Damen launches crane barge in Yichang

On 13 April, Damen Yichang Shipyard launched a 75 x 32m crane barge into the water. The event was seasonally timed to ensure the correct water depth needed to perform the successful launch of the barge.

Damen is building the Crane Barge 7532 for a Panamanian client. Now that the barge is in the water, the yard will make the final preparations for her forthcoming journey to Huisman’s Chinese yard in Fujian Province.

Here, Huisman is currently preparing a state-of-the-art crane for the vessel. The crane will first be tested on land before being lifted onto the barge for installation and final testing of the crane together with the crane barge systems. With this, the barge will have a lifting capability of 625t at 25m.

After completion in China the crane barge will be transported to Panama on a semi-submersible vessel, where she will be expected to arrive at the end of this year.

The project experienced some challenges when production at the Yichang was affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Damen sales manager Olivier van Papenrecht said that everyone worked very hard to keep things on track.

“I’m very proud to see the barge successfully launched. That this has happened now, so close to the original schedule, despite the impact the pandemic had on production, is a real achievement. This represents the commitment shown to the project by the client, by the production team in Yichang and by the project team in the Netherlands.”