World’s largest propeller loaded onto ship by HHLA’s floating crane

Hamburger Hafen und Logistik AG (HHLA) has loaded the world’s biggest ship propeller onto a vessel at the Port of Hamburg.

The propeller, made by manufacturer Mecklenburger Metallguss GmbH (MMG), weighs 110 tonnes and has a diameter of 10.5 m.

The HHLA IV floating crane hoisted the large propeller onto the Hyundai Supreme at the port of Waltershof.

The HHLA described it as a “delicate” operation where the crane lowered the heavy load cm by cm into the hold of the ship.

After it deported from the Port of Hamburg, the 5,000 teu vessel headed to the Far East to deliver the propeller to the port of Busan in South Korea.

It will then be transported to the Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering shipyard, where the first of 11 new 23,000 teu container ships are being built for MSC.

The HHLA III or HHLA IV floating cranes regularly load MMG propellers onto ships at the Port of Hamburg, where around 100 MMG propellers are loaded onto ships every year.

Since they are usually transported by container ships, and container gantry cranes are generally unable to lift such large heavy loads, the “HHLA III” or “HHLA IV” floating cranes are nearly always involved in loading operations at the Port of Hamburg.