Navy's New Crane 'Big Blue' Begins Journey from Wisconsin to Hawaii for Shipyard Upgrade
A massive 200-foot-tall portal crane, known as 'Big Blue', has embarked on a 9,000-nautical-mile journey from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, to the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard in Hawaii. This crane is part of a $370 million contract under the Navy's Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Project (SIOP) aimed at upgrading equipment at four public shipyards. The crane, which can lift components weighing up to 175 tonnes, is a key element in the modernization of the shipyard, including the construction of a new full-size graving dock. This dock, the first at Pearl Harbor since World War II, is designed to support future submarine classes, including the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines.