A container crane was brought down yesterday in the port of Kaohsiung, Taiwan, as a result of a ship collision.

The incident began when the unladen OOCL Durban container ship – which measures 316 metre in length and can hold 8,540 TEU (20ft equivalent units) – pulled into dock at Pier 66 at the port. As it passed the brand new 2,940-TEU YM Constancy docked at Pier 70 it came too close and collided. The bigger ship scrapped along the side of the new boat, dragging it forward, and catching one of the dock’s container gantry cranes, causing it to collapse and strike the next crane along, causing serious damage.

One man suffered a minor injury to his arm, while two were trapped on the damaged crane. They were rescued with the help of a Kato mobile crane and a man basket.

A spokesman for the port said: “The ship was booked to berth at Pier 66 of Kaohsiung Port, but when the ship passed through Pier 70, it collided with the bow of the Yong Hung Ship anchored at Pier 70 causing the collapse of the GC8 bridge crane, the adjacent GC6 crane was seriously damaged. A total of one collapsed, one severely damaged – but not collapsed while 30 to 50 containers were damaged.”