The last of the imposing container cranes that still stood at the former La Candelaria container terminal in the Los Llanos dock will soon cease to exist in the port landscape of the capital of Tenerife.
The advanced structural deterioration it has suffered has led the Port Authority to dismantle this giant, which reached 70 metres in height with its boom raised and could move loads of up to 35 tonnes. The infrastructure has been unused for the last fifteen years, after the owning company ceased operations in 2010.
Antonio Herrera, a dock worker for 41 years and president of the Stevedore’s Home in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, recalls what work was like in those days: “Two of the three cranes we are talking about (numbers 2 and 4) arrived in 2003, and crane number 6, which is now going to be dismantled, arrived in 2004. These three cranes could move up to 35 tonnes and were a significant advancement for the port because, until then, there were only cranes that could lift six containers in width, whereas these could lift up to twelve. Moreover, with these three, all three cranes could work on the same ship, which was not possible before.”
Brought from Israel
Herrera adds that it was necessary to undertake “a fairly significant project to widen the legs of the cranes that existed and to make the rolling tracks much wider, as the previous ones were two lanes and these are three lanes for loading and unloading. It was a big step forward, very important for the port and for the company at that time.”
Interestingly, he recounts that the cranes came from Israel, were much lighter, and had great autonomy. The company Contenemar ended up operating three cranes in this area of the port in Tenerife.
The crane, named Pageco G6, model Mark, was active at the La Candelaria terminal as part of the concession granted in July 1995, which ended in February 2011. This type of crane is designed for loading and unloading containers from ships to land. They offer a metal structure mounted on rails that can move along the dock, and their arm can extend over the width of the ship to access the different sections where the containers are stacked.
The president of Tenerife Ports, Pedro Suárez, explained yesterday that “in a procedure of this scale, its dismantling has been planned under strict safety measures and a specific plan, establishing up to sixteen execution phases.” The objective, he said, “is to guarantee structural integrity throughout the dismantling process and to avoid any risk to the workers and the port environment.”
The work, which has already begun, includes disconnecting electrical and mechanical systems, dismantling metal structures, and securing each component for later handling and comprehensive waste management of the materials generated.
According to the Port Authority, the operation will be supported by two auxiliary cranes, starting with the removal of non-structural elements, such as the machinery shed, the spreader, which is the container hook, and the control cabin. In this process, it is essential to ensure that the structure being dismantled is not unstable at any point, hence the need for an action plan.
The dismantling project has been awarded to the company Reciclajes y Demoliciones Industriales JM, S.L., with expected completion by 5th September. The work entails an investment of 256,121.3 euros.
