themselves,
11:39and this means the normal construction cranes aren't any use once a certain height has been reached.
11:44In these cases, a tower crane is needed,
11:47and for more than 40 years, one of the largest models available is the Kroll K10000.
11:52With a maximum lifting height of 470 feet, which is higher than the Statue of Liberty,
11:57it has a jib reach of up to 330 feet and can carry loads of up to 240 tons.
12:02Amazingly, they can cover an area of 7.5 acres with their ability to turn a full 360 degrees,
12:09and along with the fact that they can be installed on relatively small foundation,
12:13means that they're ideal for use in restricted spaces.
12:16Furthermore, the system of three counterweights that are used, which in total weighs around 100 tons,
12:21means that a Kroll K10000 can, in theory, withstand wind speeds of up to 175 miles an hour.
12:27Only 15 of these cranes were built in the 1970s and 80s,
12:31however, with most of them used by the Soviet Union to build nuclear power stations.
12:36Now, of the 14 still in operation, 13 have been permanently installed in shipyards around the world,
12:41while the final one is kept in storage for a planned project in Canada.
12:51First introduced in 2011, the Memoit PTC-200DS is a ring crane,
12:56which is a crane design that further enhances the power and lifting capacity that the structure is able to handle.
13:02By using a set of rails to move the entire crane around 360 degrees,
13:06all the engineering strength of the crane itself is dedicated to lifting and extending the boom,
13:12and this is extremely effective in places where continually heavy lifts are required,
13:16such as at ports or other cargo handling facilities and shipbuilding yards.
13:22The crane has a maximum height of 807 feet, and its main boom can extend to a length of 460 feet.
13:28What's astonishing, though, is that this crane has a top lifting weight of 3530 tons,
13:34which means that it's more than able to deal with practically any construction job in the world.
13:39The first of these to enter operation, for example, was sent to a shipbuilding yard in Brazil,
13:44where it was used to lift all of the components into place to build one of the world's largest FPSOs,
13:49which are huge vessels used by the petrochemical industry to process the oil and gas extracted by drilling at sea.
14:00After four years of construction, the semi-submersible crane vessel called SSCV Slipnir was ready to be launched in 2019,
14:07and immediately became the largest ship of its type in the world.
14:11Named after the eight-legged horse in Norse mythology,
14:14Slipnir is made up of two pontoons with four large columns under each one,
14:18all of which provide a stable foundation for the operation of the two main cranes.
14:23At a cost of a billion dollars, the Slipnir platform is gigantic.
14:27It's 720 feet long, 330 feet wide, and has a water displacement of 301,000 tons.
14:35With eight azimuth thruster engines, it's able to achieve a top speed through the water of 12 miles per hour,
14:42and it's such a complicated piece of machinery that it requires 400 crew members on board at any time.
14:48The ballast and fuel for the vessel are all stored in the columns,
14:52which can be secured to the seabed in shallow waters,
14:55or can provide enough stability in the deeper waters in all but the most extreme weather.
14:59The two cranes are at the rear of Slipnir, one on either side, and offer an overall boom length of 472 feet.
15:06Each of the cranes has a maximum lifting capacity of 11,000 tons,
15:10and this means that if they work in tandem together, they can lift a total of a whopping 22,000 tons.
15:22First introduced in 2010, the Liebherr LR 13000 is the second tallest model of land-based crane on Earth.
15:29It has an incredible maximum hoist height of 774 feet,
15:34and does this because of the boom that can extend to a length of 394 feet.
15:38Because of the latest technology that's built into the crane, it can lift a maximum weight of 3,300 tons,
15:44something that can be further increased by the use of a power boom attachment.
15:48Designed to work on some of the most complicated construction sites in the world,
15:52such as building wind farms, fuel refineries, and power plants,
15:55not only does the LR 13000 have an extraordinary capacity,
15:59but the company has designed a new type of slewing ring, which means that it doesn't need any derrick ballast.
16:05In fact, it's the only crawler crane in its class that's able to do so,
16:09which means it's significantly cheaper to transport to work sites than the alternatives.
16:14This also allows operators to quickly perform lighter lifts in between the heavier ones,
16:19which means the LR 13000 can be used for a larger proportion of jobs than a traditional heavy lifting crane is able to.
16:29SGC-250 Big Carl
16:32The Sarans SGC-250, which is often called Big Carl, is currently the tallest crane in use anywhere on Earth.
16:40First revealed in 2018, it's a type of ring crane, and can lift loads to a maximum height of 820 feet.
16:47It can lift weights of up to 5,500 tons, which is around the equivalent of 50 blue whales,
16:53and as you'd imagine, it needs serious grunt behind it to make this possible.
16:58The SGC-250 is therefore powered by 12 CAT engines, each of which can produce 310 kilowatts.
17:05Grouped into six pairs, they not only support the lifting, but also the movement of the crane too.
17:10Set on rails on the ring, it has 128 wheels that allow it to rotate around 360 degrees,
17:17and it's also the only fixed-position crane in its category that can be relocated after being fully rigged.
17:23This is particularly useful, since it takes about ten weeks to assemble,
17:26and has to be transported between sites in 280 trucks,
17:30which is another reason why the only Big Carl currently in existence
17:34is being used to help build the Hinkley Point C power plant in the UK.
17:38It's a job expected to remain on for a total of four years before moving somewhere else.
17:43Because of the enormous weight of the crane itself, along with whatever it's lifting,
17:47extra care had to be put into the design phase to reduce the pressure it exerts on the ground.
17:52This was done with the inclusion of a number of wheel bogies on double-ring beams and spreader mats.
17:57With further innovations used to make it as effective and simple to use too,
18:01it's not only the largest crane on Earth, but it's also one of the safest and easiest to operate as well.
18:11While it may not be the tallest crane in the world,
18:14the Taisun Gantry Crane at the Yantai Raffle Shipyard at Yantai, China
18:18holds the world record for being the most powerful single crane of all.
18:22It was specifically designed to be used at the shipyard for the installation of the huge modules and components
18:27on semi-submersible oil platforms and other huge vessels used in the energy industry,
18:32and the crane actually holds the record for the top three recorded lifts of all time.
18:37Built in 2008, the crane itself is about 436 feet tall and 393 feet wide,
18:44which allows it to lift loads to a maximum height of 262 feet.
18:48Wire ropes are used to attach to the object it's lifting along a series of points to balance the weight out,
18:54and in the case of the Taisun crane, 31 miles worth of wire was used to create the system.
19:00Soon after it had opened, the owners of the crane wanted to show the world just how powerful it is,
19:05and managed to lift a barge which was ballast with water that weighed 22,192 tons,
19:12which smashed the previous world record.
19:15Subsequent lifts by Taisun of components that weighed 18,000 and 15,000 tons
19:20haven't been beaten by any other crane either,
19:22meaning that the shipyard where it's installed is the only place to go for any company looking to build a new supertanker.
19:31Watch our Machines playlist for more top 15 videos about awesome machines.
19:36Sit back, relax, and binge-watch all of our best machine videos.
19:42Thanks for watching!
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