Damen Gantry Crane collapse

A Landmark Crane for many is no longer due to today's storm. The Crane served on the yard shipyards to the admiral de ruyterweg schiedam. Submitted by Yvonne Loch.

Foto: Durk-Jan Nederlof

Storm takes its toll at Damen Shipyard, Schiedam

Foto's: Durk-Jan Nederlof

4 Jan. 2018

Due to extreme storm winds, a large gantry crane across the Dry-dock of Damen Shipyard Schiedam, was blown over.

Fortunately nobody was injured in the accident, although workers had to run for their lives. It happened between 03:00 and 03:45 hrs in the early morning of the 3rd of January 2018. Witnesses said, it was blowing extremely hard  causing the crane to fall over, despite the fact is was properly secured and put on the brakes for the expected storm.

It seems a locally developed Tornado (whirlwind) was so extreme, that the large gantry crane, which has been a significant landmark in Schiedam for the past decades could not withstand the forces of nature and fell over. One of the legs fell in the Drydock.

The exact cause of this accident is under investigation. It will take at least 3-4 weeks to remove the gantry crane from the dry-dock.

Luckily the crane fell in forward direction and did not hit anything. If it had fallen over to the other side, it would have fallen on  van Oord's Wind Turbine Installation vessel "Aeolus", which is presently being upgraded at Damen. Mammoet Salvage, Damen's nextdoor neighbour is assisting in the removal of the crane.

It will at least take another year untill Damen reaches its present rate of activity again, and extra lifting capacity will be now covered by rental cranes.

Richard Krabbendam

Published on 8 Jan 2018

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This video is about Damen Crane collapse. Due to extreme storm winds, a large gantry crane across the Dry-dock of Damen Shipyard Schiedam, was blown over. Fortunately nobody was injured in the accident, although workers had to run for their lives. It happened between 03:00 and 03:45 hrs in the early morning of the 3rd of January 2018. Witnesses said, it was blowing extremely hard causing the crane to fall over, despite the fact is was properly secured and put on the brakes for the expected storm. It seems a locally developed Tornado (whirlwind) was so extreme, that the large gantry crane, which has been a significant landmark in Schiedam for the past decades could not withstand the forces of nature and fell over. One of the legs fell in the Drydock.

Storm takes its toll at Damen Shipyard, Schiedam The exact cause of this accident is under investigation. It will take at least 3-4 weeks to remove the gantry crane from the dry-dock. Luckily the crane fell in forward direction and did not hit anything. If it had fallen over to the other side, it would have fallen on van Oord's Wind Turbine Installation vessel "Aeolus", which is presently being upgraded at Damen. Mammoet Salvage, Damen's nextdoor neighbour is assisting in the removal of the crane. It will at least take another year untill Damen reaches its present rate of activity again, and extra lifting capacity will be now covered by rental cranes.