Hercules & The Millennium Bridge arrive at Gateshead / Newcastle
The bridge is turned 90 degrees
Asian Hercules II is one of the biggest floating sheerleg cranes in the world - and certainly the biggest in Europe.
It has a deck the size of a football pitch and the main lifting legs project over 350 feet into the air - some 60ft higher than Big Ben and almost as tall as the London Eye Millennium Wheel. It dwarfs Tyneside landmarks being twice the height of the Tyne Bridge and three times as high as the Baltic Mill.
The 10,560-ton barge is over 250 ft long and over 100 ft wide and has enough power to lift a weight equal to over 4,000 cars. However, it has a very small crew - of only 12 people. They all live onboard and the sheerlegs is outfitted like a modern hotel with a full time chef and rooms for 20 people.
It is self-propelled and can produce enough electricity to power a small town.Last year in London, SMIT worked on the Millennium wheel and Asian Hercules II has over 8 times the lifting power of the sheerlegs crane used for that task.
Click here to find out about the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art, Music Centre Gateshead & Baltic Quay Leisure Complex.