A heavily corroded ship to shore crane was destroyed last Sunday October 28 in a rare crane toppling event. The demolition of the 180-foot crane was undertaken by Global Rigging & Transport (GRT) and organized by SSA International, a stakeholder of the port in San Juan.
Most of the times, a crane is being destroyed piece by piece. However, the port decided that they wanted it toppled. The procedure involved pre – cutting and wire ropes. Large forklift trucks pulled the wire ropes until the crane eventually fell.
Moreover, important to any crane toppling is the formation of the drop zone, which is the area where the crane falls. The video, above, shows the installation of gravel on the ground, strategically put to cushion the fall and to decrease damage to the container yard.
Finally, GRT has a long history with the crane, as they have moved it three times. It fits in only three ports in the world. Built in 1981, over its 37 year history the crane is estimated to have lifted around four million containers.
