Bigge Lifts a Turbine Case at Historical Mare Island

Cranes at Work |
Mare Island Cherne

In April, Bigge recently utilized its Demag AC500, a 600-ton capacity All Terrain crane, to hoist half of a turbine case on Mare Island in Vallejo, CA. In the 19th Century Mare Island was widely used by the Navy and referred to as the Mare Island Naval Shipyard”. During World War II the shipyard employed as many as 40,000 people in the Bay Area. To learn more about Mare Islands history, you can visit nps​.gov

The turbine case that was lifted weights a total of 161,000 lb. and it was lifted in a historical steel manufacturing building that dates to the War Era in the 1940’s. After the lift, the turbine case was then placed on a 9‑Axle rear steer trailer to be moved to a local Bay Area refinery. Per the project manager, the main challenge for this lift was the tight space crew members were working in which required that extra precautions be taken to ensure the equipment, the historical building, and the team finish the job unharmed.