Project Description

Bath Iron Works is contracted with the US Navy to construct three, DDG-1000, Zumwalt-class destroyers. Two of these vessels are utilizing a state-of-the-art composite deckhouse that is fabricated offsite and then erected onto the hull at BIW. Reed & Reed provided crane services to BIW to make the two 900-ton mega lifts installing these composite deckhouses. The first lift was successfully completed in December, 2012 and the final lift in November, 2014.

The complex four crane lift was engineered, planned and managed by BIW for the U.S Navy under its lead ship contract for construction of the DDG-1000, a new class of surface combatants. Reed & Reed’s two M-16000 cranes with Maxer Heavy Lift attachments were paired with two BIW gantry cranes to make the lifts. Reed & Reed designed and built two crane platforms to distribute the weight of its two Manitowoc M-16000 cranes. The beams and mats were installed by Reed & Reed crews on BIW’s Land Level Transfer Facility (LLTF) deck to transfer the dead and live loads to the supporting substructure. Reed & Reed then assembled its two M-16000 cranes on the platforms above the deck. Next the Maxers were erected behind the cranes and the cranes were subjected to a rigorous test lifting protocol.

Reed & Reed was ably assisted throughout the preparation and assembly phases of the project by New England Manitowoc dealer Shawmut Equipment and by Manitowoc’s engineering and field support staff. The 900-ton deckhouse was fabricated in Mississippi for the Navy and arrived by barge. Barge and deckhouse were moved from BIW’s drydock to the LLTF platform under the hooks of the two BIW cranes and the two Reed & Reed cranes. When the four cranes lifted the deckhouse the barge was pulled out from underneath and back into the drydock. Next the cranes lifted the deckhouse to a height of approximately 100 feet and BIW pulled the new DDG-1000 hull, weighing in excess of 12,000 tons, under the deckhouse. The four cranes then carefully lowered the 900-ton deckhouse while BIW shipfitters made sure it was sitting properly on the deck.

Reed & Reed and BIW crews worked long hours to accomplish this record breaking lift during the holiday seasons. Congratulations to all for their skill and dedication.

Location: Bath, ME
Owner: Bath Iron Works
Completed: November 2014
Contractor: Reed & Reed, Inc.