The Asian Hercules has been brought into the Tyne to enable Amec to fit the processing equipment onto the deck of the Bonga. The 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. 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 vessel 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. Each of its 8 mooring wires is over ½ mile long. The Asian Hercules II is probably most famous on Tyneside as being the crane that transported the Gateshead Millennium Bridge up the river Tyne and positioned it so precisely.

Asian Hercules Facts & Figures

    * Built in Singapore in 1996
    * Home port Rotterdam, Netherlands
    * Length o.a. : 91.00 metres
    * Breadth moulded : 43.00 metres
    * Depth moulded : 8.50 metres
    * Max/Min draft : 5.00 /2.40 metres
    * Gross tonnage : 10,560 tons
    * Net tonnage : 3,168 tons
    * Displacement : 16,500 tons (even keel)
    * Speed : 7 knots