Germany's Gottwald Port Technology (Gottwald), a subsidiary of Demag Cranes, has received an order from the Norwegian NorSea Group for a new mobile harbour crane. The G HMK 4406, a Model 4 crane, will be used in the Finnish Port of Hanko for handling pipeline sections for the new Nord Stream gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea.
The construction of the Nord Stream pipeline from Vyborg in Russia to Lubmin in Germany is one of the most prestigious infrastructure projects in progress in Europe. The pipeline runs the length of the Baltic Sea and, when completed, will transport up to 55 billion cubic metres of Russian natural gas each year to Europe.
The aim is to commence laying the first of the 200,000 pipe sections required for the two pipeline strings, extending for around 1,220km, in spring 2010. Some of the pipe sections for the first string of the pipeline are being manufactured in Russia from where they will be transported to the Finnish Port of Kotka. Here, each of the sections (which weigh around 11 tonnes) is given a concrete weight coating to make them weigh twice as much, around 23 tonnes, to ensure they lie firmly on the seabed.
The concrete coated pipe sections are then shipped from Kotka to Hanko, where the Finish marshalling yard is located. At this marshalling yard, to the west of Helsinki, where a total of 40,000 pipe sections will be handled, the new G HMK 4406 mobile harbour crane will be responsible for handling these pipe sections between the quayside and the laying barge supply vessels. The G HMK 4406 is a diesel-electric machine from Gottwald's 100-tonne class. This crane has a flexible lifting
capacity curve allowing it to handle loads of up to 57 tonnes across a wide radius. The
57 tonnes are calculated as the weights of two pipe sections of 23 tonnes each, making 46 tonnes in total, plus a special-purpose pipe spreader. Like all Gottwald mobile harbour cranes, the G HMK 4406 can be used in conjunction with suitable attachments for handling containers, general cargo and bulk materials, which provides crane operating companies with maximum cargo-handling flexibility over long periods of time.
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