Deck cranes

Marine Crane Services.

Deck crane maintenance, repair, overhaul, load testing and modernisation on board or in our workshop.

Service line 01Hydraulic · Mechanical · ElectricalReport included

Water bag load test on a deck crane in port — Load test

01What we do

A cargo crane that stops lifting costs a vessel its berth window.

A cargo crane that stops lifting costs a vessel its berth window. Most of the deck crane calls we get are about one of four things: a crane that will not slew, a hoist that drops or creeps under load, a luffing movement that has become jerky, or a class survey that is due. We attend with the drawings for the crane make, the measuring tools and the parts that usually turn out to be needed.

The work runs across three disciplines because a deck crane is hydraulic, mechanical and electrical at the same time. A slewing fault can be a worn pinion, a sticking brake valve or a limit switch that has shifted on its bracket. Our hydraulic, mechanical and electrical teams diagnose together on the same visit so the crane is handed back once, not three times.

We work on electro-hydraulic deck cranes from Mitsubishi, Liebherr, MacGregor, TTS, Palfinger Marine, Kongsberg, Sormec, IHI, NMF, Fukushima, Tsuji and Kawasaki, and on cranes driven by Hägglunds radial piston motors. Jobs are done on board at the berth or anchorage, or in the workshop when a gearbox, pump or motor has to come off.

Hydraulic deck crane on a cargo vessel at sea, boom raised — Deck crane · onboard01

What to send us

Crane make, model and serial number from the name plate
A description of the fault and when it started
Photos or a short video of the crane in operation
Port or shipyard, berth and expected time alongside

Describe the job

02Scope

What the service covers.

The work items under this service line, as listed by our engineers.

01
Deck Crane Maintenance / RepairPlanned maintenance and breakdown repair on hydraulic and electro-hydraulic deck cranes: slewing, hoisting and luffing circuits, brakes, pumps, motors, cabin controls.
02
Crane Inspection / TroubleshootingPressure checks, leak-down tests, electrical signal tracing and structural inspection to find the cause before parts are ordered.
03
Crane OverhaulingComplete overhaul of pumps, motors, gearboxes, cylinders and control valves, with new seals, bearings and wear parts, then functional testing.
04
Slewing System MaintenanceSlewing bearing clearance measurement, bolt tensioning, pinion and ring gear inspection, slewing gearbox and brake service.
05
Hoisting / Luffing System RepairWinch gearboxes, hoist motors, brake packs, luffing cylinders and counterbalance valves; creep and drop faults.
06
Wire Rope ReplacementSupply and reeving of hoist and luffing ropes, end terminations, sheave inspection and rope discard assessment.
07
Load Testing / Functional TestingWater bag and load cell tests for annual and five-yearly surveys, with limit switch and overload protection checks and a test report.
08
Crane ModernizationReplacement of obsolete control systems, joysticks, PLCs and hydraulic components when original parts are no longer made.

On the job

Photos from recent attendances.

View from a crane boom over cargo hatches and an anchorage at sunset — From the boom01

Two CranesTech technicians fitting a heater in a crane house above the winch drum — Crane house · heater fitting02

Sheave set with wire ropes at the head of a deck crane boom — Boom head sheaves03

03Typical jobs

Faults we are called for.

01Hoist drops under load: brake pack, counterbalance valve and motor internal leakage checked and repaired.
02Slewing hesitates or stops: slewing motor, brake valve, pinion wear and limit switch alignment.
03Crane trips on overload: load sensor, moment limiter settings and wiring faults traced and corrected.
04Survey due: load test with water bags and calibrated load cell, limit switches set, report issued for class.

04Questions

Asked before the first visit.

Can you attend while the vessel is at anchor?

Yes. We organise the service boat and bring the tools and parts for the job described, so the first visit is also the repair visit whenever the fault has been diagnosed from your report.

Do you carry out the load test for class surveys?

We do. Water bags and a calibrated load cell are brought on board, the crane is tested at the proof load required by the rules and a test report is issued for the surveyor.

What if the crane maker no longer supplies the part?

For older cranes we repair the existing component when it is safe to do so, source an equivalent part, or supply a newly manufactured one from a sample. Obsolete controls are replaced with current equipment.

Which crane brands do you service?

Mitsubishi, Liebherr, MacGregor, TTS Marine, Palfinger Marine, Hägglunds-driven cranes, Kongsberg Maritime, Sormec, IHI, NMF, Fukushima, Tsuji and Kawasaki. Other makes are handled case by case from drawings.

Spare parts / equipment