The largest lift capacity crane in Britain completed
commissioning today (29 June) at Babcock's Rosyth dockyard. The
Goliath crane is to be used in the assembly and integration of the
UK's new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers by Babcock at its
Rosyth dockyard and will see its first operational use in the
autumn following a series of proving trials.
The partially-erected crane arrived at Rosyth earlier this year
from China, where it was manufactured. The last four months have
seen a busy programme to erect, test and commission the crane,
involving around 100 people.
The massive crane stands at a height of 68 metres to the
underside of the main beams, with a span of 120 metres to straddle
the construction area of the new carriers, and a lift capacity of
1,000 tonnes. It will be used to lift and place the carrier
sub-blocks and components (including upper block and sponsons, bow
block, islands and aircraft lifts) without disrupting the dockside
area adjacent to the ship. The blocks are being constructed at
shipyards around Britain and shipped to Rosyth for final assembly
and integration by Babcock on behalf of the Aircraft Carrier
Alliance.
The crane's 1,000 tonne lifting capacity is provided by three
hooks. The individual capacity of each provides a valuable degree
of flexibility in lifting some awkward loads with difficult centres
of gravity, and allows units or blocks to be turned over, up to a
unit load of 500 tonnes. Two of the hooks are suspended from an
upper trolley (each hook having a 300 tonne capacity) and one from
a central, lower, trolley with a 500 tonne capacity. While the
three hooks have a greater cumulative lifting capacity than 1,000
tonnes, the total capacity is defined by the crane structure.
The crane was constructed in China by specialist manufacturer
Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Co Ltd (ZPMC), with Babcock
undertaking rigorous quality control management during the course
of the two year build. It was delivered to Rosyth in March this
year with the girder and upper sections of the legs assembled,
along with all the components and erection equipment required to
complete the crane assembly on site, including temporary erection
towers.
Following arrival at Rosyth, the crane was erected to its full
height on the ship deck, including jacking up the main beam and
installing the legs at each end, the crane was then transferred
from ship to shore in May, directly onto the purpose-installed
crane rails. The programme to erect, test and commission the crane
has also involved completion of the electrical cable installation,
setting to work, and initial load testing of the completed
assembly, ready for the first lift today.
Training is scheduled to take place this summer with drivers
already being trained on a specialist simulator, and the crane will
be ready for operation from September in line with the carrier
build programme, when the next lower and centre blocks arrive at
Rosyth and the assembly cycle to install the first of the upper
blocks onto the lower begins.
"Installation of the Goliath crane is a highly visible milestone
in the carrier programme, and makes a significant impact on the
Fife skyline," Babcock Project Director Sean Donaldson said. "The
new aircraft carriers, at 65,000 tonnes, 280 metres long, 70 metres
wide and 56 metres high, will be the UK's largest and most powerful
warships, and this huge crane has a vital part to play in enabling
us to lift and move the various sub-blocks and components safely
and efficiently, in the assembly and integration process to
construct these massive vessels here in Rosyth. The assembly and
offload ashore phases presented the project team with a number of
significant risks to manage, and working with ZPMC this was
achieved with no lost work days due to injury."