San Juan, Puerto Rico on Sunday 28th October 2018
The 180 ft ship to shore crane needed to be demolished as it was heavily corroded and SSA International (a stakeholder at the port in San Juan) decided that the quickest way for this to happen would be to go down the unusual demolition route of toppling, rather than the more conventional; taken apart piece by piece.
To bring down a crane of this magnitude requires careful planning. GRT engineers had to calculate where to cut, blast and pull the crane so that it's falling could be controlled. They used two different types of forklift; the Taylor Top Picks and the Kalmer Reach Stackers to pull at the crane.
Essential to any crane toppling is the creation of the "drop zone", which is the area where the crane falls. In the picture below you can see the installation of gravel on the ground, strategically placed to cushion the fall and to reduce damage to the container yard.
A project of this size is not without it's complications. But due to the teamwork and cooperation between GRT and SSA International, all issues were addressed and promptly resolved; thus ensuring the project was executed safely, on time and within budget.
After the event Dave Michou, President at SSA International said: "It was...gratifying to see GRT's successful demolition of CMI #6. All went safely just as planned and on schedule."
Mission accomplished - below are the before and after shots followed by drone footage of the crane coming down; front and reverse angles (if the video's don't appear, please right click and reload).
GRT have offices in Virginia (US), Vancouver (Canada), San Antonio (Chile) and Panama City (Panama), enabling their capacity to meet the needs of global clients quickly and efficiently.
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