Bucking the Norms

By Lori Musser

Delivering an oversize, overweight cargo crane to a seaport is almost always a challenge. There is often a finite list of standard handling and routing alternatives. A little innovation can go a long way in improving transportation speed and cost without compromising safety.  

In early 2022, UTC Overseas bucked the norms, and safely barged a fully assembled mobile harbor crane through the Gulf of Mexico. The primary cargo was a 255-tonne Gottwald HMK5506 mobile harbor crane. Including counterweights, the shipment loaded out at 360 tonnes. Even with the boom lowered, the crane stood 31.4 meters tall and the boom measured 54 meters.

The crane made the five-day trip from the Port of Brownsville, Texas, to Port Logistics Refrigerated Services, or PLRS, in Port Tampa Bay, Florida. The route covered 820 miles.

Accompanying pieces included a crane spreader bar and a 53-foot container with parts.

Brian Giuliani, vice president of operations for Port Tampa Bay, said PLRS’s second mobile harbor crane was a welcome addition.

“As the region’s refrigerated business expands, faster, efficient loading becomes critical. This type of crane adds lift capacity and will expedite vessel turn times. It is good for the port.” PLRS, took delivery of the crane on Jan. 21, 2022.

New customers underscored the need for timely delivery of the crane: “This additional Gottwald crane was necessary to provide efficient service to Dole by allowing us to operate with two gangs for the stevedoring operations,” said Russell Smeback, chief financial officer at PLRS.

A growing focus on optimizing terminal throughput per square foot has been integral to the nation’s supply chain recovery strategies.


Easy Load, Easy Offload

Patrik Meyer specializes in product and trade lane development at UTC Overseas Inc. One distinctive aspect of the crane move was that the crane was engineer-driven on and off the barge via remote control. Also, no external equipment was used, and no assembly was required upon arrival in Tampa. The fact that the crane did not need to be lifted eliminated costs and expedited the move.

Typically, mobile harbor cranes are disassembled into smaller, more manageable pieces before transport, and reconstructed at final destination. Standard practice is to then move the components to and from the dock via special self-propelled modular transport units, or SPMTs, then lift them on and off the vessel using one or more heavy-lift cranes. In this case, the Gottwald crane was driven on and off a barge over plates – an innovative step that eliminated the need for specialized lifting equipment and transporters. The use of a barge also eliminated the need for a Jones Act-compliant heavy-lift ship.

Heavy-lift cranes, ships and SPMTs are costly to secure and time-consuming to put into action.

On this move, time and money were saved. “We also negated the need for trucks, permits, police escorts, and specialized transit times on roads … Another advantage was that there was no down time once the crane arrived at PLRS; it was operationally ready the next day,” Meyer said.

A comprehensive plan to secure the crane and cargo was developed well in advance by engineers. To lower the center of gravity of the crane and improve load stability, the crane’s boom was lowered. “Stabilizing this immense piece of equipment and restricting movement while in transit was critical … the unit was firmly secured using straps, D-rings and chains,” Meyer said. Upon arrival, the boom was easily raised, and chains, straps and D-rings were removed. Then the crane was in business.

Innovation that minimizes time and costs is a UTC customer service goal. Meyer said the company has a competitive edge in that its heavy equipment team studies and knows cranes and equipment and how they operate. “We do not move a couch in the morning and a crane in the afternoon. In total we have 33 heavy equipment specialists globally,” Meyer said. He added their knowledge base is fundamental to carving out optimal transport solutions.

In this case, UTC knew the crane could be operated by an on-board driver or by remote control. Choosing to drive the unit from its stationary position on and off the barge via the remote control was a novel decision, allowing for more caution and precision and helping to minimize risks.


On the Water

Consolidated Terminals and Logistics Co, or CTLC, managed logistics services for the marine transportation leg of the crane move from Brownsville to Tampa. This included the hiring of the dedicated tug with an ABS Class deck barge, and communication and coordination with vessel agents, local port authorities and tug services for safe entry and exit of Brownsville and Tampa.

CTLC Special Projects executive Andrew DeLuca said: “It is not unusual to transport fully assembled cranes by barge, but it is less common to transport a crane of this magnitude fully assembled.”

“The main challenge was to make sure that the barge was ballasted correctly at all times of loading/unloading. Any miscalculation could have led to shifting of the barge while loading or sailing. We had multiple engineers that worked together … to come up with a preliminary plan to avoid any miscalculations. Using water pumps, the team was able to add/remove any water that was needed throughout the day as we had to adjust for the rising/lowering tide in ports,” Meyer added.

“This all takes time and coordination to make sure it is done safely. Communication and proper planning with and by those contracted for the movement is the key to success and it is critical to a safe operation,” DeLuca said.

Constant monitoring once under way played an essential role, too. From a customer service perspective, keeping a close eye on specialized moves offers piece of mind.

“Daily updates from the barge company provided us with vessel location, distance traveled and distance to destination. ETA to Tampa Bay was updated multiple times a day depending on weather and sea conditions,” Meyer said.

DeLuca emphasized the importance of safety in marine transport. He said that, generally speaking, the larger the cargo, the larger the risk involved with safe transportation from load port to unload port: “When dealing with a piece of cargo that is erect such as this crane, a voyage plan has to be created to account for overhead obstructions such as power lines or bridges. If transiting blue water, close attention has to be paid to weather conditions to make sure the vessel is operating within the limitations of the approved stowage plan.”

DeLuca said that if the sea state, which takes into consideration the height of waves and speed of wind, among other factors, exceeds those limitations, backup plans would need to be executed.

In this move, all was well. Weather was reasonable, and the clearance on Tampa’s Sunshine Skyway, at roughly 53 meters, allowed plenty of room.

The customer, PLRS, was happy. Smeback said: “Our goals for the shipping of the crane were an efficient, timely and safe transport with no damages to the equipment. From start to finish, the operation was achieved to our satisfaction.”


Innovation for Customer Service

Meyer said using standard procedures would not have been cost-effective for the customer in this case. It would have meant extra steps, specialized equipment, and extra time. He said those things come at a high cost. “We researched alternate methods and worked closely with our customer and their engineers to map out all aspects of the plan. Partnering with experienced subcontractors was essential to executing the job.”

Meyer added that site visits were another important factor in ensuring that the planned move went off without a hitch.

UTC had representatives at both port sites to meet with supervisors to review the best placement of the barge, the route over which the crane would be driven, and the positioning of any necessary equipment.

This proved fortuitous because an anomaly was encountered in Tampa, in the form of higher-than-expected bumpers. Special arrangements were made so the crane could be driven off the barge unimpeded. “Had we not put in the work to scope out every aspect, we would have run into unnecessary problems during unloading,” Meyer said. UTC also had representatives on hand for the actual loading and unloading. 


Based in the U.S., Lori Musser is a veteran shipping industry writer.

Image credit: UTC Overseas