Eimskip dismantles Jaki container crane after 42 years

Eimskip is dismantling the Jaki container crane at Sundahöfn port after 42 years of service, mbl.is reports. Its final lift took place on September 26, and specialists from Britain arrived a few days later to take it apart for scrap. The work is expected to be completed before the end of the month.

Eimskip bought and installed Jaki in 1984, speeding up the loading and unloading of cargo ships at the port. After decades of use, parts of its equipment had become obsolete.

The crane completed 2,082,263 lifts during its 42 years in operation. Tomasz Weyer, who operated Jaki for the past four years, said his personal record was lifting 51 containers in an hour under favourable conditions. Guðmundur Ágúst Aðalsteinsson, who oversees Eimskip’s port operations, said the crane had a low accident record. In its early years, it increased handling capacity to 26 containers an hour.

Jaki was named after Guðmundur J. Guðmundsson, chairman of the Dagsbrún union, a predecessor of Efling. The article says he was known for looking after union members who worked at the port. Four newer electric cranes now operate there: Straumur, Stormur, Alda and Bára.