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The VB-10000 heavy lift vessel, with its twin gantries, waits to cut the next section of the capsized vessel Golden Ray, Dec. 1, 2020, on St. Simons Island, Ga.
A towering, floating crane arrived on the Georgia coast in October to remove giant chunks of a cargo ship that overturned more than a year ago off St. Simon’s Island. The crane, known as the VB-10,000, was soon straddling the shipwreck of the Golden Ray, a South Korean vessel that capsized Sept. 8, 2019, approximately 70 mi. south of Savannah. The ship had just left the Port of Brunswick with 4,200 automobiles in its cargo decks, most of which remain onboard. Experts decided the Golden Ray was too badly damaged to be removed intact, and instead produced a plan to slice it
into six massive pieces for removal by barge. That precipitated bringing in the VB-10,000, which employs a large chain designed to saw the 656-ft.-long ship into six giant chunks. A spokesperson for the multi-agency Unified Command overseeing the salvage operation initially said the demolition and removal of the vessel would begin a few days after the crane’s appearance at the site. But a problem arose with the anchoring system that engineers had built to steady the giant crane. One of the five anchors failed a strength test to prove it could hold against the required tonnage, said Coast Guard
Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael Himes, a command spokesperson. In November, the anchoring of the 255-ft.-high crane was fixed and the slicing apart of the Golden Ray was finally able to commence. The plan calls for the ship’s massive pieces to be hauled away on barges. Built by Gulf Marine Fabricators of Aransas Pass, Texas, and operated by Houston-based Versabar, the VB-10,000 is a heavy-lift twin-gantry catamaran consisting of two truss space frames atop a pair of barges. Its design was derived see CRANE page 6
Page 2 • December 16, 2020 • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • Georgia State Supplement • Construction Equipment Guide
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Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 16, 2020 • Page 3
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Construction Equipment Guide • Georgia State Supplement • www.constructionequipmentguide.com • December 16, 2020 • Page 5
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Coming to Westpoint...
Truck-Only Lanes New Hyundai TRANSYS Plant Part to Be Built On I-75 of $240 Million Expansion in Georgia by GDOT in 2024 The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT)’s Interstate 75 Commercial Vehicle Lanes project, first announced in 2018, is set to get under way in 2024. The $1.8 billion plan will include building two, barrierseparated commercial truck-only lanes northbound along I75 from the I-475/I-75 Interchange near Macon to the McDonough area. The new lanes will be non-tolled and will span across five counties: Henry, Spalding, Butts, Lamar and Monroe. The total length of the project is 41 lane miles. GDOT said the impetus for the new I-75 lane project is to cut down on traffic congestion in the metro Atlanta area caused in part by the expansion of the Port of Savannah, almost 250 mi. to the southeast. Department spokesperson Penny Brooks said the GDOT wants to be sure the roads are ready for more freight. She added that her agency is still planning the project, but that the enterprise will a free and more efficient access route to Atlanta, while keeping Georgia drivers safe from increased commercial traffic. “We expect, at this point, the construction to begin in 2024, so we have another three years before we even take a pickaxe out and start pulling up the ground.” People that drive through or live in Monroe, Butts, Lamar, Henry or Spalding counties, the GDOT said, will see their commutes affected by the new I-75 expansion. Macon’s Angel Davis commutes to McDonough every day for work. She leaves home early to be on time. “Most of that is due to the influx of traffic, cars and a lot of trucks,” Davis explained, adding that she is in favor of the construction. With less traffic to deal with, she believes she will have more time to get other things done. “I would gain two more hours of my day, literally,” Davis said. The I-75 Commercial Vehicle Lanes project is one of the state’s Major Mobility Investment Program (MMIP)projects and an enterprise the GDOT has determined can be accelerated to open to traffic nearly two years earlier than originally scheduled. Completion of the project is currently expected to be in 2028.
An automotive parts producer that specializes in transmissions said it will expand its Georgia operations with a $240 million investment that includes adding hundreds of new jobs. Hyundai TRANSYS will build a 620,000-sq.-ft. facility in West Point, near the company’s current location on the Kia campus, according to an announcement from Gov. Brian Kemp’s office. The facility will produce eight-speed transmissions for Hyundai Motor Company. Hyundai TRANSYS is the only automobile manufacturing company in the world that specializes in transmissions. The new jobs include advanced manufacturing and management roles, as well as supplementary construction handling and inspection. This expansion will take Hyundai TRANSYS’ employment total in Georgia to 1,741 jobs, according to the governor’s office. “The level of trust built through years of capital investment, employment, and training support — along with new opportunities unmatched by any other states — made Georgia a natural choice,” said Sangkil Jung, president of Hyundai TRANSYS Georgia Powertrain, in a prepared
statement. “We are excited for the opportunities ahead as we expand our presence in the West Point community.” Senior Project Manager Amanda Fields represented the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s Global Commerce division on securing the project in partnership with the West Point Development Authority, Georgia Power, and Georgia Quick Start. Kemp’s office said Georgia has seen massive investment — more than $1 billion and 2,000 jobs — from South Korean companies like Hyundai in 2020. The expansion follows an announcement earlier in 2020 that TEKLAS, a Turkish manufacturing company and supplier of electric vehicle parts, would invest $6.5 million to open its first North American facility and headquarters in Gordon County. Additionally, over the summer, GEDIA Automotive Group said it would invest $85 million to build a new 180,000-sq.ft. manufacturing facility in Whitfield County and SK Innovation announced a $940 million plan to expand its EV lithium-ion battery plant in Commerce. Georgia is home to more than 200 automotive-related facilities.
Crews Give Thanks to Massive VB-10,000 for Unique Lifts CRANE from page 1
from Versabar’s earlier VB-4000, which was developed to clear debris from toppled oil drilling platforms in the Gulf of Mexico. The VB-10,000 is the largest lift vessel ever built in the United States. Over Thanksgiving weekend, crews aboard the crane in St. Simon’s Sound had completed the removal of the Golden Ray’s bow. Officials had estimated it would take 24 hours
for each cut to be made, but due to several setbacks, including the cutting chain being broken and delays due to tropical storms, the first cut took more than 20 days. Barges took the piece to a site near the Port of Brunswick at Mayors Point. Crews are preparing to next cut the stern of the ship, according to Himes. “With the inner sections, which hold the majority of the cars, we’ll be using dry dock
barges, so we can lift them minimally and slip the dry docks underneath, seal them and take them to a local site for dismantling,” he said. “The irregular shape of the vessel can be acted upon by the tides and water moving in the sound so the methodology and the plan of removing the end sections is a bit different.” The problem with the anchorage of the VB10,000 was not the only delay in removing the Golden Ray. A busy Atlantic hurricane season
as well as a handful of coronavirus infections among members of the salvage team had already put the operation behind schedule. Himes said the Unified Command has booked an entire resort nearby through Jan. 21, 2021, to isolate 100 salvage workers as a safeguard against the virus. In September, an expert concluded the Golden Ray tipped over because unstable loading had left its center of gravity too high.
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