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A new portal crane arrives at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard last week.
A new portal crane arrives at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard last week.
PORTSMOUTH NAVAL SHIPYARD, Maine — Portal Crane 79 (PC-79), a heavy lift portal crane, arrived at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard by barge Feb. 11 from Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PSNS & IMF).
While the shipyard received a brand new heavy lift portal crane, PC-38, affectionately known as “Big Blue” in June 2021, it still needs months of production work to demonstrate its reliability.
“Receiving PC-79 increases our capabilities as a shipyard and will serve as a backup heavy lift crane to PC-38 once all certifications are complete,” said Project Manager Jason Jordan. “PC-79 provides redundancy to ensure we can perform scheduled maintenance and certifications on one crane while the other is available for lifts. Personnel from across the NAVSEA Corporation have agreed to assist PNS in our initial servicing, truly making this a team effort.”
PC-79 was built under the same contract as two sister cranes, PC-78 and PC-77, which were sent to PSNS & IMF and Mare Island, respectively. PC-79 was originally procured by the Charleston Naval Shipyard, in Charleston, S.C. When Charleston and Mare Island were closed in the 1990s, PC-79 was sent to PSNS & IMF, while Mare Island’s crane made its way to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, where it resides today.
“We welcome PC-79 back to the East Coast after her tour at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard,” said Shipyard Commander Capt. Michael Oberdorf. “The addition of this crane increases our lifting capacity to support future submarine availabilities so we can keep our nation’s submarines where they belong — at sea as the pointed end of the spear.”
PC-79 weighs 2.2 million pounds and has a lifting capacity of 171.5 tons. The journey from PSNS & IMF to PNS took approximately 80 days to complete after multiple weather delays. PC-79, along with PC-38, are integral to future maintenance work planned for PNS. Prior to the arrival of these two heavy lift cranes, Portsmouth’s portal crane lifting capacity was limited to 60 tons.
Portsmouth Naval Shipyard is America’s leader for attack submarine maintenance, repair, and modernization. The on-time completion of submarine availabilities is critical to maintaining the U.S. Navy’s maritime superiority. As a NAVSEA operated field activity, PNS is committed to expanding our undersea advantage and maximizing the material readiness of the fleet by safely delivering first-time quality, on time, and on budget.
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