Almost dropped a 12-ton beam at the Port of Baltimore last Tuesday

I was operating a Liebherr LTM 1050 at the Dundalk Marine Terminal last week, moving steel beams for a ship offload. The wind picked up to around 25 knots, and one beam swung hard when I was slewing... I nearly lost control of the load because I didn't account for the gust. Anyone else ever get caught off guard by sudden wind shifts on a waterfront job?

2 comments

2 Comments

evand6515d agoMost Upvoted

Wait, you were swinging a 12-ton beam in 25 knot winds without a tagline or a spotter watching the wind? That's pretty sketchy, man.

felix48815d ago

Did you hear what happened to a buddy of mine last year? He was moving a big steel girder in a construction yard around 30 knot gusts, no tagline cause the boss said it'd slow them down. The wind caught it sideways, swung it right into a parked truck, totaled the cab and almost took his arm off.