Rosyth Dockyard to sell UK's largest crane

The largest crane in the UK has been put up for sale after helping to build two new Royal Navy aircraft carriers.

The UK's largest crane, Goliath, is up for sale. Picture: SWNS

Standing at 68 metres, the Goliath crane has dominated the West Fife skyline since it was installed at Rosyth Dockyard five years ago.

It was brought to the UK from Shanghai, China, in order to build the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.

It was so big that it only passed under the Forth Bridge with two metres to spare while being delivered to the shipyard.

The machine, costing £12.2m, took two years to build and has a span of 120 metres.

It also has the capacity to lift a weight of 1,000 tonnes.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA) confirmed that the process to sell the crane is now underway.

Two sponsons - large sections of the carrier - have yet to be fitted to the HMS Prince of Wales.

The ACA hope to have completed the sale in time for this process being carried out later this year.

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