Which heavy lift method
| Method | Use it when | Avoid it when |
|---|---|---|
| Super heavy lift | A single piece over the roll trailer limit, moved by modular trailer or barge and lifted by ship’s cranes[1]. | A roll trailer takes it on a RoRo ship[2]. |
| Crane lifting | Loading, unloading or setting a piece at a plant, yard or site. | The terminal’s own cranes do the lift at the port. |
| Roll trailer | The piece is up to 154 US tons (140 t) and a RoRo ship calls the port[2]. | It is longer or heavier than the trailers on the route. |
| Air charter | A piece up to 132 US tons (120 t) is needed in days, not weeks[4]. | An ocean sailing meets the date. |
Container, flat rack, RoRo or breakbulk?
We quote in this order because it is usually cheapest first. Most machines that look too big for a box fit once our crew takes off the bucket, boom, cab or wheels; larger ones are taken further apart across several containers, and pieces too big or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer go breakbulk.
01Container
- Work needed
- We partially disassemble when needed (bucket, boom, cab, wheels), or take larger machines further apart across several high-cubes and open-tops, then crate, block and lash every part.
- Destinations
- Widest: almost every port worldwide, plus inland delivery by rail.
- Typical cost
- Usually the lowest, with no out-of-gauge surcharges.
- Protection
- Sealed steel box; loose parts and attachments travel locked inside.
- Best for
- Most machines: compact ones as they are, others after partial disassembly, and large ones split across several containers.
02Flat rack
- Work needed
- Ships assembled, blocked and lashed. Surcharges apply when wider than 2.4 m or taller than about 1.95 m.
- Destinations
- Most container ports, on the same vessels as containers.
- Typical cost
- Moderate; rises with every centimetre out of gauge.
- Protection
- Open to the weather; we protect cabs, electronics and hydraulics.
- Best for
- Excavators, dozers and loaders too wide for a container door.
03RoRo
- Work needed
- Drives on assembled; non-runners go on a roll trailer.
- Destinations
- Fewer destinations: regular lanes to Europe, West Africa, the Middle East, Oceania and parts of Latin America.
- Typical cost
- Often competitive for large self-propelled machines where a lane exists.
- Protection
- Below deck, but loose items and attachments cannot ride inside the cab.
- Best for
- Running machines going to a port with regular RoRo sailings.
04Breakbulk
- Work needed
- Lifted aboard piece by piece by ship’s or shore cranes, on its own skids or cradle, then stowed and lashed in the hold or on deck.
- Destinations
- Ports with breakbulk berths and heavy-lift cranes; sailings are booked voyage by voyage.
- Typical cost
- Usually the highest for a single small machine; often the only option for the largest pieces.
- Protection
- In the hold or lashed on deck; we crate, wrap and protect exposed parts.
- Best for
- Pieces too large or heavy for a flat rack or roll trailer: transformers, process modules, mining trucks, crane sections.
What heavy-lift ships can lift
Ship types in one heavy-lift operator’s published fleet list. The ship on the fixture, not the type, sets the limit.
