The Weeks 533 crane vessel passes Newport, Jersey City
History
Name
  • Weeks 533 (2000–present)
  • McDermott DB-xx (197x–1988)
  • Marine Boss (1966–197x)
OperatorWeeks Marine
Ordered1965
BuilderZidell Explorations (barge)
Completed1966
Acquired1988
In service
  • Weeks (2000–present)
  • McDermott (197x–1988)
  • Murphy Pacific (1966–197x)
HomeportJersey City, New Jersey
IdentificationUSCG ID 501953
StatusIn service
General characteristics
Class and typeFloating barge crane
Tonnage5392
Length300 feet (91 m)
Beam90 feet (27 m)
Draught21 feet (6 m)
Installed power350kW, 1x Caterpillar 3406 diesel genset
Propulsionnone

Weeks 533 is a 500-short-ton (454 t) capacity Clyde Iron Works model 52 barge-mounted crane which is the largest revolving floating crane on the East Coast of the United States.[1] It was originally ordered for bridge construction and has since been used in several notable heavy lifts.

History

The Marine Boss floating barge-crane was built for Murphy Pacific Marine. The barge was assembled by Zidell Explorations from scrapped ship steel in Oregon[2] in 1966 and fitted in San Francisco with a heavy 500-ton revolving crane made by Clyde Iron Works[3] to perform the heavy girder and deck-section lifts for construction of the 1967 San Mateo-Hayward Bridge.[4][5] At the time it was the largest barge crane in the western United States.[6]

In the 1970s, Marine Boss was sold to J. Ray McDermott & Co., who had introduced the first 500-ton floating cranes for offshore platform construction in 1965[7] and were operating a similar fleet of barge-cranes under the McDermott Derrick Barge (DB) class.[8] McDermott would later sell it for scrap in 1988 to Weeks Marine in New Jersey,[9] who renamed it the Weeks 533 and refurbished it from 1997-2000. Weeks 533 is considered the flagship of the Weeks fleet.[10]

One of the tugboats returning Weeks 533 from Albany to New Jersey collided with the moored 750t crane barge N181 (aka Hank Hummel) near the Tappan Zee Bridge at night in heavy fog on 12 March 2016. That tug, the Specialist, subsequently sank, killing all three sailors.[11][12] Although the mate, who was at the helm of Specialist, initially jumped clear from the stricken tug onto N181, he returned to help free a trapped crewmate and all hands aboard subsequently drowned.[13]

Capacity

The Clyde Iron Works Model 52-DE crane[14] can lift 500 short tons (454 t) using the main hoist on a 210-foot (64 m) boom at any point in the crane's revolution; capacity rises to 600 short tons (544 t) when using the main hoist oriented astern. Motive power for the main hoist is provided by a Caterpillar 3412 V-12 diesel engine, and electric power for the barge is provided by a Caterpillar 3406 I-6 diesel generator set.

