UK: The Port of Tilbury has ordered a LHM 550 mobile harbour crane from Liebherr to handle granulated blast furnace slag (GBFS). It is intended to unload slag from vessels into a hopper at the site and is scheduled to become operational in 2026. It will be the third LHM 550 at the port. The crane has been acquired to support the growing operations of the port, including Aggregate Industries’ new cement grinding and import terminal.
The crane arrived in mid-January 2025 fully assembled on the MV Meri heavy load vessel from Liebherr-MCCtec Rostock in Germany. The model is intended for high-volume cargo throughput. It has an outreach of 54m and 144t lifting capacity. It has been fitted with additional features to cope with GBFS. This includes an over-pressure system designed to ventilate the slewing platform of the crane to prevent product ingress into the machine rooms. A marine-standard paint finish has been applied to assist with corrosion control. The crane also uses a LieGEN energy recovery system and can operate on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel.