| Ship type | Cranes | Combined lift | Hold (L × W × H) | Free deck space[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type 183 | 1,102 US tons (1,000 t) × 2 | 2,205 US tons (2,000 t) | 351 ft 5 in × 55 ft 9 in × 44 ft 3 in (107.10 × 17.00 × 13.50 m) | 3,215–3,372 m² |
| Orca | 882 US tons (800 t) × 2 | 1,764 US tons (1,600 t) | 351 ft 1 in × 60 ft 8 in × 43 ft 8 in (107 × 18.5 × 13.3 m) | 3,330 m² |
| Type 176 | 772 US tons (700 t) × 2, plus 386 US tons (350 t) | 1,543 US tons (1,400 t) | 351 ft 5 in × 55 ft 9 in × 43 ft (107.10 × 17.00 × 13.10 m) | 2,918 m² |
| Type 116 | 496 US tons (450 t) × 2 | 992 US tons (900 t) | 309 ft 3 in × 53 ft 2 in × 39 ft 8 in (94.25 × 16.20 × 12.08 m) | 2,311 m² |
Rules that apply
- Federal truck size and weight limits (23 CFR 658)FHWA
On the Interstate system a truck may gross 80,000 lb, with 20,000 lb on a single axle and 34,000 lb on a tandem; on the National Network the load may be 102 in wide. There is no federal height limit: states set 13.6 to 14.6 ft. A load over any of these needs an oversize or overweight permit from every state on the route.[5]
Applies to: Every road move to and from the port
- Cranes and derricks in construction (29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC)OSHA
The crane may only be set up where the ground is firm, drained and graded enough, with mats or cribbing if needed, to meet the manufacturer’s support and level requirements. The operator must be trained, certified and evaluated. Anyone hooking or guiding a load inside the fall zone works with a load rigged by a qualified rigger, and a signal person is required when the operator cannot see the load. Near power lines up to 350 kV, one permitted method keeps the crane, load line and load at least 20 ft away.[6]
Applies to: Crane lifts at U.S. job sites, yards and plants
- Electronic Export Information (15 CFR 30)U.S. Census Bureau
Electronic Export Information is filed in AES for each Schedule B number worth more than $2,500 going to one consignee on one conveyance, and for every vehicle whatever its value. For vessel cargo it is due at least 24 hours before loading; the Internal Transaction Number (ITN) goes to the carrier with the booking.[7][8]
Applies to: Any Schedule B line over $2,500, and every vehicle
Questions about heavy lift
What weight counts as heavy lift?
There is no single threshold. In practice it is a piece too heavy for a flat rack on its footprint or for the roll trailers on the route, so it is lifted by ship’s or shore cranes.
What is the heaviest piece a ship can lift?
In one current heavy-lift fleet, 2,205 US tons (2,000 t), with two 1,102 US tons (1,000 t) cranes working together. Heavier pieces are rolled aboard or carried on semi-submersible ships.
How does a very heavy piece reach the port?
On a multi-axle trailer under permits from every state on the route, or by barge when the plant is on a waterway and no road route takes it.
Our Heavy Lift Services
- Super Heavy Lift Transport
A piece of hundreds of tonnes goes to the water on a multi-axle trailer under state permits or by deck barge, then aboard a heavy-lift ship whose cranes lift up to 2,205 US tons (2,000 t) together.
- Crane & Lifting Services
A crane lift at a U.S. plant, yard or site follows OSHA’s crane rules: firm, graded ground, a certified operator, a qualified rigger for anyone in the fall zone, a signal person when the operator cannot see the load, and distance from power lines.
Sources
Every figure on this page comes from the documents below, each checked on the date shown. Carriers and authorities revise them, so we confirm the current figure when we book.
- [1]SAL Heavy Lift, Fleet list (April 2026), checked October 18, 2026
- [2]Wallenius Wilhelmsen, Cargo handling equipment, checked October 18, 2026
- [3]McDonough Marine Service, Deck cargo barge fleet (capacity by freeboard), checked October 18, 2026
- [4]Antonov Airlines, AN-124 Ruslan charter (payload and cargo cabin), checked October 18, 2026
- [5]FHWA, Commercial Vehicle Size and Weight Program (23 CFR 658), checked October 18, 2026
- [6]eCFR, 29 CFR 1926 Subpart CC Cranes and Derricks in Construction, checked October 18, 2026
- [7]eCFR, 15 CFR 30.37 Miscellaneous exemptions (Foreign Trade Regulations), checked October 18, 2026
- [8]U.S. Census Bureau, Foreign Trade Regulations FAQs, checked October 18, 2026
Send us the machine and the destination
Give us the model or the measured dimensions and weight. We come back with the method, the sailing and a price, and the figures behind them.