Vanterm vessel operations expected to resume this week

Recovery efforts following the Jan. 28 crane collapse have been slowed by high winds and the discovery of more extensive damage to the crane’s boom.    Vessel operations are expected to resume this week at the Port of Vancouver’s Vanterm, said facility operator Global Container Terminals on Monday, following the collapse of a gantry crane onto an Evergreen Line containership the early morning of Jan. 28.
   Normal vessel activity originally was expected to resume Sunday, but the recovery effort was slowed by high winds and the discovery that the crane’s boom structural integrity was more compromised than initially assessed.
   “While we are disappointed that progress was stalled, our primary concern is for the safety of all those working at interacting with the terminal and vessel,” read the GCT statement. “We also continue to support the Transportation Safety Board’s work related to this incident.”
   Truck gate and rail operations were unaffected by the collapse, which occurred about 4 a.m. after the 7,024-TEU Ever Summit struck the ZPMC ship-to-shore crane while berthing. Containers destined for Vancouver and other ports of call were damaged, but none of the containers in question contained hazardous cargo, according to GCT.
   Two floating cranes — the 900-ton The Beast and the 600-ton Arctic Tuk — were brought in by Wednesday to support recovery operations. GCT Canada’s engineering and maintenance teams, with assistance from external contractors, are working on the comprehensive operations recovery.