Busy times for Heavy Transport vessels
BigLift Shipping was contracted for four shipments of rubber tyred gantry cranes (RTG) and ship to shore cranes (STS) by the Mitsui E&S Group. The cranes are built in Oita, Japan, and from there shipped all over the world.
Photo: Piet Sinke
In very short succession we moved a total of 9 STS cranes and 17 RTGs, all for Mitsui E&S Machinery Co Ltd of Japan.
The opening and closing pictures show the MESM yard of Mitsui in Oita, Japan, where HTV BigLift Baffin and HTV CY Interocean I were loading their cargoes more or less at the same time.
HTV CY Interocean I loaded 11 RTG cranes for Porto Bolivar in Ecuador. These 140 mt constructions measured 26.5*27*10 metres. At the same time, BigLift Baffin loaded 3 STS cranes for Mombasa, Kenia. With a track width of 30.5 metres and an overall reach of 126 metres, these STS cranes were quite impressive.
But we went one bigger. A month earlier, BigLift Barentsz, loaded four, even larger STS cranes - a particularly noteworthy feat, as this was the first shipment of four to have been transported in one trip by an MC class vessel. This cargo was destined for the YILPORT Liscont terminal in Lisbon, Portugal, which is located in the heart of the city along the river Tagus.
These specific STS cranes weigh in at 1,483 mt and have outer dimensions of approximately 28*130*63 m (l x w x h) as stowed on deck, with the booms pointing 15 degrees upwards. The cranes had to be stowed in a staggered position to create sufficient room for the seafastening which was done by push-pull bars. The resulting total width of the transport was 175 metres.
Loadout and discharge went smoothly and on schedule, due to excellent preparation by the client and of course our superintendents. Loading the foremost stowed crane involved an additional step, for it had to be positioned directly behind the accommodation of BigLift Barentsz. At that point the deck is already curving inwards towards the forecastle, which means that the crane could not be skidded directly across from the quay to its deck position. Instead, it was skidded on board at the location of the next crane up, jacked up to rotate the bogies and then skidded to its final stowage place.
After a fairly uneventful voyage of 57 days, with two small detours to avoid major swell seas, BigLift Barentsz arrived at Lisbon. The Liscont terminal is located directly behind the Ponte 25 de Abril, which crosses the Tagus near the well-known Sanctuary of Christ the King. This bridge has a vertical clearance of less than 68 meters at any time. Passage was therefore only possible around low tide and with the air draught of the vessel minimized to approximately 66 meters, which was achieved by ballasting down to maximum harbour draught. This operation took place on the morning of Saturday 1st of January 2022. The four STS cranes were discharged safely, as can be seen in below video, made by YILPORT Holding Inc.
Photo: YILPORT Holding Inc.
BigLift and partner CY Shipping will be quite busy in the roll-on/roll-off market in the next few years, which has lately seen improved demand. Our four vessels will be carrying a variety of cargoes related to the port utility industry, on and offshore wind components, large modules for Petrochemical and LNG installations and others. The combined fleet of deck carriers of BigLift Shipping and Chung Yang Shipping, consists of four Heavy Transport Vessels and is commercially operated by the BigLift Shipping office in Amsterdam. We are committed to perform to the highest industry standard.