In battle of the cranes, Newport News still No. 1

For years Newport News Shipbuilding has advertised the fact that one of its gantry cranes, now emblazoned with the company’s name, can out-lift all others in the Western Hemisphere.

Big Blue, which was beefed up for the construction of theGerald R. Fordaircraft carrier, hoists giant sections of the ship into the drydock. Its three hooks each can lift up to 350 tons.

But there’s competition.

Last year a Royal Navy contractor in Scotland made its own crane investment. Babcock Marine bought a crane made in Shanghai for the U.K.’s new two-ship class of carriers.

“The crane is a vital element in the programme to build both the (Queen Elizabeth) Class aircraft carriers because the ships are being constructed in such huge sections,” reads a news release from Babcock Marine, which is handling the final assembly of the ships.

The release goes on to describe the machine called “the Goliath,” which like Big Blue has three hooks for greater maneuverability. Its most powerful hook lifts 500 tons, while the smaller hooks hoist 300 tons each.

During a test last August the crane hoisted 1,100 tons, according to Babcock spokeswoman Helen Adamson.

“After that, the first task was a ship section weighing a little over 900 (tons) on Sept. 23,” she said.

But, she added, its “safe working load” capacity is slightly less at 1,000 tons.

That translates to a 2,204,622-pound capacity, and makes it the largest crane of its kind in Europe.

But according to Christie Miller, spokeswoman for the shipyard’s parent company, Huntington Ingalls Industries, it’s not enough to take the mantle from Newport News’ mightiest crane.

Big Blue, Miller said, lifts “1,050 metric tons, and it tests at 125 percent with all of its rigging gear.”

That works out to 1,312.5 metric tons, or 2,893,537 pounds. And it means the claim to hemispheric dominance is safe.

Shipyard president Matt Mulherin said in a recent interview that he’s taken a tour of Babcock’s shipyard, but he wasn’t sure whose crane was biggest.

“If somebody’s got a bigger crane, I’ll have to stop saying (Big Blue’s) the biggest in the Western Hemisphere and start saying it’s the biggest in America,” he said.

It turns out the yard can stick with its original claim.

“We are proud to boast Big Blue’s status as the largest gantry crane in the Western Hemisphere. The crane is a community landmark that’s vital to our success,” said Miller. “To build big ships we need big tools, and we would not be able to accomplish what we do without its enormous capabilities.”

Tom Barth, a crane safety specialist in Summerville, S.C., said that while Big Blue is the largest gantry on this side of the globe today, crane records are made to be broken.

“The cranes keep getting bigger and bigger and bigger, to the point where I don’t even know who has the largest cranes anymore,” Barth said.

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