The transport of a Liebherr LPS 550 to Casablanca, Morocco, forms part of a crane shipment aboard SAL Heavy Lift‘s Orca-class vessel Patricia. The rail-mounted portal crane was loaded at Liebherr‘s manufacturing facility in Rostock, Germany, for terminal operator Marsa Maroc.
The vessel also took aboard a Liebherr LHM 800 mobile harbour crane destined for Luanda, Angola. The two cranes are being transported to separate destinations in Africa.
The LPS 550 is scheduled to become the first Liebherr LPS portal slewing crane to enter service in Africa. Designed for bulk cargo handling, the unit features a 48 m boom, an electric drive system and a rail-mounted configuration that allows it to move along the quay while preserving space for other terminal operations.
Patricia is the third vessel delivered under SAL Heavy Lift‘s Orca-class newbuilding programme. Delivered in June 2026, the vessel was formally christened at Liebherr‘s Rostock facility before the crane shipment.
The heavy-lift vessel is equipped with two all-electric Liebherr LS 800 E ship cranes, each with a maximum lifting capacity of 800 tonnes. Combined tandem operations provide a lifting capacity of up to 1,600 tonnes. The cranes can also recover energy during operation and return it to the vessel’s electrical network for storage and reuse.
The Casablanca-bound LPS 550 will join Marsa Maroc‘s cargo-handling equipment fleet. Established in 2006, the company operates 35 terminals across 21 ports in Morocco and handles approximately 67 million tonnes of cargo annually.
