BrestPort became the hub of a complex logistical and military maneuver. This involved the replacement of crane No. 37 at the naval base with another one recently assembled at its commercial port facilities.
The operation, which required 18 months of preparation, led by the Atlantic Defense Infrastructure Service (SID) of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, was executed in two key phases that demonstrated BrestPort’s ability to handle equipment of enormous dimensions.
The historic crane left the naval base and the next day, the old equipment headed to the BrestPort polder, the commercial port, the same place where the assembly of the replacement crane was being completed. The new structure, designed by Comete-J-Paris, was assembled at the MRE Terminal.
The climax occurred days later, with the transfer of the new equipment. The crane, a true colossus weighing 1,300 tons and standing 99 meters tall with the boom deployed, was carefully loaded onto the rails of the barge Louis, a semi-submersible platform.
Due to the unusual dimensions of the maritime convoy, the authorities issued a prefectoral decree establishing a temporary safety zone of 300 meters around the barge. After departing from the commercial port, the crane reached its destination at basin 8 of the naval base, where it was precisely positioned using a modular “millipede” system.
The crane replacement operation falls within the scope of the Military Programming Laws 2019-2025 and 2024-2030. According to BrestPort, the successful management of this complex logistics underscores its capacity to host and facilitate large industrial and military projects, acting as a key strategic partner for defense entities in the region.
