Huge Ship Crane Collapses During Testing

As wind turbines get bigger, the cranes that build them, and the cranes that build the cranes, have to get bigger.

Screenshot via AmericanCranesAndTransport

Liebherr built a new port side crane, TCC 78000, to help install a new 6,603 ton (5,000 tonne) crane on the offshore heavy lift wind installation vessel Orion. The capacity of the port crane is 1,600 tonnes. [YouTube-comment]

AmericanCranesAndTransport

The new crane on the ship, Heavy Lift Crane (HLC) 295000, is the largest Liebherr has ever built. It collapsed while being tested with less than half of its design load because the crane hook broke. Why the hook broke is still under investigation, but Liebherr is quick to point out that the hook was designed and built by an external supplier. The Orion is scheduled to install the Moray East wind farm 14 miles (22 km) off the coast of Scotland. The farm should produce 1,116 MW with turbines that have a tip height of 669' (204 meters). [AmericanCranesAndTransport]

(new window)  There were a few minor injuries.


Update:
(new window) Actually, the only new information I got from this video was that the boom flipped backwards after the hook lost the load. I surmise that booms are designed to withstand loads bending them down, but not for loads bending them up.