Chinese Heavy Lift Ship Loses 2 Gantry Cranes Overboard Off Spain’s Galicia Coast

A Chinese heavy lift vessel, Shang De Wu Yi Shan, lost two ship-to-shore gantry cranes overboard after running into severe weather off the coast of Galicia, Spain, last week.

This is the second such incident involving crane losses at sea in just two months.

The ship, which had left Bremen, Germany, earlier in the week, was on its way to Thailand, carrying two large gantry cranes. As the ship passed A Coruna, Galicia, it hit rough seas.

Video Credits: Eloy/YouTube

The strong winds and heavy waves caused the cranes to be torn off the deck and fall into the sea.

The crew immediately called for help. Spain’s maritime rescue team, Salvamento Maritimo, responded immediately, sending a tug and motor lifeboat to the scene.

Although the ship’s hull suffered damage from the falling cranes, it was still able to move under its own power.

The ship then sailed to a sheltered bay near Ares, Galicia, to assess the damage and wait for the weather to return to normal. By Monday evening, the Shang De Wu Yi Shan was still anchored in the bay.

Fondeado en Ares el buque Shang De Wu Yi Shan tras perder en Golfo de Vizcaya las grúas que transportaba de Alemania a Thailandia. Tendrá que atracar en el Puerto para retirar los restos de la cubierta y reparar el barco para que pueda seguir navegando. [Foto del barco: @EloyTP] pic.twitter.com/aB8KJut3on

— Voces de A Coruña (@vocescoruna) December 8, 2024

Image Credits: Voces de A Coruña/X

At the time of the incident, a weather alert had been issued by Spain’s meteorological agency, AEMET, warning of rough seas and high winds in northern Spain, which could have contributed to the accident.

This incident follows another crane loss in late October when the Chinese vessel Yu Zhou Qi Hang lost three large cranes while crossing the Taiwan Strait.

Un BARCO chino q transporta dos enormes grúas pide auxilio en #Galicia tras un CORRIMIENTO DE CARGA
Carga de dos grandes #grúas pórtico q sirven para mover #contenedores.
Las dos grandes estructuras q llevaba a bordo han quedado completamente destrozadashttps://t.co/N6Oa9dzf8b pic.twitter.com/h6pXZ6G4bt

— Ana Villar (@AnaVill96855504) December 7, 2024

Image Credits: Ana Villar/X

After encountering bad weather, the crew was forced to abandon the ship and the vessel eventually ran aground on a rocky shoreline.

Now, the Shang De Wu Yi Shan will need to dock at a port to remove the remains of the cranes and make repairs before continuing its journey to Thailand.

Reference: Safety4Sea