The British Antarctic Survey has been using tracked mobile cranes for over 30 years in one of the harshest environments in the world, Antarctica. In house development and experience over the years has now given us the use of high quality, reliable tracked crane platforms that are safe and stable under the ever changing, moving environment that working on an ice shelf has to offer.
At present BAS run four tracked cranes in the Antarctic. Rothera Station on the Antarctic peninsular, operate one Nodwell 60 with a Palfinger PK 12000 mounted on the rear, primarily used for dive and boat operations, and Halley IV station further south on the Brunt ice shelf operate three larger TI -110 S’s with a more lift capacity Palfinger PK 2400 and PK 26502 primarily used for mast maintenance and relief operations.
Halley station on the Brunt ice shelf has the most difficult terrain for a crane to operate in. Snow being very unstable under load from the outriggers and ever changing over the course of the season due to temperatures ranging from minus 5 to minus 30 just over the summer season. Halley base relief operations start on or round about 25 December, Christmas day and finish around the middle of February so only leaves a small window of 8 weeks hard work to complete major station maintenance of witch our TI – 110 mobile cranes are key to this being competed in time.
Base maintenance requires our cranes to perform various tasks over the summer.
- Work at low temperatures (min – 30)
- Lift and carry small to medium sized loads on cranes
- Be able to tow moderate loads (3 ton) on sledges provided
- Provide safe, practical work environment for the operator
- Fitted with drop valves for the use of man basket operation
We employ 2 trained operators at Halley to work a full season, six days a week and some 12 hours a day if the weather permits. Jobs vary from loading and unloading 20 foot ISO containers (6 ton lift x 2 cranes), removing 205ltr drums (100’s of them) from the ice and loading onto sledges, high lift mast maintenance as in the background picture and support a full team of ten Steel riggers that raise the ever sinking platform sitting on legs buried in the ice.
All service and maintenance of our vehicles are done out of one small but well equipped workshop, heated of course, that house two experienced technicians that have been trained in the UK prior to going south. One technician will over winter and look after a fleet of some fifteen heavy plant vehicles and forty Skidoo’s.
A job that has many challenges for both the operators and technicians, but equally has high rewards working in the most exhilarating and isolated continents in the world.
Antarctic Photogallery
