At 17:00 on July 14, with the precise placement of the final 34.8-ton portal frame, the Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Beilun Ore Terminal successfully completed the relay lifting operation of the “super-sized” components of the bucket wheel stacker-reclaimer after 28 hours of continuous effort. Dubbed the “steel giant hurdle race” by technicians, this special project set multiple records for large-scale equipment lifting at the ore terminal.
The core components lifted came from two new bucket wheel stacker-reclaimers. Due to their ultra-tall, ultra-long, and ultra-wide characteristics, traditional transport routes were inadequate under the constraints of bulk cargo terminal production equipment. “When the transport vessel first docked, just two portal frames took up half the deck, making ground passage impossible,” explained Zhao Wei, chief engineer of the Beilun Ore Terminal. The biggest challenge for the project team was maneuvering these “steel giants” over existing obstacles like conveyor belt galleries and trestle bridges at the terminal.
To solve this problem, with guidance from higher authorities and cooperation from partner units, the Beilun Ore Terminal collaborated with Jiangsu Gongli Heavy Machinery Co., Ltd. to form a specialized team. After multiple mechanical simulations, they innovatively designed a “crane relay” lifting plan. On-site, multiple large cranes worked in tandem: first lifting components smoothly from the “Hanwang 16” vessel onto specialized transport vehicles, then moving them beside the conveyor belt galleries. Two 350-ton mobile cranes then performed a relay lift, enabling the components to make an “M-shaped” crossing over two conveyor belt galleries and a central passage. Finally, a 220-ton crane completed the trestle bridge crossing, accomplishing the full cross-equipment lifting task.
“We added double insurance to the lifting operation,” revealed Fu Shengpeng, the project technician. The team employed a safety redundancy design to enhance load-bearing capacity and innovatively applied a dual anti-sway mechanism, using multiple sets of guy ropes to ensure stable mid-air positioning. For absolute certainty, technicians also conducted multiple full-process simulations on desktops, preemptively identifying and resolving potential risks.
The successful completion of this lifting and transport mission relied on multi-party coordination. The Ningbo-Zhoushan Port Group and its subsidiary company organized multiple coordination meetings, maritime authorities opened a green channel to expedite vessel berthing approvals, and the Beilun Container Terminal adjusted berth schedules in advance to provide operational space. Customs granted special permission to dismantle sealed gates in the supervised area, creating a seamless transfer route and forming a “seamless chain” of cross-unit collaboration. Wang, a crane operator involved in the operation, admitted, “This is the most complex lifting I’ve seen in my 20-year career—every step meshed like precision gears.”
It is reported that the lifted equipment will be used to upgrade old machinery at the Beilun Ore Terminal. According to the plan, the new bucket wheel stacker-reclaimers will complete assembly and automated load testing by the end of October, injecting new momentum into the smart port construction of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port.
