March 2011
Halcrow’s upgrade of Rosyth’s dockyards took a major step forward with the delivery of a huge Chinese-made crane on Thursday 3 March.
The 1,000 tonne capacity Goliath crane will straddle Dock No 1 where the Royal Navy’s two new 65,000 tonne aircraft carriers are due to be assembled.
Halcrow designed the upgraded facilities at Rosyth. The project included designing the complex foundations that were required for the Goliath.
The crane will be raised to its full height of 90 metres on its transport ship and then transferred ashore. Because of the crane’s strategic importance for the carrier programme, the transport ship was given a Royal Navy escort throughout its journey to protect it from the risk of piracy.
Halcrow is also playing an important part in the project through advising the client, Babcock Marine, on health and safety issues and construction, design and maintenance.
Regional director Donald Bell said: “This is a major project for our team in Glasgow and demonstrates our strong technical skills in the maritime and health and safety sectors.”