Three days, ten machines, 1,400 tonnes: a 5500 E crawler crane at Straubing-Sand
A Sennebogen 5500 E crawler crane carried out tandem lifts at Straubing-Sand harbour to load ten large machines, some with components over 100 tonnes, onto barges bound for North America, Turkey and Israel.
Ten machines, 1,400 tonnes, three days
Sennebogen loaded ten of its own large machines onto barges at the port of Straubing-Sand for onward shipment to North America, Turkey and Israel, working with forwarders Karl-Groß of Regensburg and K. Altmann of Prackenbach. Total weight across the three days came to 1,400 tonnes, with individual machine components exceeding 100 tonnes.
The 180-tonne 5500 E crawler crane took the lead role. Together with auxiliary cranes it handled a combined load of more than 1,000 tonnes over the operation.
Two cranes on one load
The heaviest and most awkward components were handled as tandem lifts. Using two cranes distributed the load evenly and reduced the demand on each machine, but the controlling requirement was smoothness: the machines had to be brought into the barge without interruption or snatch. Preparation extended beyond the lift plan – temporary road closures had to be coordinated, and counterweights were stripped before loading and refitted afterwards.
Sennebogen credits special planning and close cooperation with the port of Straubing for keeping the sequence moving; with barge slots fixed and ten machines to place, a stalled lift would have propagated through the whole three-day programme.
Eight handling machines were loaded inside a single day. “The first machines were loaded as early as 7 a.m., and by midday seven machines had been safely stowed away,” said Roland Hermann, head of customs and foreign trade machine shipping at Sennebogen.
Precision in confined space
Working space at the quay was tight. The crawler undercarriage gave the 5500 E the stability to move loads safely on the quay surface, while the crane’s hydraulics and controls allowed components to be set on deck to the millimetre. Among the heaviest single picks was the star undercarriage of a Sennebogen 9300, weighing over 110 tonnes.
The 5500 E is rated at a maximum capacity of up to 200 tonnes with boom lengths reaching 104 metres, and is used by Sennebogen in building and civil engineering work as well as heavy logistics. Low fuel consumption and emissions were also cited as relevant to a shipping operation being run on sustainability grounds – barge transport being the point of the exercise.
The machine is due to be replaced in this role by the larger 7700 crawler crane.
Source: Sennebogen — Photos: Sennebogen
Lift data
- Main crane: Sennebogen 5500 E crawler crane (180 t class)
- Maximum capacity: up to 200 t · Boom: up to 104 m
- Location: Straubing-Sand harbour, Germany
- Scope: 10 machines, 1,400 t total, over 3 days
- Heaviest single pick: 9300 star undercarriage, over 110 t
- Combined tandem load: more than 1,000 t
- Forwarders: Karl-Groß, Regensburg; K. Altmann, Prackenbach