A new Goliath rising up in Turku
The Finnish shipyard industry has wind in its sails. This is evident at Meyer’s Turku shipyard whose order books are full well into the 2020s. To ensure additional capacity, a new gantry crane – the largest in the Nordic countries – is being erected at the shipyard.
Shipbuilding in Turku began at the mouth of Aurajoki river almost 300 years ago. The newest shipyard was built in Perno in the 1970s, and since then a long line of tankers, cargo vessels and, above all, passenger ships and luxurious cruise ships have left the shipyard to sail the world’s seas.
Right from the start, the shipyard’s skyline has been dominated by a 600-tonne gantry crane rising to 105 metres. It is used to lift the ship sections, the size of small blocks of flats, manufactured at the shipyard into the basin to be joined together.
Lifting capacity doubled
As the shipyard saw its order book fill up and the ships growing in size, the need for additional capacity became apparent. That is why the construction of a new, even sturdier crane is now being planned. It will have a lifting capacity of 1,200 tonnes, i.e. twice that of the old crane. The new crane will be 122 metres high, thus also increasing the lifting height by more than 10 metres.
Three DTH hammers have been busy at the shipyard before the crane construction begins. In the past, the plates coming from the steel mill were stored outdoors; now a hall is being built specifically for them. Hundreds of piles measuring 170 and 220 mm have been drilled for its foundations in demanding conditions.
– We chose the suitable methods in collaboration with the contractor to make sure that everything goes as planned. And we succeeded: the piling proceeded within schedule and the deliveries arrived on time, says Robit’s Senior Specialist Kari Juntunen.
Old and new work side by side
In summer 2017, the piling work for the foundations of the new gantry crane has been started, and the erection of the crane will begin at the turn of the year. The old crane will not be scrapped – it will just be moved a little further backwards on the rails. As of summer 2018, the skyline of the Turku shipyard will be dominated by not just one but two Goliaths.
