The Port Authority has said one of its two cranes is now back up and running after both suffered operational failures over the weekend.
In a statement Tuesday, the Port Authority apologised to customers and the wider public who may have experienced “short disruptions” in cargo services over the past weekend.
It said it was a “very unusual occurrence” of both cranes simultaneously experiencing mechanical failure.
“The Port staff along with assistance from Thompson Shipping were able to source the necessary parts to get one crane operational by the afternoon of 13 January 2024 and recommence the handling of ships,” the statement said.
The authority stated that the port can function as normal with one crane, and assured that the second crane “should be operational later this week if all goes well”.
Ageing cranes
The authority added that the board is aware of the poor condition of the port container-handling equipment and has made provisions to replace it.
It pointed to the recent increase in port fees, saying that this will be allocated to equipment replacement.
The introduction of those fees came under fire recently after it was gazetted without any prior notice that increases were coming.
In explaining the situation at the port, the authority said one of its cranes is 29 years old and the other is 41 years old, while the Cayman Brac crane is 46 years old.
Other container-handling equipment is similarly aged, it said.
The authority said that it will continue to work to keep all of its equipment operational.
“Replacement of these large types of container-handling equipment will have to be phased and will take several years,” it added.
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One crane is 29 years old and the other is 41 The life of the island depends on those two cranes. It is hard to believe that any competent government would wait this long until they break to replace at least one of them, I just read in a previous article that they are spending millions of dollars to buy land but there will be nothing to eat and nothing to wear if there are no cranes. Where are the priorities???