Liebherr to deliver crane for DolWin Epsilon offshore platform

Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock has signed a contract with Aibel for the supply of a cylinder-luffing crane for TenneT’s DolWin Epsilon offshore transformer platform, part of the DolWin5 offshore grid in Germany.

Two RL 1500-35 Lit cranes on DolWin Beta platform; Source: Liebherr
DolWin Beta yellow offshore platform with two Liebherr cranes on top
Two RL 1500-35 Lit cranes on DolWin Beta platform; Source: Liebherr

The Liebherr crane will be used for supply and maintenance tasks on the 900 MW offshore grid connection in the German part of the North Sea, which is scheduled to be put into operation in 2024.

The company will deliver its RL 2600-35 Lit offshore crane, for which it said it was a weight-optimised and compact-designed, and ideal for small platforms where space is limited.

The RL 2600-35 Lit offshore crane has a box boom with a maximum working outreach of 52 metres and a maximum lifting capacity of 35 tonnes.

“The crane is ready to be equipped with innovative maintenance features to meet the demanding requirements of normally unmanned offshore platforms and with its reliable and maintenance-friendly design the RL 2600-35 Lit will help to lead the DolWin5 project to success”, said Matti Basan, Sales Manager Offshore Cranes at Liebherr.

TenneT awarded the Aibel/Keppel FELS consortium with a contract for the HVDC platform and an onshore converter station for the DolWin5 offshore grid connection in 2019. ABB will supply the complete HVDC electrical power system for the 900 MW platform, as well as digital products and services for the offshore grid.

The DolWin5 grid connection will collect the electricity generated by the 900 MW Borkum Riffgrund 3 offshore wind farm and feed it into the German national grid.

In 2013, Liebherr delivered two RL 1500-35 Lit cranes to Aibel for TenneT’s DolWin Beta platform.