Under-the-jib equipment supplier Caldwell Group has designed and manufactured a customised 46-tonne capacity lifting beam for the latest phase of the wharf modernisation at British Antarctic Survey’s (BAS) Rothera Research Station.

Equipped with two wire rope slings, the model 24S-46t-315 adjustable lifting beam will be used to lift a total of 20 wharf frames, the lightest of which weighs 35 tonnes.

Bishop Lifting Equipment, Caldwell’s UK-based under-the-jib equipment partner, delivered the beam to BAM Nuttall – which is working with BAS on projects associated with the UK’s new polar research vessel RRS Sir David Attenborough, including the new wharf at Rothera Point in the Antarctic.

Bishop’s business development director Ben Gates said: “The challenge was, in simple terms, to lift heavy loads, each with different centres of gravity.

“The adjustable bail [where the crane hook is attached] solved the problem in that it can be adjusted in one direction and the adjust-a-leg slings in the other.”

Measuring 8.22 m in length, 1.37 m wide and 1.92 m high, the beam weighs 4.58 tonnes and has a higher capacity than the standard model 24 version on which it is based.

Furthermore, it was made to withstand the cold environment at the job site. Dan Mongan, special application support, new product development specialist at Caldwell, said that steel alloy selection, welding processes and type of paint were all important considerations in the design of the beam.

Construction of the new BAS wharf is scheduled to take place over two Antarctic seasons. Work began in November 2018, as HLPFI reported here, with completion expected in spring 2020.

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