Bridges built

Notable heavy lifts

References

  1. ^ a b DuPont, Dale K. (1 December 2009). "River Rescue". WorkBoat. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  2. ^ Colton, Tim (27 August 2014). "Zidell Marine, Portland OR". Shipbuilding History. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  3. ^ Newell, Gordon R (1976). "Maritime Events of 1966". The H.W. McCurdy Marine History of the Pacific Northwest, 1966–1976. Seattle: Superior Publishing. ISBN 978-0875642208.
  4. ^ Mangus, Alfred R. (30 August 2008). California Orthotropic Bridge Bus Tour (PDF). Orthotropic Bridge Conference. Sacramento, California. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  5. ^ a b "ADVERTISEMENT: Murphy Pacific Bridge Builders". The Times. San Mateo. 19 October 1967. Retrieved 5 February 2015.(subscription required)
  6. ^ a b "Fact Sheet: San Diego – Coronado Bridge Seismic Retrofit Project". California Department of Transportation. March 1999. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  7. ^ "History — 1960s — Expanded Reach". McDermott International. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  8. ^ Levingston Photography. "McDermott derrick barge no. 17". Portal to Texas History. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  9. ^ "New life for the Marine Boss". Cranes Today. 2 January 2001. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  10. ^ a b "On Assignment: Heavy lift, salvage and marine transportation" (PDF). Weeks Marine Journal. January 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  11. ^ Bleyer, Bill (27 May 2016). "Tugboat hits barge and sinks at NY bridge construction site, killing 3". Professional Mariner. Retrieved 25 July 2016.
  12. ^ McNulty, Kevin (14 June 2016). "In re complaint of Weeks Marine, Inc". casetext. Retrieved 25 July 2016. No. 16-cv-1463 (KM)(JBC)
  13. ^ Collision and Subsequent Sinking of Towing Vessel Specialist, Marine Accident Brief DCA16FM033 (PDF) (Report). National Transportation Safety Board. 12 March 2016. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  14. ^ Patel, Jitendra (19 February 2004). ""Weeks 533" General Arrangement and Elevation Chart" (PDF). Weeks Marine. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2015.
  15. ^ "Closure Set For Bridge At Rio Vista". Lodi News-Sentinel. 3 June 1967. Retrieved 6 February 2015.
  16. ^ a b c d Mangus, Alfred R. (2004). "Orthotropic Bridges in the U.S.A. Built from 1960-2003". Orthotropic Bridge Conference. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  17. ^ "Queen's Way Bridge Fast Taking Shape". Independent Press-Telegram. Long Beach. 10 August 1969. Retrieved 6 February 2015.(subscription required)
  18. ^ Bottenberg, Ray (2007). Bridges of Portland. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. pp. 112–113. ISBN 978-0-7385-4876-0. LCCN 2006935600. Retrieved 18 January 2015.
  19. ^ Venturino, Marco F. (March–April 1967). "Test facility modifications for Poseidon". The Navy Civil Engineer. 8 (2): 18–19. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  20. ^ "1960s: The Marine Boss crane lowers SEALAB III, an underwater habitat, into the ocean around San Clemente Island, California, and United States Navy divers inspect it, in 1969". Shutterstock. Retrieved 3 January 2020.
  21. ^ "Tappan Zee Bridge - Main Channel Pier Protection". Weeks Marine. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
  22. ^ Foss, Sara (31 December 2003). "Second generator pulled from ship". The Daily Gazette. Schenectady. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  23. ^ Aichele, Richard O. (28 February 2007). "Three dead as heavy-lift ship capsizes while loading generator". Professional Mariner. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  24. ^ Townsend, Matt (20 October 2008). "Concorde lands at Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum for Nov. 8 re-opening". New York Daily News. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  25. ^ Dicht, Burton (October 2012). "Enterprise to Intrepid". Mechanical Engineering. American Society of Mechanical Engineers. pp. 36–41.
  26. ^ Gauvin, Brian (22 August 2012). "World's most famous crane? Shuttle move shines spotlight on Weeks". Professional Mariner. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  27. ^ Rose, Lisa (6 June 2012). "Space shuttle Enterprise is the latest historic vessel picked up by legendary Jersey City crane". New Jersey Star-Ledger. Retrieved 15 January 2015.
  28. ^ "Reconstruction of East 78th Street Bridge" (PDF). Gandhi Engineering. August 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  29. ^ "Client Favorites: Teresa Kruszewski". American Society of Media Photographers. October 2011. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  30. ^ "Super Storm Sandy Aftermath: Weeks Marine Clean Up and Relief Efforts" (PDF). Weeks Marine Journal. Winter 2013. Retrieved 5 February 2015.
  31. ^ Kuffner, Alex (18 July 2015). "Giant crane arrives off Block Island to install first foundation for offshore wind farm". Providence Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  32. ^ Kuffner, Alex (26 July 2015). "First foundation for Deepwater wind farm installed off Block Island". Providence Journal. Retrieved 14 November 2016.
  33. ^ Stromsta, Karl-Erik (28 July 2015). "IN PICTURES: US offshore wind puts its first steel in the water". Recharge. Retrieved 14 November 2016.

External links

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