Sarens deploys 750t crawler crane for lifting operation at Four Season hotel in Jeddah
It took 35 trailers and a five-day journey across 1,400km of road to deliver the crane to site
Sarens recently deployed a 750t crawler crane to perform a lifting operation for the ballroom trusses of the brand new Four Seasons hotel in Jeddah. The heavy-lift specialist was appointed by the Al-Hashemiah Contracting Company to complete the lift at Saudi Arabia’s latest luxury hotel development.
Maneuvering the 750t LR1750 crawler crane around the congested project site, Sarens successfully installed trusses weighing up to 63.5t at heights ranging from 30-to-90m. Lifts were performed using four lifting points without a spreader, with the crane slewing and crawling in SLDB 119m and SWDB 77m main boom as well as a 70m flyjib configuration, the company said.
A total of 35 trailers drove the crane across 1,400km of road comprising a five-day journey that required special permits from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Six crew members then assembled – and later disassembled – the crane, which remained on site for six weeks.
In mid-September 2019, Sarens mobilised the world’s biggest crane for a UK nuclear plant lift.
As the soon-to-be luxury property is positioned near the sea, high wind speeds were a concern during crane operation, while the two-person Sarens team also had to contend with a worksite located in a busy residential area. To perform each lift, the crane had to park in the middle of the road, which required road closure permits from assembly through full disassembly.
According to Sarens Project Engineer, Shuaib Kadhem, “The site was very congested for a big crane like the LR1750, so the team had to communicate closely throughout the entire operation. The challenging part was the rigging arrangement: we had four lifting points with an eccentric centre of gravity, which meant the use of a spreader was not an option. Despite installations as high as 90m, we lifted all the loads safely and proved once again that at the end of the day, there is nothing too heavy and nothing too high.”
In November 2020, the company launched a new electric ring crane for heavy lifts and, in July 2022, Huisman announced a 700t crane for handling wind turbine components.
