Too old and no longer up to standard, a gantry in the port of Sète is being cut up piece by piece.
It will have extended its 32 m long neck above the water for 40 years. A gantry of the commercial port of Sète, Bassin Colbert, is being dismantled piece by piece by a specialist company.
Outdated technology
This 450-ton, 60-metre-high machine was capable of unloading ships of its goods, which could weigh up to 39 tonnes. During its life as a crane, it carried out some 300,000 operations. But this gantry is now too old to continue its work. “Its technology is outdatedexplains David Liard, the operations director of the EPR Port Sud de France. It is becoming increasingly difficult to find spare parts”.
More configured for cargo ships
In addition, it no longer meets the standards for global traffic. From now on, the gantries must be able to unload Panamax ships, cargo ships built to pass through the Panama Canal. “As our new gantry, which arrived in 2011, can do it and we have the support of our three mobile cranes, we launched a call for tenders to dismantle the other one”explains this manager.
Dismantling according to port traffic
So until the end of July, the giraffe-shaped structure is patiently cut piece by piece when there are no stops on Quay E of the Colbert basin. The rear beak has already gone. As well as the long neck and the engine room, which alone weighs 70 tonnes. Then the four legs will be cut with a blowtorch. All the scrap metal is then reduced so that it can be loaded onto trucks to be resold and recycled.
