Southern’s new Liebherr cranes: lift planning and urban access notes for engineers
Reviewed by Tom Sullivan
First reported on The Construction Index
30 Second Briefing
Southern Cranes & Access has added a 300-tonne Liebherr LTM 1300-6.4 with an eight-section 90-metre boom, 120-metre maximum hook height and 94-metre radius, roadable at a 12-tonne axle load, plus LICCON3 controls, VarioBase Plus and VarioBallast for tighter urban sites. A 150-tonne LTM 1150-5.3 brings a 66-metre boom, up to 92-metre hook height using a seven-metre extension, and carries 29 of its 45 tonnes of counterweight under UK STGO rules, cutting support transport. The 150-tonner is already working in London, including a “pin drop” lift at the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary.
Technical Brief
- LTM 1300-6.4’s 11.5–20 m double swing-away fly jib offsets hydraulically up to 40°.
- LICCON3 control on the 1300-6.4 enables faster data processing and higher-capacity on-board computation.
- LTM 1150-5.3’s 10.8–19 m double swing-away fly jib gives 85 m hook height at 72 m radius.
- Inserting a 7 m boom extension between nose and jib on the 1150-5.3 increases hook height to 92 m.
- 1150-5.3’s ability to self-carry 29 t of its 45 t counterweight reduces separate ballast truck movements under STGO.
Our Take
Within our 912 Infrastructure stories, Liebherr appears frequently on heavy-lift and mining plant, and the addition of 150 t and 300 t all terrains into Southern Cranes & Access’ UK fleet signals that Liebherr is consolidating its position at both the mobile and ultra‑class ends of lifting equipment used on major civils jobs.
Compared with the recent Bernard Hunter deployment of a 90‑tonne Liebherr LRT 1090‑2.1 in Scotland, Southern’s 150 t and 300 t all terrains in the south of England broaden Liebherr’s geographic coverage in the UK heavy-lift market, which may influence pricing and availability for contractors planning concurrent infrastructure works across the country.
Prepared by collating external sources, AI-assisted tools, and Geomechanics.io’s proprietary mining database, then reviewed for technical accuracy & edited by our geotechnical team.
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