10.07.2012

Groves to Zanzibar

When Manitowoc completed a tender for two cranes for the Zanzibar Port Corporation (ZPC), it had no idea that it would take over three years to complete the deal and deliver the cranes.

Having eventually won the order for a Grove YardBoss YB5518 industrial crane and a Grove RT880E Rough Terrain, it took over seven months to arrange a letter of credit and comply with local regulations. Then once the cranes were built and ready to ship, the challenge was to find a route to the main port of Unguja, one of the two islands that comprise Zanzibar, avoiding mainland Tanzania due to conflicting regulations.
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The 16.3 tonne Grove YardBoss YB5518 in Zanzibar

Manitowoc and its Tanzanian dealer TTD’99 booked the cranes on an 87-day journey that took the cranes from Baltimore, Maryland in the U.S.A, via Durban, South Africa, to Mombasa, Kenya. At that point the cranes were transferred to a specially chartered landing craft because of the shallow draft of Zanzibar’s port and the absence of any dock cranes.

Mustafa Jumbe, director general of ZPC, said: “In all, it took us three years to select the proper cranes, tender bids, establish financing and determine a suitable shipping route to bring the cranes to our port. Manitowoc and TTD’99 were with us every step of the way.”

The cranes are handling general break bulk cargo for Unguja or trans-shipping to other islands. The 75 tonne RT880E is ideal for the Zanzibar port due to its lift capacities, tight turning circle and 39 metre main boom.
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The Grove 75 tonne RT880E

The 16.3 tonne YB5518’s small footprint and manoeuvrability make it ideal for the more congested parts of the port that requires speedy loading and unloading.

Jan van Liere, owner of TTD’99, said: “There were many hurdles to clear in delivering these cranes to Zanzibar. But knowing that ZPC received the cranes on time and ready to work made this deal especially rewarding.”

Since the cranes were delivered ZPC has ordered a 35 tonne Grove GMK2035E All-Terrain crane and a 120 tonne RT9130E Rough Terrain crane.