A sheerleg is a floating crane, but compared to crane vessel it is not capable of rotating the crane separate from the ship.
There is a huge variety in sheerlegs when it comes to size and capacity. The smaller cranes start around 50 tons in lifting capacity, with the largest being able to lift over 4000 tons. The bigger sheerlegs usually have their own propulsion system and have a large accommodation facility onboard, while smaller units are a floating pontoons that need be towed to their workplace by tugboats.
Common work that sheerlegs are used for are ships salvage, assistance in shipbuilding, loading and unloading large cargo into ships, and bridge building. They have grown considerably larger over the last decades because of growth, mainly because the parts for constructing ships and harbor equipment has grown as well.
Biggest sheerlegs:
1. Svanen, Netherlands - Lifting capacity: 8700 ton
2. HL 5000, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines - 4536 ton
3. Kaisho, Japan - 4100 ton
4. Yoshida No.50, Japan - 3700 ton
5. Musashi, Japan – 3700 ton
6. Rambiz, Netherlands - 3400 ton
7. Asian Hercules II, Singapore – 3200 ton
