Pilot suspended in Vietnam as another boxship skittles a gantry crane
The dire string of gantry crane collisions witnessed over the past two years continues with news from Vietnam where a Hapag-Lloyd boxship remains at anchor following a port smash 15 days ago.
The 8,600 teu Nagoya Expresas was leaving Hai Phong International Gateway Port (HITC) in the north of Vietnam on the afternoon in stormy conditions and its bow swiped a gantry crane, which local port authorities say is worth $5m.
The crane has been put out of action, with supports placed at its base to keep it upright (see picture).
The pilot involved in the accident has been suspended while investigations continue.
With quay cranes tumbling around the world in recent months insurer TT Club last November urged port operators to install laser sensor technology to avoid costly accidents.
TT Club claims analysis continue to flag quay crane issues as giving rise to the highest cost incidents for ports and terminal operators. Remarkably as of last November TT Club had handled 325 cases of crane collisions in the previous 10 years.
