From Fair Isle to Scalloway for 60 tonne crane

THERE was a somewhat unusual sight in Scalloway on Tuesday afternoon when a 60 tonne crane was unloaded off a workboat.

The crane had come in from Fair Isle, where it had been on hire for the bird observatory rebuild, and arrived in Scalloway on Monday night.

The Stoddart crane was taken on BK Marine’s Toplander vessel.

But the crane had perhaps an even more unusual load onto the vessel in Fair Isle – going onboard from the beach at the harbour there.

The crane is now headed back south to the Scottish mainland.

BK Marine director Gordon Williamson said the operation was highly dependent on finding an appropriate weather window.

“This is more less the maximum [weight] – we can carry 68 tonnes,” he said. “And then it’s high – there’s centre of gravity issues as well.

“We had to have a surveyor’s report, to make the sure stability was okay. So, it worked okay, and I’m eternally grateful for that.”