As offshore wind turbines become taller and more powerful in the quest for cleaner energy, the crane industry is literally rising to the occasion, with giant and innovative heavy-lift technology that would have been considered impossible until recently. "Compared with even five years ago, todays cranes are off the scale," Huisman manager newbuild sales Charlotte Roodenburg, told delegates at Riviera Maritime Media's Taking the strain: cranes and lifting equipment for offshore vessels webinar in mid-September. "These days the cranes are going for over 3,000 metric tonnes (mt). The overturning moment is 160,000 or 260,000 and booms are being asked for 175 m. This is a difference of only five years. We are almost doubling the capacity and booms are increasing by approximately 50%," she said, summing up the pressure on the industry.
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