EnCORE™-refurbished Manitowoc crawler crane sets sail again

A Manitowoc crawler crane which has spent 21 years working at sea has set sail once again after being refurbished by EnCORE™ in the Middle East. The 230 t capacity Manitowoc 4100W works in the challenging ocean environment as it builds off-shore oil and gas structures and off-shore sea defenses for long-term owner and leading off-shore construction company Valentine Marine.

Built in 1993 the Manitowoc 4100W was in good working order before the refurbishment but years at sea had taken their toll. Valentine Marine asked EnCORE™ Manitowoc Crane Care’s remanufacturing service to give the crane a second life a decision that has paid off as Somasundaran Akkappilly workshop manager at Manitowoc explains.

“The crane was working well but it was showing signs of corrosion due to the tough marine environment and long working hours it’s been put through for two decades ” he says “I am delighted with the result. We’ve renewed a 200 t piece of precision engineering and Valentine can look forward to another two decades of hard work on the high seas.”

The Manitowoc 4100W’s refurbishment was carried out at Manitowoc Crane Care’s facility in Dubai UAE. Work began in October 2013 and started with a complete disassembly and inspection. All major components of the upper and lower frames and the entire cab were dismantled before being individually reconditioned reworked or rebuilt. The crane is now back at work with 100% load chart capability.

As part of the extensive rebuild the 4100W was completely rewired and an entirely new cab was added which the team had to build from scratch as 1993-model crawler crane cabs are no longer manufactured. Corrosion on the chassis was neutralized and special marine-environment paint was applied to prepare the crane for its second life at sea.

A team of six Manitowoc Crane Care engineers carried out the comprehensive refurbishment. Akkappilly said the whole team was proud to see the crane leave the facility in March this year and return to work on the waves.

“It is very satisfying to see one of our older cranes roll out of the workshop ready to give its owner a second term of productive service ” he says. “It’s been a painstaking process but I am pleased with the results and we are looking forward to tackling our next challenge.”

The Manitowoc 4100W was sent back to its owner in March this year and is now hard at work on an offshore oil field off the coast of Abu Dhabi.

The full team of Manitowoc Crane Care engineers involved in the rebuild were Mohamed Naindhram Veettil Prakashan Valapile Veettile Mohamed Meethale KK Sasidharan Asari Ashraf Ozhakkal and Sajeev Kumar.

Established in 1990 Valentine Marine specializes in offshore construction in the oil and gas industry. Its work centers on the Arabian Gulf and Indian subcontinent.