Stahl Supplies Special Hoists for Chinese Liquefied Natural Gas Storage Units

Stahl CraneSystems has provided off-standard hoists for 12 liquefied natural gas (LNG) storage facilities in China as the country continues to import the product, cooled down to -160°C and transported by tanker from counties like Australia or the Middle East.

The Künzelsau company has supplied a total of 15 Ex hoists for gas tanks in 12 plants. The final two hoists were mounted on two LNG tanks in the North of China in May 2014. The order was processed by Stahl‘s Chinese subsidiary, based in Shanghai.

Most LNG tanks have a heavyweight pump on the base which pumps the cooled LNG out of the tank. For maintenance, or during a breakdown, the pump must be lifted out of the tank using crane technology.

In the current project in North China, off-standard wire rope hoists from the field-proven SH60 ex series, certified for explosion protection Zone 2 in accordance with ATEX, are used. The hoists are mounted on slewing cranes atop the LNG tanks and have a safe working load of 3.5t and a lifting height of 58m.