Watch: Ship to Shore Crane Blasted and Toppled



A heavily corroded ship to shore crane was demolished last Sunday October 28 in a rare crane toppling event. Usually a crane is taken apart piece by piece, but the port decided that to save time they wanted it toppled, which involved pre-cutting and wire ropes: large forklift trucks pulled at the wire ropes until the crane eventually fell.






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). Essential to any crane toppling is the creation of the drop zone (the area where the crane falls). The videos show the installation of gravel on the ground, strategically placed to cushion the fall and to reduce damage to the container yard.
 
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.




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