Keel laying for a Crane Barge 7532 has been completed at Damen Yichang Shipyard in Hubei Province, China. The vessel will be delivered in Panama and will replace a 77-year old crane still in operation.

The contract was awarded in August last year following a tender. The 75 x 32 metre Crane Barge will be outfitted with a state-of-the-art crane at Huisman’s Zhangzhou facility, giving it the capability to lift 625 tonnes at 25 metres.

After the crane installation, the Crane Barge will cross the Pacific on a heavy lift vessel and arrive at the anchorage area of Balboa in Panama where final tests will be conducted before it enters service.

Corona measures

Despite continuing strict safety measures, the yard in China is almost back to full capacity following the recent coronavirus outbreak. The measures taken include engineers on the project working from home and using digital communication to stay in contact with one another. The same applies to Damen’s communication with the client during this time. Additional safety measures include a robust cleaning and sterilisation programme, body temperature controls on entering the yard and the observation of safe working distance guidelines.