Liebherr Container Cranes has completed its first ship-to-shore lift height increase with a new patented jacking system as part of Liebherr Transform. 

The operation was conducted under the supervision of Liebherr engineers at Patrick Terminals – Brisbane Autostrad in Brisbane, Australia. 

Brisbane Autostrad is one of the world’s most advanced container terminals and Liebherr has two container cranes at the terminal: a new STS currently being commissioned and an STS supplied in 2015. The 2015 crane has a supplied lift height of 37.5 m, but with larger vessels calling at the port, a lift height extension was required.  

Designed and built at Liebherr Container Cranes in Ireland, one of the key features of the new jacking system is that it uses the crane’s end carriage as a solid base for jacking the crane structure, eliminating the requirement for additional equipment. Furthermore, since the system uses the crane structure as a basis for jacking, the loadings are low and are carried through the existing crane.  

Preparation takes a couple of weeks and the flexible system allows the crane to be jacked in position or moved back from the rails for jacking if required. The actual crane raise and the insertion of the extensions can be completed in a number of hours and so is suited to terminals prone to high winds. 

Liebherr says the operation is exceptionally quick and the whole process can be completed from as little as four weeks per crane. Following completion of the project, the jacks are containerised and shipped onwards for their next deployment.