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• Ainscough lifted two 27m vessels out of the water at Sharpness Docks and landed them onto a coaster bound for North West of England.
• The lift was planned from scratch as no drawings or guidance from the boat manufacturer were available.
• Ainscough delivered a full contract lift package which included crane hire, a rigging crane, lifting tackle, planning and transport.
• Just five days passed between the site visit and the crane arriving, and the job was completed on time with zero incidents.
At the Sharpness Docks in Gloucestershire, Ainscough supported Foyle & Marine Dredging with the lifting of two vessels which had recently been bought and were to be transported to the North West of England. Both vessels measured 27m x 5.7m x 3m and weighed in at 64 tonnes each. They arrived at the docks by river and needed to be lifted from the water and onto a Seaward Coaster, which would then deliver them to the North West of England to carry out load and transportation works.
Foyle & Marine Dredging chose Ainscough’s contract lifting solutions, covering the main crane, a Liebherr LG 1550, along with the rigging crane needed to build it, the lifting tackle, lift planning and transport. This gave the customer a single point of contact for the whole job. Once the LG 1550 arrived, the work on site took six days, including rigging, both lifts and derigging.
As with every Ainscough contract lift, careful planning and preparation began well before the crane arrived on site, especially given the challenges on this job. The first challenge was that the crane had to work close to the quay edge and within the quayside’s ground bearing limits, leaving the team a restricted space to operate in. The team also had to account for tides, changing water levels and winds.
On top of this, there was very little information on the vessels themselves. Foyle & Marine Dredging had only just bought them, no technical drawings were available and there was little to be found online. With no designated lifting points or manufacturer’s guidance, our Ainscough technical team had to rely on their technical expertise and knowledge to plan safe lifts.
A site visit to Sharpness Docks assessed the working environment, restrictions on the site and on the crane’s route in, ground loading limits, distances from the quay edge and the area the crane could operate in. All this information was then used to agree the safest approach with Sharpness Docks.
The planning took three days, including travel to and from the site visit. In that time, Ainscough produced full risk assessments and method statements (RAMS) for the customer, with lift drawings, calculations and details of the lifting equipment to be used with the crane. The team selected the LG 1550, a heavy lift crane configured with a 42m boom, configured with a 42m boom and 140 tonnes of lifting weight in the Superlift tray. It was chosen because it met the customer’s lifting requirements and was available at short notice.
Because the vessels had no designated lifting points, Ainscough’s Heavy Cranes Technical Manager, who has more than 1,000 boat lifts to his name, selected a seven-spreader-beam arrangement. This spread the load safely across each vessel, based on its issued weight and dimensions.
The LG 1550 was built on the quayside using a rigging crane, also supplied by Ainscough. Once the crane was rigged, each vessel was lifted from the water using the seven-spreader-beam arrangement and landed onto the deck of the coaster.
The vessels were controlled throughout with tag lines, and the lift was coordinated by radio between the crane, the quayside and the ship’s deck. Sixteen Ainscough people were involved in the operation, including:
Ainscough tailored its safety measures to the marine setting. Every member of the lift team wore a life jacket while working close to the quay edge, and wind speed calculations were carried out in advance, with the allowable wind speed for the lift set lower than the manufacturer’s maximums.
Both vessels were safely loaded onto the coaster with zero incidents recorded and ready for their journey to the North West of England, all done with no disruption to Foyle & Marine Dredging’s programme.
Ainscough makes safety the number one priority; the principle “Make the Safe Choice” guides each of our lifting operations. On a live dock, working at the water’s edge with loads that had no drawings or lifting points, careful planning and experienced people were essential to getting the job done safely and efficiently.
The Sharpness Docks operation was Ainscough’s first job for Foyle & Marine Dredging. With the right expertise and heavy lift crane services, Ainscough was able to take on the work with just five days’ lead time and deliver it without disruption to Foyle & Marine Dredging’s wider programme.
“Turning a project around within a short timeframe requires significant planning, coordination, and technical expertise, particularly when dealing with machinery of this scale. While these lifts may appear to be routine, there is no such thing as a standard lift when it comes to planning, preparation, and execution. It was a pleasure to support Foyle & Marine Dredging with this operation, and we look forward to working with them again on future projects.”
Graeme Harrison, Heavy Cranes Technical Manager at Ainscough
Ainscough is the UK’s leading crane hire company, providing cranes, transport, planning and lifting through a single point of contact. We are known and trusted for safe, reliable operations, even on the most complex lifts. We work across a wide range of industries, including marine, rail, energy, transport, infrastructure and telecommunications. To find out more about our services or how we can help your team, get in touch.
