Transport Spotlight
Long-Range Crane Shipment
Berard used two of its MBS modular beam systems and 48 axle lines of Scheuerle SPMT to roll the crane onto the barge in Manitowoc. The single-boom portal crane, called“ Big Blue 70,” weighs 1,200 tons, stands 155 feet tall and can lift 175 tons.
nine SPMT units as though they were a single transporter.
The loading was done according to Berard’ s engineered sequence.
First, the Berard crew prepared the barge by fastening tracks to the deck for the crane’ s railroad-type wheels to sit on during the voyage and by welding down beams for the sea-fastening system that would hold the crane securely in place.
Then the pin-connected sections of the two Berard MBS modular support beams were assembled under Big Blue and the SPMTs were installed beneath them.
When the barge had been ballasted to dock level, the crew laid ramps from the dock to the barge for smooth travel.
The SPMT decks were raised hydraulically to lift the crane, and the SPMTs rolled onto the barge carrying Big Blue.
When the crane was in the exact position specified by Berard’ s barge-stability calculations, the SPMTs lowered the crane until its wheels engaged the rails that had been welded to the barge deck.
Then stands with rollers were pinned to the ends of the MBS beams to support them, and the SPMTs were driven off the barge before the beams were rolled off the barge by a forklift and a crane.
To support the crane’ s 135-foot boom, Berard stacked three shipping containers and
mounted a custom-made connector on top.
The Berard team then used tape and drone measurements to verify the crane’ s position was correct, both for stability and so that the sea-fastening system’ s pipes would align and support the crane properly.
Strong Sea-Fastening Vital
To hold Big Blue upright and stationary through four months of winds and waves, Berard engineered and manufactured a strong sea-fastening system.
The system’ s most visible components were four pipes that braced each side of the crane to supports welded to the barge deck.
Pipes supporting the crane’ s upper structure were 36-inch diameter. Pipes supporting the crane’ s lower section were 20-inch diameter.
All of the pipes connected to the crane and deck supports with pins. That let all eight be installed or removed in a couple of hours.
The sea-fastening system’ s other components were stopper plates between the barge deck and crane wheels, chains with tighteners holding the crane’ s bogies to the barge and the connector on the crane’ s boom rest.
“ One of this project’ s biggest challenges was designing the sea-fastening,” said Berard.“ It had to be strong and durable for open-ocean travel. We designed it to DNV standards for unrestricted weather criteria.”
After the crane had been secured to the barge, Berard trucked the nine SPMTs, two MBS modular beam systems and other essential equipment from Manitowoc to Seattle for offloading Big Blue.
Offloading Challenge
The procedure for offloading Big Blue in Seattle was essentially the reverse of that used for loading the crane in Manitowoc, but with one big difference.
The tides near Seattle can fluctuate by 13 feet and rise or fall by 2 feet per hour.
That meant the offloading had to be done when the tide was at the right hight for the barge deck to align with the dock.
Berard developed a plan to offload within the time that the tide was right, and designed a fast ballasting system to adjust the barge level as conditions changed.
“ Good planning was crucial,” said Berard.“ The buoyancy of the barge had to be checked at certain tide times and for the capability of offloading at exact tides windows.”
After safely delivering Big Blue 72 to Seattle, the tug Ocean Tower, barge OG723 and the Berard team returned to Manitowoc, where they loaded an identical crane, Big Blue 82, for its voyage to a naval shipyard in Hawaii.
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June 2026 • www. cranehotline. com