Moving Container Cranes using specialized truss system (CTTS)

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Location: Malta
Client: Malta Freeport
Project: Container Crane Move

A major transshipment port for the Mediterranean region, the Malta Freeport has been undergoing expansion with the addition of 23 new quayside cranes. Boundary conditions for moving the new cranes into the port prevented the use of barges. GRT was commissioned to move the first three container cranes within the Malta port facility using a specialized truss system known as the CTTS (Containerized Transport Truss System).

Developed for the land transport of cranes weighing up to 2,000 tons, the CTTS has been designed to span from landside to the waterside sill beam on cranes with a rail gauge of up to 100 feet. The system is comprised of two separate trusses that are transported inside standard shipping containers, enabling them to be moved around the world. The ZPMC quayside cranes destined for the Malta Freeport weighed 1,900 tons each. Each crane needed to be moved about 1,200 meters (about .75 miles) over a route with four 90 degree turns and through the heart of the busy port. Following a detailed route map, the truss and crane were transported using a group of self-powered and self-steering hydraulic dollies.

The truss can also be rigged for transport using platform trailers, depending on which option is the most cost-effective. In this case, GRT completed the movement of all three cranes over a period of 10 days, a full three days ahead of the projected schedule.

Global Rigging and Transport (GRT) specializes in international crane relocation, crane moving, performance and compliance, crane modernization and mobilization. GRT has transported, assembled and/or modified over 250 container cranes, shipyard cranes and other large structures.