The Riverdance roll-on, roll-off, ferry was struck by a freak wave on its journey from Northern Ireland to Heysham Port, leaving it dramatically beached just off of the coast of Blackpool. The 6,000t vessel was left listing at a perilous angle and had to be stabilised before any attempt at righting and, hopefully refloating, could be made.
When the ship foundered, cargo on the deck fell to one side, meaning it would have been at risk of capsizing when it was refloated. The 50t Sany SCC500D crawler was used to remove and redistribute cargo on the deck, so the ship could be refloated safely. The stabilising operation had to be carefully co-ordinated to re-distribute the weight of the oil and water in the hold by pumping the bulkheads, whilst using the crane to lift loads on the deck.
The crawler was newly purchased by Anderson Crane Hire, from Watson and Hillhouse, the UK distributor of the Sany crawler range.