Liebherr heavy lift crane creates new perspectives in Rostock harbor

Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH is expanding its production site in the port of Rostock with a new gantry crane for handling heavy goods. In the future, the crane will not only support Liebherr in loading maritime cranes, but also offers other companies the possibility of heavy lift handling in the Rostock port.

TCC 78000 - this name stands for a heavy lift crane that is unique in its combination of load capacity, lifting height and outreach. With a maximum lifting height of 112 metres and a lifting capacity of up to 1,600 tonnes, the crane will be assembled at the Liebherr plant in Rostock by the end of the year. TCC is the acronym for travelling cargo crane.

The 164 metres high rail mounted heavy lift crane will be able to move on a portal between the northern area of Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH and the bordering quayside. Equipped with a double trolley (two rails per side) and a track gauge of 30 metres, the gantry crane provides optimum flexibility for handling all types of large-sized cargo. The TCC 78000 will be used for in-house logistics processes with regards to the production, assembly and dispatch of maritime cranes.

"The installation of the TCC 78000 offers new and important perspectives not only for our company. In the future, the gantry crane will also provide other companies the possibility of handling heavy lift goods in the port of Rostock", says Rudolf Ganser, Managing Director of Production at Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock GmbH.

There is currently no harbour crane with comparable parameters in northern Germany and the entire Baltic Sea region. Similar lifting capacities in the maritime sector can only be achieved with floating cranes, but they are much more inflexible in their application and are more dependent on the weather. Furthermore they require longer set-up times and therefore increase the costs. For the city of Rostock, as well as for the Rostock Port, the new gantry crane will greatly enhance the maritime infrastructure, increasing the attractiveness of the region for handling heavy cargo.

"A heavy lift crane with these dimensions opens up completely new logistical solutions for current and potential customers of the Port of Rostock. This could also favour the establishment of further additional companies in Rostock. This is why Rostock Port, with the help and support of its shareholders, city and state, will invest a large amount in the infrastructure", says Dr. Gernot Tesch, Managing Director of Rostock Port GmbH.

The new crane will have its first major operation in 2019 when it will install the heavy lift crane, type HLC 295000 - the largest offshore crane Liebherr has ever built - onto the special ship "Orion".