11 March 2003 DOCKWISER 18 March 2003 DOCKWISER 18 10

One of Dockwise most important customers for crane transport is Noell Crane Systems of Germany. In 2002, Dockwise
carried a total of 18 cranes for Noell to ports in Asia, South America and North America. Ten of those cranes were deli-
vered to the new Maersk terminal at Pier 400 in Los Angeles. The cranes were transported in 3 shipments on the Swift,
Teal and Tern between March and July.
10 cranes for the Maersk Terminal
in Los Angeles
The cranes were built in Abu Dhabi in the
Arabian Gulf and the route to Los Angeles
passed through the Indian and Pacific Oceans,
over a total distance of just under 12,000 miles.
For the first two voyages on the Swift and the
Teal, the superintendent for the loading and
discharge was Jeroen van der Eng, who had also
done much of the technical preparation in the
Dockwise head office. For the third voyage on
the Tern, the superintendent was Patrick Forbes.
Since Dockwise started in January 1994, Patrick
has worked in the Commercial Department as
Senior Sales and Marketing Manager,
specialising in the fully erected crane transport
market. However, in the 15 years prior to the
formation of Dockwise, he had worked on the
technical side of heavy transport shipping, first
working on the design of the Dock Express
ships and then on the design and execution of
large transport projects.
So it came as second nature to him to return
to the field to supervise the loading and
discharging of the 3 fully erected container
cranes on the Tern, after having completed the
commercial negotiations leading up to the
execution of the project.
These cranes were loaded in Abu Dhabi in
May, and the temperature in the shade was 48
degrees Celsius. According to Patrick Forbes:
The deck of the ship was burning hot, but
after the first crane was loaded, there was at
least some shade on deck. The crew brought a
continuous flow of drinking water to the deck
and luckily the ships cook knew how to make
a delicious cold soup a sort of Russian
gazpacho!
Patrick explained the sequence of the loading
operation: "the loading of these 1426-ton, 118-
metre high and 88-metre wide cranes was
rather unusual. The fabrication yard in
Abu Dhabi is located on the banks of the
Musapha Channel in the industrial area of Abu
Dhabi. Since there was insufficient water
depth for the Swan class vessels to moor
alongside the construction quay, the cranes
had to be loaded one by one from the quay
onto a barge. The barge was towed to the
deep-water port of Abu Dhabi where it was
moored perpendicular to the ship. The
load-out operation took place by skidding the
crane on hydraulic jacks from the barge onto
the deck of the vessel and then jacking it down
onto rails mounted on the deck. It was rolled
on its own bogies to the final stowage position
on the ship using winches on the ship's deck.
With the crane in its final stowage position, it
was welded to the deck using seafastenings
specially designed and installed by Noell.
Seven weeks later, the discharging operation
in Los Angeles took place in record time. The
cranes were discharged using Noells
compressed air skidding system. This system
supports the crane on high pressure air on the
skidding track, while at the same time
providing low-friction lubrication on the track.
The entire discharging operation of the 3
cranes -including the removal of seafastening
materials- took three and a half days."
Patricks view of the project: I enjoyed
working as superintendent for loading and
discharging of the Tern. It gave me the chance
to come into contact again with the men in
the frontline on board one of our ships. The
officers and crew of the Tern were a pleasure
to work with and a credit to Dockwise. They
were well prepared and able to cope with all
the expected and the unexpected things that
can happen during loading and discharging.
It was a great personal pleasure for me to see
the successful completion of a project which
had started more than 2 years earlier as a short
fax to the commercial department of
Dockwise.
l oaded at 48 degr ees C i n t he shade
mr. Double-Role Patrick Forbes
1. barge moored to the side of the Tern, ready to transfer
the crane to the ship
2. the crane is skidded off the barge onto the ship on
skidbeams fitted with jacks.
3. the crane is pulled on rails along the ship to its final stowage
position.
4. once crane in final stowage position crew starts preparation of
seafastenings
5. seafastenings finished and almost ready to sail
6. Patrick Forbes (left) in close consultation with Captain
Michail Baranov for the precision mooring of the Tern at the
discharging quay in Los Angeles.
7. seafastening pipes removed fromthe ship in Los Angeles.
arrival Tern in Los Angeles last crane skidded onto the quay
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