According to Port of Cork, three new, ship-to-shore container cranes, manufactured in Ireland by Liebherr are assembled in Port of Cork and scheduled for delivery to Crowley Puerto Rico Services’ Isla Grande Terminal, in San Juan, later this month. Each crane has a capacity of 65 tons and measure approximately 65 meters tall, with an outreach of 40 meters.
The cranes, which are currently on board the Overseas Heavy Transport (OHT) vessel ‘Albatross’, transferred from Cork Dockyard to the Port of Cork’s Deepwater berth in Ringaskiddy, to take on ballast before departure to San Juan.
Speaking about the Port of Cork’s capabilities, Commercial Manager Captain Michael McCarthy said: “The Port of Cork is delighted to partner with Liebherr Cranes in selecting our Ringaskiddy Deepwater port to export their cranes to World markets. We have had an excellent relationship with Liebherr since the early 1990’s when we commissioned two cranes for our facility in Ringaskiddy. Since then we have grown our relationship with the company and all our port cranes are manufactured by Liebherr.”
While in Ringaskiddy the OHT vessel, which was originally designed as an oil tanker and converted to a crane carrier, will take on large volume of water ballast in the lower ballast tanks to counteract the weight of the cranes on deck. Each crane weighs approx. 900 tons, however the weight is evenly distributed on the main deck of the vessel. The cranes are then secured firmly (welded) to the deck of the vessel and as such they form a single composite unit.
According to John Hourihan Jr., Crowley’s senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico Services, the electric-powered cranes will be used to load and discharge containerized cargo being carried aboard Crowley’s two new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, Commitment Class Con-Ro ships.
He explained: “With these state-of-the-art cranes now erected, we are taking another step toward the transformation of our terminal into the most modern and efficient port facility on the island of Puerto Rico. We eagerly await their arrival here.”
The following video depicts MV Albatross transfer from Cork Dockyard to Ringaskiddy Deepwater Berth:
Source: Port of Cork
