New destroyers require a seriously big crane

The shipyard, officially opened by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd on January 21 this year, has an order worth $8bn for three Hobart Class air-warfare destroyers for the RAN.
The M2100 will be used to assemble the blocks that will make up each 6,250t AWD.
The crane itself weighs 500t and is valued at around $14m. It will be configured with 85.3m of heavy-lift boom and a lift-enhancement attachment.
Manitowoc says the M21000 can lift the equivalent of a fully loaded Airbus aircraft. Twelve of the cranes are in operation globally, with only four in the Asia-Pacific region.
The modular construction of the AWDs involves the joining together of fabricated and pre-outfitted hull blocks to form a completed ship.
Sixty-six blocks (70%) will be built by interstate contractors Forgacs and BAE Systems and 27 blocks (30%) by ASC. On average the blocks measure 18m x 12m x 7m and weigh up to 200t.
Pilots are underway to test processes and procedures with final deliveries of blocks for the third ship anticipated in 2014. The first ship is scheduled for delivery in 2014.