14,000 tonne crane in development

The heaviest configuration as a single crane, on a double ring. Image: Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd. (SHLTC)

A 14,000 tonne capacity land-based crane is planned for construction by a division of China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec).

Yes, you read that correctly as fourteen thousand tonnes. If you think the tonnage is a big number, wait until you see the maximum load moment rating: an astronomical 728,000 tonne-metres. To put that in context a 3,000 tonne capacity lattice boom crawler crane is somewhere around 65,000 tonne-metres.

Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd. (SHLTC), based in Beijing, China, is planning to start construction of what will be – by a big margin – the world’s largest land-based crane of its type, Crane and Transport Briefing reveals exclusively.

The new giant lattice boom super heavy lift crane, designed and developed in-house by SHLTC, will be used in China and further afield on the company’s projects, making major lifts in the industrial chemical, nuclear and offshore engineering sectors, the company said.

Construction is due to start in 2024 with testing completed by the end of 2026 – in an ideal scenario – SHLTC explained to Crane and Transport Briefing.

Multiple configurations

Multiple configurations of the new Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co giant heavy lifter are possible. Image: Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd. (SHLTC)

It will be possible for the 14,000 tonne crane to be divided and built up as a pair of 7,000 tonne capacity cranes. Configured as a 14,000 tonne crane it will lift 5,300 tonnes at a 100 metre radius. Set up as a 7,000 tonne crane it will lift 2,650 tonnes at the same radius.

Various base arrangements will be possible, including a full ring track (single or double), segments of a ring, straight track or a 90 degree crossing type.

The lattice type main boom will be 147 metres and the maximum working radius will be 164 metres. A 48.6 metre offsetable lattice jib will also be available.

Power will be via an electro-hydraulic system and it will have conventional wire hoist rope winches. As much as 10,000 tonnes of counterweight will be deployed on the crane.

Another configuration, for super heavy lift. Image: Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd

About SHLTC

Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd. (SHLTC) is a subsidiary of Sinopec Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd (SEG). The SEG turnover was RMB53.028 billion (US$ 7.4 billion) in 2022. In 2023 SEG signed new contracts worth RMB80.252 billion ($ 11 billion), up more than 10 per cent on the previous year.

Approximately a quarter of SEG’s business by value is from overseas customers, another quarter from the Sinopec Group and the remainder (46 per cent) was from external clients in China.

Projects include Saudi Aramco’s Rias NGL Project, the Saudi AMIRAL Project, the ADNOC Ethane Recovery Project, and the Xin Long Guang Polystyrene Project in Vietnam.

The SHLTC subsidiary is an engineering contractor for lifting and transporting large and super-large equipment, typically in refineries and chemical plants. Its lifting equipment ranges in capacity from 25 to 4,000 tonnes.

Branches in China are in Tianjin, Qingdao, Nanjing, Ningbo, and Zhanjiang. Operation centres have been set up in Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan.

SHLTC and SEG parent, China Petrochemical Corporation (Sinopec), is a listed company reported as China’s largest oil and petrochemical products supplier, the world’s largest oil refiner and the world’s second largest chemical company.

Crane and Transport Briefing will provide updates on progress with this new giant as and when they become available so be sure to keep a look out for them.

Configured as a pair of cranes opposite each other lifting in tandem. Image: Sinopec Heavy Lifting and Transportation Co., Ltd. (SHLTC)