The UDS is preparing the rescued giant floating crane for testing
20.08.2023 - 12:30
The Ukrainian Danube Shipping Company is preparing for testing one of the most powerful floating cranes on the Danube — SPK-1/35.
The SPK-1/35 floating crane has a length of almost 40 m, a displacement of 1,224 tons, and a load capacity of 35 tons.
“It was a miracle that they managed to get the floating crane to the Danube. I won’t even tell you how. This is a dramatic story. Today, such a special operation would be impossible,” says the message of the UDS.
The vessel can be used for work on the modernization of the factory slip, or for removing barge covers without the use of gantry cranes. But its main task is transshipment of grain, which is the most relevant nowadays.
The crane returned to the UDS from the lease in non-working condition. The company ordered spare parts and carried out a large amount of restoration work: crane management, electrical equipment, pipelines, pumps, power plant, decks.
The drinking tanks were also painted and presented to the sanitary inspector, and the main and auxiliary engines, compressor, and starting cylinders were checked. A rather complex repair of the main rotary gearbox was carried out (it is now being installed).
The mechanisms of the main and auxiliary engines are currently being tested in operation.
The last stage is testing of the crane part, obtaining documents from the Shipping Register.
It will be recalled that five years ago the management of the UDS gave the crane to a private Odesa company. The lease expired last year. No one believed that, under today’s circumstances, a floating crane of this size could really be diverted to Izmail, and no one undertook to do it.
The company itself found an option to transport the crane, so the transportation took place. After the repair, the super crane will start working at the new multi-functional terminal of UDS in Izmail.
