It took ZPMC and Port Otago staff three days to receive the crane from aboard the Zhenhua 5, which stayed at anchor north of Heyward Point for the duration of the delivery.
The crane was winched across the offload rails in short bursts, with continuous ballasting of the vessel required to keep it trim in response to the moving weight of the crane.
Winching across the bridge section meant approximately 600t of crane was moved from the vessel side directly onto the wharf with a corresponding reversal of vessel trim.
Finally, with the seaside legs ashore and over the wharf crane rail, the winching operation was complete.
As soon as the crane was grounded the ship was prepared to leave the port.
Port spokesperson Lincoln Coe told Cranes Today: “Commissioning work for the new crane is progressing very well and we expect to be operational in early April.”
