Heavy-lift QIAN KUN by carrier Chipolbrok stops in Hamburg

On its trip from Far East, the heavy-lift/project cargo ship QIAN KUN called at the Port of Hamburg at the end of March. The QIAN KUN berthed at C. Steinweg’s multi-purpose Süd-West-Terminal as well as at Wallmann & Co.’s universal terminal at Reiherstieg. The next call of the carrier Chipolbrok in Hamburg followed only a few days later. At the beginning of April, the MV CHIPOLBROK PACIFIC loaded large quantities of steel, general and heavy load cargo for destinations in India and Asia.

Sailing under Chinese/Hong Kong flag, the QIAN KUN connects ports in China and Far East with Europe and homebound from here India, South East Asia, China and once again Far East in its liner service. During her voyage she berths at five continental harbours. Departing from the Mediterranean Sea, she reached Hamburg and several other European harbours before heading on to Mumbai. At the end of April, the QIAN KUN will sail from there to Colombo, the capital of Sri Lanka, before calling at Singapur.

The QIAN KUN was built in 2011 and belongs to the cargo vessel type Orkan. It has a length of 199.80 and a width of 27.80 metres. The QIAN KUN has a deadweight tonnage of 30.281 dwt with a draft of 11 metres. The heavy lift vessel has four board cranes. Two smaller ones with a lift capacity of 50 tons at prow and stern and two big cranes with a lifting capacity of 320 tons each are located in the middle of the vessel. In combination, the cargo ship’s two big cranes can lift units of up to 640 tons.

Partly loaded from the prior ports, the QIAN KUN first berthed at Wallmann & Co., the specialist for heavy cargo load. There she loaded different units for an off-shore project near the Chinese port of Nansha, Guangdong province. Due to special preparation and fast handling by Wallmann & Co., the boardside cranes lifted a 357 tons-heavy colossus effortlessly. Afterwards the QIAN KUN picked up several general and project cargo units at C. Steinweg’s Süd-West-Terminal. Among these were presses weighing up to 144 tons in heavy crates. A just 61-tons-heavy mobile crane with five axes was loaded as well as a heat exchanger. The multi-purpose terminal showed utmost flexibility during the damage-free loading of a yacht with a high mast that turned out to be heavier and required quick repositioning of shore cranes.

Chipolbrok was founded 1951 in Beijing as port of a bilateral agreement to improve seaborne traffic between China and Poland. The full name of the polish-chinese carrier is Chińsko-Polskie Towarzystwo Okrętowe S.A. Their ships regularly call at the Port of Hamburg as part of the liner services between Asia and Europe.

Regarding the coronavirus crisis, Chipolbrok has reduced the number of stevedore and lashing workforce on board to a security-oriented minimum and has prohibited non-essential contact, which is unavoidable for certain loadings. The carrier points out, that the punctual and professional delivery of machinery and plant components for the construction of production plants is very important to the global economy.  Special-purpose vessels like the QIAN KUN also deliver project cargo for infrastructure projects.