19.07.2022

Crane in the harbour

The superstructure of an old dockside crane ended up in the harbour in Scotland, in late May.

The incident occurred at the Port of Burntisland across the Forth Estuary from Edinburgh, while the crane, built in the 1950s by Butters Cranes for Burntisland Shipbuilding Company, was being dismantled. In recent years the yard has been home to steel fabrication company BiFab for fabrication work for the oil & gas industry. It went into administration and closed in 2020. It seems that the old crane had not been used or maintained for many years, the demolition method was the final straw.
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The crane in the 1980s

A spokesman for Forth Ports said: “Importantly, we can now confirm that no-one was injured in the incident at the Port of Burntisland which occurred at 9.30am on the site which was under the control of the specialist demolition contractor. A small amount of gearbox oil has spilled into the water. However, because the West Dock at Burntisland is an enclosed dock, there is no risk of any of it entering the Forth Estuary. Our specialist oil recovery contractor is on site and will contain and recover the oil.”
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The crane today

“This was clearly a concerning incident. A team from Forth Ports and the demolition contractor is on site assessing the best way to recover the structure from the dock. The West Dock of the port remains closed at this time.”