04.11.2009

Head of state takes control

The President of Brazil, Luiz Inàcio Lula da Silva (popularly known as Lula), recently took the controls of a 750 tonne Manitowoc Model 18000 crawler crane for a keel-laying ceremony at the Atlântico Sul Shipyard in Ipojuca, Pernambuco State.

The crane positioned the 150 tonne central section of the Suezmax 1 oil tanker, the first of 10 vessels ordered by Transpetro, the tanker-owning part of the state-run oil company, Petrobras.
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The president of Brazil, 'Lula' after having operated the Manitowoc 18000

The crane was configured with 54.9 metres of main boom and 42.7 metre mast.

Kyle Nape, vice president and general manager of Manitowoc’s Latin America operations, said: “It was a great to see Lula take the controls of the 18000 at one of the most important new industrial facilities for Brazil. This is a huge project for us with 29 cranes on site”.

“Our Manitowoc Crane Care crew set the cranes up before the ceremony. The guys – Camilo Filho, Angelo Furlan and Jeff Keil – did a great job even for the President of Brazil!”

The cranes include two Manitowoc Model 18000 – one owned by the shipyard and one rented from Dutch based Van Adrighem, a 400 tonne 16000 and a 250 tonne 999. One of the 18000 and the 16000 are equipped with Manitowoc’s Max-Er attachment

The remainder of the cranes are largely Grove mobiles provided by local rental company Saraiva.
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The two Manitowoc 18000 crawler cranes unload the gantry crane elements

One of the most recent projects at the shipyard, unloading and erection of two 1,500 tonne capacity gantry cranes involving the lifting of 22 loads ranging from 66 t to 530 tonnes.