Gone Fishin’
Jonesville, LA
A 50 and 165-ton crane had both been mounted on a barge that had capsized over a weekend when not in use. It is suspected that the sectional barge (of a different manufacture) had taken on water, causing it to capsize and sink to the river bottom. Robishaw Engineering was contacted to come up with a solution to retrieve the cranes that were submerged in 25 feet of water. Based on using a 300-ton Manitowoc M250 Series 3 crane, we designed a “U”-shaped configuration to accommodate the limited allowable lift radius of 38 feet while picking the larger 300,000-lb crane. The Flexifloat® platform was designed to safely support the 641,000-lb Manitowoc crane while lifting the 150-ton load over the front, side and back of the barge assembly where the salvaged crane was placed for dismantling and removal. Two Loading Ramps were installed at the stern and positioned to facilitate the crane’s 23-foot track gauge while loading and unloading.
