AN Australian shipbuilding joint venture, the Air Warfare Destroyer (AWD) Alliance Program, has announced its purchase of a Model 21000 crawler crane – the first in the country. The 907t capacity crawler crane will play a major role in the most significant ship building project in Australian history. The crane will be used for assembly work in construction of three advanced warships in the Royal Australian Navy’s fleet.

The $8 billion program is run by the AWD Alliance, which includes ASC (formerly called Australian Submarine Corporation) as the ship builder, Raytheon Australia as the combat system supplier and the Defence Material Organization handling all defence matters. Due to the immense size of the ships (146m long and 18m high) reach as well as capacity were key considerations when selecting a crane for the shipyard. But ultimately, ASC selected the Model 21000 for its capacity and advanced technology that allows optimum manoeuvrability and control for a crane of its size.

John Stewart, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Manitowoc in Asia-Pacific, said ASC also liked the options the Model 21000 offered the company on the project. “When using modular construction in shipbuilding, gantry cranes are often preferred,” he said. “However ASC liked the fact that Model 21000 gives more options. It can handle its core duties, but also offers the ability to handle maintenance work or other general lifting duties.”

A feature that will be useful on this project is the EPIC system, which controls the crane’s hydraulic pumps in response to its electronic-over-hydraulic controls, providing infinite speed response in direct proportion to control lever movements from the operator, giving incredibly close control.

The crane will be configured with 85.3m of heavy-lift boom as well as the Max-Er lift-enhancing attachment. The Model 21000 has a modular design and patented Fact and H-Fact connection technology which enable it to rig in just 20 hours using a crew of five with one assist crane.

John Gallacher, CEO of the AWD Alliance, said: “In many ways the Model 21000 reflects the size of the whole project. It can lift the equivalent of a fully loaded Airbus aircraft. The crane will play a pivotal role, assembling the ships, lifting and manoeuvring the blocks that make up the ships.”

Assembly work will take place at ASC’s shipyard, close to Adelaide, where the Model 21000 will operate as an integral part of the five-year shipbuilding process. Due for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2010, the crane will be used at the joining stage of construction to erect the pre-fabricated blocks that make up a 6,250t Air Warfare Destroyer.