Emergency Demolition of a STS Crane – APMT Barcelona

Emergency Demolition of a STS Crane – APMT Barcelona

O’Brien’s were approached by APM Terminals following a major incident where an STS Crane was knocked over by a ferry during extreme weather.

The scope of works for this project included:
• Making safe of the accident site
• Removal of the main boom from a container stack without causing further damage.
• The controlled collapse of the remaining 25-metre structure
• The rescue of over $1,000,000 worth of specialist cargo trapped under the crane.
• Cutting up and removal of the crane for site

O’Brien’s were selected to carry out the works based on our unrivalled knowledge and experience in the crane disposal industry alongside our fleet of in house specialist equipment, which can carry out the works as safely and quickly as possible.
Immediately after the accident APMT contacted O’Brien’s who sent a team of specialists from the UK to Barcelona. Within days of the incident our team had a plan ready to be put into action. The plan involved shipping specialist equipment from the UK which would allow for the removal of the damaged crane in the safest way possible. Once the green light was given O’Brien’s were on site with all equipment and manpower to carry out the works. 

One of the biggest challenges during this project came from the insurers of the many containers damaged during the accident. The area in which the crane had collapsed was a storage area for shipping containers, there were some 50 containers damaged underneath the crane structure, 4 of which had cargo valued in excess of $1,000,000. Due to this the insurers insisted the crane was removed without causing any further damage to this cargo.

The solution was to remove the main boom in small sections which could be lifted off the containers using a 50 ton upgraded excavator and shear attachment. This allowed the sections to be removed from a distance to ensure total safety throughout. The next stage of the plan was to carry out a controlled collapse of the remaining 25-metre high portal structure. The crane was cut in strategic locations and pulled away from the cargo to be saved, all cargo and containers were safely removed without further damage from the incident site.

Throughout the project safety was the top priority, followed by efficiency It was of the utmost importance to carry out the works as quickly as possible to allow the port to reach full operating capacity reducing disruption to a minimum, To make this happen our onsite teams worked around the clock 24 hours a day to clear the incident site.

Within 6 days of the commencement of the works the crane had been cut into sections and transported to a different area within the port, this meant APMT were free to use the incident area for container operations. In total, the project was completed in 18 working days thanks to the hard work and dedication of the O’Brien Specialist Crane Services team.