The Finnish-made Mantsinen 300M Hybrilift is described as “the world’s largest hydraulic crane” and the Port of Immingham has the first one in Great Britain.
The crane arrived direct from the Mantsinen factory in Finland in a £3m investment by Associated British Ports (ABP). It was supplied by Cooper Specialised Handling.
Simon Bird, regional director for ABP Humber, said: “The arrival of the Mantsinen crane marks another significant milestone in ABP’s ongoing investment programme to enhance and expand our offer. Across the Humber Ports we are investing around £32m in cranes as part of a five-year programme to ensure we offer have the right equipment and infrastructure to support our customers and bring growth to the area.”
A team from the Port of Immingham visited the Mantsinen factory last month to check on its build progress. It also gave them an opportunity to test the new crane simulator and see how it handles. Port operatives will now be trained in how to use the new model before it becomes operational.
Launched in 2018 these super-sized machines now have the reach and capacity to serve panamax size vessels and can handle as much as 1500 tonnes per hour – far greater than the rope crane equivalents.
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It also has sustainable technology in the Hybrilift energy storage and recovery system, which increases energy efficiency by up to 50%.
The machine weighs 365 tonnes (without attachment) and is diesel powered by an EU stage 5 Volvo 16 litre diesel engine. ABP has opted for an 18.5-metre curved boom and 14-metre stick. The machine has a wheeled undercarriage of six axles with four wheels per axle, which provides for greater mobility, especially on uneven ground.
The machine has come supplied with Mantsinen’s cab riser to give the operator a direct line of sight into a cargo hold. Supplied with a range of automatic and semi-automatic attachments, risk of injury to stevedores is reduced.
The crane investment strategy also saw the arrival in December 2021 of four Konecranes reachstackers, fuelled by hydrogenated vegetable oil (HVO) and costing £1.6m.
Older infrastructure being refurbished includes the Butterley cranes built in the 1990s for the width of the locks in the ports of Immingham and Hull.
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