Turkish landmark: Turkey’s leading heavylift company scored a double first when it erected a new gantry crane at an offshore yard in Tuzla in October. According to contractor Hareket Heavy Lifting & Transport, it was the heaviest load ever lifted in Turkey and the first time that a Turkish company had used strand jacks in Turkey. The gantry crane weighed 855t, stood 67.9m high and had a 55m span. Hareket also transported it 15km to the yard. For the engineered lift, the first leg, weighing 140t, was lifted using a Demag AC 700 telescopic crane with a 300t capacity Demag CC 1800 lattice crawler for tailing. A 175t capacity Ormig TG 175 lattice boom truck crane and a 100t telescopic crane supported on each side of the shear leg. The second pier leg was lifted with the AC 700 and CC 1800 in tandem, with the TG 175 tailing. For the top beam of gantry crane, weighing 530t, four units of 200t capacity strand jacks were used. During the eight hour operation, lifting of the top beam was computer controlled from a control room on the ground, 150m away from the jacks.
