Eagerly awaited cranes move into position

TERRY HUTSON
IT TOOK 140 hours divided by 10 days of 14-hour shifts to successfully offload the three massive container cranes delivered earlier this month to Durban on board the heavylift semi-submersible
ship Tern, but they’re now safely ashore.
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New rail tracks set into the quayside needed to be specially constructed by a Protekon team on behalf of the National Ports Authority, as the gauge of the new cranes is much larger than those currently in service at the terminal. But getting the cranes from their welded and braced positions on the ship and onto the rails proved to be a delicate job (if anything with a mass of 1000 tonnes can be described as delicate) requiring the expertise of a specialist team from the Mammoet company.
This involved jacking the crane legs and placing them onto special skids that were then hydraulically manoeuvred along Teflon-coated tracks onto the quayside.
Fortunately Durban’s weather remained kind throughout this time and the twin-lift cranes are now set for commissioning in early September, prior to going into service at the Durban Container Terminal later in the month.
“ Together with the arrival last year of 60 new straddle carriers, the new additions are expected to make an enormous difference,” forecast Tau Morwe, Sapo’s chief executive.