Two crane operators are thought to have died when an extraordinarily violent storm hit Jiangsu province in eastern China on Friday evening and a massive gantry crane collapsed at New Times Shipbuilding.
Extreme winds and hail were reported around Nantong on Friday evening with a 600-ton gantry crane toppling over at New Times. The crane was the largest ever built in China when it was installed around 20 years ago.
The accident could result in some of the yard’s orderbook delivering later than scheduled. Clarkson’s data shows that New Times currently holds orders for 35 ships of about 4.3m dwt, of which 16 are scheduled to deliver this year.
