Gantry Crane of the Muelle de Ribera

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Industrial architecture · Year: 1959

This crane, located in the first alignment of the Muelle de Ribera of the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, between the Puerto-Ciudad building and the Cruise Terminal, is the only one preserved of the six that were installed in this port sector by the Junta de Obras del Puerto in 1959.

The so-called "gantry cranes" were devices that represented a huge advance in the loading and unloading tasks of the port. They had great mobility, as their movement along transfer tracks was possible; a huge power of 6 tonnes; and also, a long 20-metre reach (boom) of their arm. They were electric and the supply was carried out through a nearby station, built for this purpose, which used three-phase current of 380 volts. 

The cranes were called “gantry” because their structure allowed vehicles to circulate underneath them, being mounted on a metal structure with four trolleys that ran on tracks parallel to the quay line of the dock.

In the only surviving example we see that on the gantry there is a wooden cabin capable of rotating 180°. The interior was equipped with all the necessary instruments so that the operator in charge could manoeuvre both in its movements along the quay line, and in the operations necessary for loading and unloading the cargo, which was mostly composed of agricultural products such as bananas and tomatoes.

From 1967 the cranes were also used to support the gangways dedicated to the boarding and disembarking of passengers from the ships J.J. Síster and Manuel Soto of the Transmediterránea company. 

Years later these cranes began to become obsolete. The only one preserved was restored in 2006, after having been out of use for some time. The technicians of the Port Authority achieved excellent work in its conservation and exhibition.

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