The most difficult lifts for crane companies often involve not the heaviest objects but the largest or most valuable ones. Both of these factors came into play when New Zealand Crane Hire was asked to lift a carbon fibre mast constructed by Southern Spars. The one-of-a-kind mast worth over $3 million needed to be moved from Southern Spars’ factory about one kilometre to its final home on the super-yacht Kokomo in Auckland’s Viaduct Harbour.
Weighing 11.7 tonnes and measuring 65 metres the mast was too long to be moved around street-corners on a trailer so NZ Crane Hire Auckland/Waikato regional Manager John Lundon and Southern Spars’ Steve Cotton put together a plan which considered the length of the mast and the timeframe in which the lift needed to be completed.
The plan was to conduct three separate lifts. One to move it from the factory to the transport truck, another to lift it over buildings on the corner of Halsey Street and back onto the truck, and another to position it next to the yacht ready to be lifted into place.
The lifts were completed using a 220 tonne Grove GMK6220L crane with 70 metres of boom and a Franna At-20 which was used to move lifting equipment to the next set-up location after each lift.
“Each section of the job had to consider the size of the mast, the wind conditions, any nearby buildings or light-poles and also that the lifts were taking place in a busy industrial area and the roads couldn’t be blocked any longer than necessary.” said John Lundon.
“Co-ordinating the lifts was critical to finishing this job safely and within the timeframe. The combination of the 220 tonne Grove and the 20 tonne Franna enabled us to complete each lift in the most efficient manner.”
The series of three set-ups and lifts took place on a calm night in July and was completed in approximately six hours.
05th October 2006
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