Mammoet assembles 6000 tonne ring crane

Heavy lift giant Mammoet has assembled and started testing its SK6000 crane which it claims is the world’s strongest land based crane. 

The 6000 tonne capacity SK6000 fully assembled on the company’s Netherlands site. (Photo: Mammoet)

Seen from well over 10 kilometres away from the Westdorpe, Netherlands-site due to its impressive size, the 6,000 tonne capacity super heavy lift ring crane, the SK6000, has been fully assembled at the company’s facility.

Mammoet used its own cranes for the assembly, which began in June this year, including a 250 tonne capacity crawler crane and a 140 tonne Gottwald mobile harbour crane.

The SK6000 can lift 3,000 tonnes to a height of 220 metres and will allow the use of new construction techniques for offshore wind projects and onshore new build projects like nuclear plants. The company said it can be used in a range of different industries and applications but it’s fully battery powered options offer green opportunities for eco conscious sites. It can also be powered by a traditional diesel engine.

The crane’s maximum lift capacity is 6,000 tonnes, utilising 4,200 tonnes of ballast.

The crane can be transported using 300 shipping containers to any location in the world.

The crane is currently undergoing testing at Westdorpe, ready for deployment on its first project later in the year. The company said it will be transported to a client’s site in Asia.

Gavin Kerr, director of global services at Mammoet, said, “This crane is truly a world record feat of engineering, with a production schedule to match.

“The basis of the starting point was to build a 6,000 tonne crane,” he explained. “We wanted that to be a solution, not for tomorrow or even one year. We really wanted to ensure that it would be relatively future proof, flexible and scalable. Sustainability was at the heart of the design - reusing existing components as much as we possibly could and to have forward and backwards compatibility with the existing SK family of systems.

“We wanted to ensure that we would be fully electric, that we would have the capability of operating the crane on electric power. And together with our electric SPMTs, we imagine the future of where we can give a full carbon free solution.”

Look out for our special report on this crane coming soon.