They were quite a sight Wednesday, steaming up the Savannah River on the Dockwise heavy equipment carrier Teal.
Now, at Garden City Terminal’s Container Berth 9, the delicate work of moving each of the four super post-Panamax cranes onto the dock begins.
It takes a day and a half to two days to move each crane from ship to shore. The first crane is set to be moved beginning Sunday, well after the effects of Tropical Storm Andrea have passed.
Each crane has four sets of wheels. Right now, the wheel bogies — the framework or chassis holding the wheels — are sitting on rails on the Dockwise’s deck perpendicular to the dock rail.
To bring each crane off, workers will first lay track on the dock. They will jack up the crane, one side at a time, turn the wheel bogies to line up and then lower the crane down onto the dock rail.
The cranes are moved around a slack tide. As each crane moves off the vessel, its weight shift can cause the ship to roll. To offset this, the vessel pumps 200 to 300 tons of water ballast per hour.
It’s a slow process, requiring a lot of coordination between workers on the ship and those on the dock. It will take about two weeks to get all four cranes off the vessel, according to GPA spokesman Robert Morris.
The Dockwise has a crew of about 25, plus a manager. Also, engineers from Konecranes, the Swedish manufacturer, are on site along with contract labor.
All together, 40 to 50 people are working on the offloading process.
Once each crane is on the dock, crews will raise the boom, the electric house and the machinery house roughly 100 feet into the proper position, complete assembly, do final connections on wiring, install the elevator and go through a myriad of checks.
It takes three to four weeks to get each crane operational.
According to Morris, all four should be up and running by early September.
Weather prep underway
The Teal had barely settled into berth Wednesday when port officials began planning for Tropical Storm Andrea’s arrival.
“We’ve been watching and planning since late last night,” ports chief Curtis Foltz said Thursday. “While we’re not anticipating any structural issues, you can’t take any tropical storm lightly.”
Port workers were busy Thursday making sure the stacks of empty containers were battened down and securing all loose items around the terminals.
As of Thursday afternoon, Foltz said he didn’t anticipate any closure of the terminals, adding that he was anticipating the worst of the storm to come through late Thursday afternoon through midday today.
“Right now, ships are still working, trucks and trains are still running,” he said Thursday afternoon. “But we will continue to watch conditions closely.”
On the water, the Coast Guard and river pilots will decide if conditions are too treacherous to take ships into or out of port, he said.
“They man the river, as well as the conditions offshore,” Foltz said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if they suspend sailings while the brunt of the storm comes through.
“But, even if that happens, we aren’t expecting any major disruptions.”
Propeller Club installs officers
The Port of Savannah Propeller Club recently installed new officers for 2013-14. They are President Nick Puhala, First Vice President Mark Troughton, Second Vice President Bill Barbee, Third Vice President Michael Forbes, Secretary Tom Wright, Treasurer Bob Cole and Judge Advocate Langston Bass.
The local club is comprised of some 260 individuals representing more than 120 organizations in the Savannah maritime community.
Senior business reporter Mary Carr Mayle covers the ports for the Savannah Morning News. She can be reached at 912-652-0324 or at mary.mayle@savannahnow.com.
SHIPPING SCHEDULE
These are the ships expected to call on Georgia Ports Authority’s Garden City and Ocean Terminals in the next week. Sailing schedules are provided by Georgia Ports Authority and are subject to change.
Terminal Ship name Arrival
GCT ZIM MOSKVA Today
GCT PRESIDENT JACKSON Today
GCT ISLANDIA Today
GCT SEA-LAND EAGLE Today
GCT MSC ORIANE Today
GCT YM EFFICIENCY Today
GCT MSC ESTHI Today
GCT HANJIN NAGOYA Today
GCT MAERSK DENPASAR Today
GCT HANJIN NEWPORT Today
OT GRANDE MAROCCO Today
GCT CSAV LARAQUETE Saturday
GCT CMA CGM EIFFEL Saturday
GCT MSC CATANIA Saturday
GCT ARNOLD MAERSK Saturday
GCT EVER DIAMOND Saturday
GCT YORKTOWN EXPRESS Saturday
GCT DUESSELDORF EXPRESS Sunday
GCT E.R. DENVER Sunday
GCT HANJIN KINGSTON Sunday
GCT AL ABDALI Sunday
GCT MAERSK DENVER Monday
GCT AKRITAS Monday
GCT SICHEM DUBAI Monday
GCT JAMES RIVER BRIDGE Monday
OT CARMEN Monday
GCT KAAN KALKAVAN Tuesday
GCT NYK DIANA Tuesday
GCT MSC LAURA Tuesday
GCT APL SARDONYX Tuesday
GCT ZIM LUANDA Tuesday
GCT NYK CLARA Tuesday
GCT MAERSK LAMANAI Tuesday
OT ANET Tuesday
GCT STADT LUNEBURG Wednesday
GCT MSC VITTORIA Wednesday
GCT MOL PREMIUM Wednesday
GCT HYUNDAI GOODWILL Wednesday
GCT DALLAS EXPRESS Wednesday
OT PACIFIC BLESS Wednesday
GCT ZIM SAVANNAH Thursday
GCT VARAMO Thursday
GCT SEA-LAND RACER Thursday
GCT SCT ZURICH Thursday
GCT XIN NAN TONG Thursday
GCT MSC CARMEN Thursday
GCT ZIM MEDITERRANEAN Thursday