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Two months ago we brought you photos of the world’s largest crane being built, today we show you it’s first lift. Yantai Raffles Shipyard Limited tells us:

Today our shipyard celebrated the much anticipated First Commercial Lift by Taisun amidst a blaze of fireworks and the expectant gaze of the 750 strong local as well as international guests who were all gathered at the Yantai Raffles Shipyard in Shandong, China, to witness this momentous event. Taisun, a crane with an unparalleled 20,000 MT capacity, lifted the massive 14,000 MT Deckbox of COSL Drilling Europe AS’ (“COSL”) Semi-submersible Drilling Rig, the ‘COSLPioneer’, and mated it onto the Columns and Hull of the Rig in one single operation, demonstrating an unprecedented feat within the industry.

Our good friend Captian Koos sent us this photo of the May 30th Jumbo Crane Collapse at the Hudong-Zhonghua Shipbuilding in Pudong China.

Lloyds List Reports:

Sources said columns on the cranes buckled and collapsed at about 0025 hours on today. Two security guards were injured, one critically, and both were taken to a local hospital.

While the accident prompted concern that one of the dry docks at the yard could be out of action for up to six months, industry insiders have already suggested that the shipbuilder would try to spread work among its other facilities to mitigate delays.

The Hudong-Zhonghua group has four shipbuilding facilities including Shanghai Edward Shipbuilding, at Pudong, Punan and Fuxing.

They include a dry dock capable of building very large crude carriers, a 120,000 dwt floating dry dock and five shipbuilding berths for vessels up to 20,000 dwt, 70,000 dwt and 120,000 dwt. The shipbuilder has eight 100 tonnes capacity cranes working at its shipbuilding facilities.

One source said: “The accident is potentially crippling for the shipbuilder. But until a proper assessment can be carried out and executives can review how much work can be carried out by other facilities it is difficult to comment on how much impact the accident will have on production.”

UPDATE

The AP is now reporting 36 confirmed casualties:

Rescuers have found more bodies in the wreckage of a 600-ton crane that collapsed at a Shanghai shipyard, raising the death toll to 36, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday.
The crane collapsed Tuesday as it was being raised at the Shanghai Hudong Shipyard, causing a column to fall on a group of 30 laborers. Three people are hospitalized with injuries and two others were treated and released, according to Xinhua.

The shipyard says the cause of the accident is under investigation.

Shanghai, China’s biggest port, is a major center for shipbuilding and repairs. The Hudong yard, opened in 1928, is one of the city’s biggest

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