Giant cranes readied in Cork for voyage to Puerto Rico

The Albatross and cranes – it might sound like a birdwatcher’s bonanza but anyone heading to Cork harbour this weekend is more likely to be treated to the sight of some impressive mechanical engineering than any ornithological extravaganza. The three 900-tonne cranes, built by Liebherr of Killarney, are on board the specially converted overseas heavy transport vessel, Albatross which, moored at the Port of Cork’s deepwater berth at Ringaskiddy, is finalising preparations for a transatlantic voyage. The cranes were assembled at the Doyle Shipping Group’s Cork Dockyard in Verolme over the past few months by an experienced team supervised by Liebherr engineers in what will be the first time that fully assembled container cranes have been exported from Ireland. The cranes, about 65m tall, with an outreach of 40m and a capacity of 65 tons, were welded on to the deck of the Albatross at the Cork Dockyard for transport across the Atlantic to Puerto Rico in a voyage that is expected to take two weeks.